Blog - The Art Pantry

January 21, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Easels and Brushes

Our first group was back today for some more fun with paint. This week, I started them off at the easels to experiment with some different brushes. We first used thick round brushes dipped in the paint cups.

Then I added paint trays with rollers.

And finally, I offered them sponge brushes to dip in the paint trays.

Pretty soon the kids began to wander over to the table, looking for something else to work on. So I set out paper and a few more brushes (this time, small flat brushes) for them to use.

Kate wasn’t in class last week, so she was just as hesitant as the others on their first day. I thought she might like to start off with the toy cars and necklaces from our texture painting- and maybe even a little shaker of glitter :)

Kirsten wandered over to the shelf and began to pick out some very interesting objects to work with… wow, colored pom-poms, Styrofoam peanuts, and feathers!

And of course everyone else wanted to work with the colored pom-poms.
Here, Karuna is painting the pom-pom

Time to clean up- What great helpers!

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January 21, 2010 by Megan Schiller

New Art Group

Today a new group of children started session 1- our painting exploration. I first invited them to paint with their fingers and, just like the last group, they were very hesitant to get their hands in there! So I offered them to do texture painting with objects like necklaces and toy cars, which got them to slowly slip their fingers into the paint- much less threatening! Eventually some of them were dipping there entire hands in the paint and even rubbing it up and down their arms.
Here, Liam eyes Jordan and her blue hands.
And then…

Two different approaches to painting with a comb

At the easel, Hanna danced in between her brushstrokes. I really wish I could have gotten it on video! This photo does not do her her dancing justice.

What fun!

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January 14, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Session 1 Begins!

Our first group of session 1 met today. The theme for the 4 week session is: Exploring Paint. We are beginning with the most basic method… finger painting of course! This gives children the opportunity to get to know the qualities of paint with all of their senses (even taste, as a few of them decided to take a bite). Each week the activities will introduce new concepts and techniques of painting.
In the beginning of class the children were a little hesitant to get their hands messy. Here they are with some worried looks!

As class progressed, I added some objects for them to paint with- toy cars, necklaces, combs, sponges…

Collaborative painting at the easel

Grace decided to comb her hair- and ended up with some cool pink highlights!

So glad the sun came out today!

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January 9, 2010 by Megan Schiller

Artgroups Start Next Week

Artgroup sessions begin next week! I’ll be starting with a few small groups and see where the journey leads. Hopefully, I’ll be adding more groups in the coming weeks.
In preparation, I have invited some of Karuna’s friends over to test out the studio. Here are the few pictures I managed to take.

Karuna discovers glitter (the entire bottle!)

Austin rolls out his paint for mono-printing

Sometimes washing hands is just as much fun as smothering them with paint!

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November 30, 2009 by Megan Schiller

First Art Group!

With family in town for Thanksgiving, I decided to initiate the studio with our first art group. I separated the kids into two groups based on age and playmates. The older kids began working on a watercolor tissue collage, but soon found more interesting materials to work with!