Marble Rolling Abstract Art

It was a rainy day today but that did not keep my little artists away from the OKCMOA! Two back-to- back classes filled with toddlers ages 15-36 months old came in to create with me this morning.

We gathered around to read Mouse Paint and talked about color and friendships.

Our focus today was abstract expressionism. Abstract Expressionism is non-representational work in which an artist expresses themselves through form and color. This style was typically broken up into two areas, action painters and color field painters. We were all about action today.



The friendship part came into our discussion through the artists Alfonso Ossorio and Jackson Pollock. I talked about Pollock because almost everyone seems to know his work. I can then relate and tell a story about how Pollock's work related to and influenced Ossorio. We viewed Ossorio from our collection today and visited our 3rd floor galleries to view other action style paintings. (my classes are parent/child so I try to incorporate information for everyone!)

Friendships also occur between colors. Placing certain colors next to each other creates a certain mood, a feeling-whether good or bad! We can also mix our colors to create new friends and it is so much fun. We found all of our colors in the galleries and children get excited to see shapes and share their new knowledge with their parents and myself.



At our work table I had stations set up with paper taped in foil cake pans-deeper pans are better. Then I had three small bowls with paint and a small bowl with marbles. We dipped marbles in the paint and dropped them into our pans. By shaking our pans our marbles rolled all around! We had lots of shaking, lots of action today!







To finish our pieces we placed our painted works on a piece of black construction paper. This made our artwork looked matted and they are definitely ready to frame. I hope you enjoy this not so new but fun project.





You will need:
-foil pans
-white paper
-paint (I used blue, yellow and red tempera paints)
-marbles
-tape
-black construction paper
-glue stick

Express Yourself

We have been talking a lot about how we express ourselves. Through body language, facial expression, voice, writing and art there are a lot of ways to do so! Right now at the OKCMOA a wonderful part of the permanent collection is on view through July 11th. Alfonso Ossorio: Gifts from the Ossorio Foundation are eleven pieces of various mediums that were donated to the Museum in 2008.

Ossorio, among many things was a Filipino American artist, an RISD student and friend of Jackson Pollock. I encourage you to learn more about this wonderful artist and if you are local, head to the Museum to see his work in person. The details cannot be appreciated by looking online alone.

His works are in a variety of mediums and with my boys today we focused on using wax, watercolor and ink. We are going to put together a cool assemblage piece later this week so stay tuned.

Here is what we did:

My boys are ages four and six. First we put out a big plastic tablecloth on the kitchen floor. We always wear old t-shirts to paint in. Then we used wax crayons on watercolor paper. Then I had my boys use watercolors. For fun we sprinkled on salt and let dry.





We hit them with a hairdryer to speed up the process. Then I gave them india ink in a squeeze bottle with a nib. (I used an eye dropper to fill it with ink.) You can improvise if the thought of ink scares you. My two boys, although young follow directions well and actually didn't get a drop anywhere but on the paper. You can use black tempera paint and brushes! Use the idea to suit what works best for you and the supplies you have on hand!



I bought the little squeeze bottles at Hobby Lobby. I am sure you can find them at most arts/craft stores with watercolor/paint supplies. My boys LOVED this part! This really made the pieces come alive. My 4 year old liked to squeeze the ink and scribble it in. My 6 year old was a bit more careful and really took his time. It was something new for them to try and I think matted and framed these will be extra special!









In the above photo you can see some of the salt detail.

You will need
-watercolor paper
-watercolors
-wax crayon
-paint brushes
-India Ink or tempera paint
-Squeeze bottle with nib.

I think next time we will use more ink instead of watercolors. I plan on experimenting a few times with this artist as inspiration over the next few weeks.

In other news I was excited to get a letter in the mail the other day from Allied Arts, asking me to donate a piece for their fundraiser, ARTini. I will be thrilled to do so and will keep you posted! I hope you have a creative day!