Spray Bottle Painting

Just the other day I had a discussion with my father about abstract art and it's value in the world of art. I have, by no means, studied art (other than children's art) but I am a fan of all things artistic including abstract art. The discussion took place as I was editing the video for the spray bottle painting experience and I thought to myself, "how would an outsider perceive this as art?" I very quickly saw the focus, the intent in the children's interactions with the spray bottles and knew that art comes in so many forms why not in a spray bottle!

After watching Sebastien spray several large areas of each a different color Kaia adder her own spin on his artwork by layering different colors on top of the existing colors. She also purposefully switches colors. Is she exploring mixing colors or does she try to achieve a particular look with each colored spray? Hannah concentrates hard to get the spray on the sheet even in the face of many distractions and adverse conditions (Sebastien moving and jumping through the wet sheet) she preservers and continues making her masterpiece. The sign of a true artist.

Theo literally stretches his artisitic vision as high as he could reach. Meanwhile, Caleb expresses his own opinion on the work they are creating together "so pretty". Watching the children switch colors over an over again was fascinating as the colors grew, changed shape and shade.



Whenever a new tool for painting is explored there is always a bit of time spent trying to figure out how to use the tool. For some of the children a spray bottle was familiar but for Bryce it took a little more time to understand how to use it. It is not easy for little hands to wrap themselves around and squeeze the bottle trigger and this takes practice. Bryce finds his own way to making the spray come out of the bottle. The delight in his eyes as the water color comes shooting out and the surprise when it sprinkles his face makes me giggle every time I think of his experience.



Sebastien began his exploration with creating large patches of color with the spray bottles. He then moved into interacting with the wet sheet, touching it and going through it. Lastly he tries he hand at watercolor spray tanning! Joy is a key element in creating art!

Friday Group - Stamping

I was so excited to see how the children would react to the watercolor paint presented on stamp pads with large stamps. Kaia and Sebastien seemed to be very interested at the beginning but their participation waned quite quickly. Max and Bryce both had very brief encounters with the experience. I continually have to remind myself that the length of time a child spends at an activity does not necessarily equate to the amount learned. This is when video comes in handy, it allows me to look back and reflect upon what the chiildren were doing. So when I feel an experience isn't a "hit" with the children, the video lets me look back and see again what the children gained from even the shortest time of interacting with the material. The stamping also sounded very musical as the children would pound the stamps from the paper to the ink pad but there was so much more happening than I initially realized.

In the middle of Max's stamp (bang), he gets more color (bang), stamps again (bang, bang), then pauses to investigate the stamp symbol and the continues stamping away. Makes me wonder, was he noticing the shape, the watercolor ink, or the combination that made the stamp on the paper?

Kaia took a break from the stamping to explore the stamp pad more thoroughly.

Sebastien focused on the pictures the stamps made.



In the quickest 10 seconds, Bryce discovered what the stamps tasted like, showed what happens when you move the stamp side to side on the paper, and tried to balance one stamp on top of another before he then proceeded to stamp the chair. He's so quick and unpredictable!

Friday Group - Bingo Bottle Painting

The next watercolor painting adventure revolved around bingo bottle painting. These small bottles filled with watercolor have a sponge like top that allows the paint to pass through when pressed into the surface of the paper. As always Sebastien and I tested out the experience together and I realized very quickly that it is not obvious how to use the bottles. After a quick demonstration he caught on. I hoped that his knowledge would help the other children also figure out how to use them. Kaia and Sebastien are the first to explore the bingo bottles and Kaia tries to figure out how to use them.

Kaia quickly gets how to use the bottles but it's still not as easy as you may think. You really have to hit the sponge part head on to get the paint out. How to hold the bottle to do this is a bit of a challenge.



Just as Kaia learns from watching Sebastien, he learns from watching her. He observes Kaia squeezing the bottle and tries it himself.



The sponge part of the bingo bottles is also explored by the children.



Pressing down on the sponge top leads Hannah to an interesting discovery. Right after she presses down on the top and then uses the bottle a lot of watercolor comes out. If you listen you can hear me talking to Kaia (she is watching through the camera as i film Hannah) and explaining to her what I see Hannah doing. Hannah is delighted with her discovery and tries it out again!



During this playgroup session Sebastien's cousin Addy arrives for his birthday weekend festivities. She immeaditly is drawn to the experience and figures out right away that if you place the sponge on the paper and drag it, watercolor moves like it would if you were using a paint brush. Bryce observes her discovery and tries it out himself.

Shaving Cream Painting

Foamy, fluffy, and delectable are all words that describe painting with shaving cream. The soft pastel palette that comes from mixing shaving cream and watercolors reminds me of rainbow sherbet on a hot summer day. The texture and application of shaving cream is unlike anything the children have used before. Sebastien and Hannah ventured forth to find out what it felt like.

I had the paint cups displayed both on the easel and on the table to give the children more options during their painting. There was a lot of movement of paint cups from one surface to another. Hannah had a plan when it came to the paint cups and brushes. She moved all the paint cups to the table area and began an elaborate process of trying to fit and dip the brushes into the cups. Finally getting the right color combination on her brush, she began to paint.

The easel lead to a lot of close encounters and negotiation of space between the children.

Painting at an easel also allows children to try out different motions with the brushes and paint. Theo makes long, slow movements as he paints.

Two brushes just weren't enough for Max. He goes to the extreme, trying to paint with three brushes. It proves to be a challenge so he goes back to using just one in each hand.



Kaia sportscasts her actions while painting, practicing the use of "excuse me". She keeps Sebastien abreast of what she's doing and planning on doing next.



Bryce is as exuberant as ever about painting. His exploration takes so many varying directions. Between dipping and twisiting the brush in the cup, excitedly placing the brush full of paint on the paper and pretending the cup is some kind of vehicle, he leaves his impression on the paper.


With all the splashing and hand smacking that Sebastien did with the watercolor, making prints of his hand all over the paper I should have known he'd experiment similarly with the shaving cream. Yet, I was still surprised that he painted himself and then tried to "stamp" his arm on the paper.

Watercolor Painting - Red and Blue in Small Tin Palettes

Max and Sebastien started off the watercolor painting in the tin palette's with a little painting, a lot of dumping, and Sebastien added in some splashing and hand stamping.

Theo took his time coming over to the paint but once there he worked through what colors he was using. Blue and yellow were the two mentioned most often. Theo understood quickly that the little brushes had to be dipped in the paint often to get more color on the paper. He also started experimenting with mixing colors on the palette. For Theo this was his first experience with the watercolors presented on the palettes which seemed to capture his attention longer than his fellow Wednesday play-group friends.