Small Scale Art

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We love process art. Materials are presented with no required "outcome" or result. It is quite opposite of crafts. It allows creativity to flow and art to be created organically. However, sometimes we can start process art and it is a bit overwhelming. A large, blank, white, sheet of paper with no clear directions for where to begin. This can be pretty intimidating for any artist! We faced some of those same hesitations with my boys. Just as I was beginning to think art might not be for them, I changed my strategy and lo and behold, we created art! 

  Supplies:

• Small easel
• Paint brushes
• Milk or soda bottle lids

When I suspected that the hesitation my boys were feeling may have been intimidation to fill such a (relatively) large paper, I decided to cut the paper down to a smaller size. While I could have just left them with that, I decided to take it a step further and create an eye-catching invitation to create. I placed the paper (cardstock) onto the easel and dropped a few drops of paint into milk lids (we have an entire collection of these just waiting to be used!) The small milk lids were the perfect size for this mini-painting unit! Also, for parents who fear painting messes, there's not much to be spilled from these tiny containers! Win!

What's also great about this set-up is that the paper is perpendicular to the table. Painting on such a surface promotes proper pencil/paintbrush grip (it's very difficult to palm-grasp and paint this way, just try it!). Offering a small space to create also promotes fine motor skills, as little artists can't just sprawl paint across the paper, their movements must be smaller to stay within the boundaries of the tiny canvas.

I chose to stick to offering primary colors just in case Cannon decided he wanted to use this opportunity to engage in some color mixing as well. 

In the end, Cannon only spent a few minutes with this activity, but that is a few minutes that he wouldn't have given to painting before. I see that as a step in the right direction! If you have reluctant painters at home, I hope you'll consider giving this project a try! I'd love to hear your results, too! Comment here or stop by any of Munchkins and Moms social media channels to share your results <3

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