Category: Expressive Arts

This week we have two art activities for you to try.

Activity 1: Ice Cube Icebergs

This is a little follow up to the iceberg/ stormy sea art we did last week .

I still had the frozen paint and really liked the patterns it had frozen into . I thought the cubes looked like little icebergs!

So using the iPad I took photos of them as they melted onto paper. My kitchen was warm so they melted fast!

You could take some photos using your ice cubes or make a collage using different pictures. When the ice was melted I used my fingers to pull the paint into different patterns – I still have blue fingers! You could use a cocktail stick or a fork or something else.

Remember to warm your hands up afterwards.

Activity 2: Northern Lights

There have been several sightings of the Northern Lights over the last couple of days and I loved the pictures I saw reported online and in the papers. I wanted us to have a go at making an impressionistic rendition of this wonderful natural phenomenon.

Have a little warm up by wiggling and shoogling as before – get someone to help if you like.

Concentrate on the visual stimuli in the picture below – they are beautiful pictures and really show Scotland off! Really look at the colours!

For this one I’ve used paint with a brush and with a sponge to print. You may want to use a resist technique (as we have done before) with crayons and watercolour. Chalks would also work really well. For the foreground, you could rip paper or cut out shapes and stick these on. You might like to splatter white paint on at the last stage for stars in the sky (remember to pull your fingers towards you across your brush or you will splatter yourself!) Whatever you decide to try , remember that the process is more important than the end product. Really explore the materials and media that you have to work with whatever they are!

Give it a go and let me know how you get on !

What have you learned about? Colour, impression. wet on wet painting, personal choice, printing, process

For this piece of art, you will need to start organising the day before.

You will need:

• Blue, black and white paint or food colouring. If you are using food colouring you could mix up a little cornflour to make lighter tints, gravy browning or marmite to make darker shades. Be creative as you like!
• Brush,
• Ice cube tray
• White paper

Mix up shades tones and tints of blue and freeze these in an ice cube tray.

This is a chilly piece of work inspired by stormy seas and icebergs so you will be glad you warmed up before you start!

Remember to warm up your hands and eyes before you start. Look up and down, and side to side, watch your fingers as you touch your nose, your fingertips and the top of your head. Waggle your hands and elbows! Someone might be able to help you to warm up.

Then organise your materials. You will need the shades tones and tints of paint you froze yesterday and a sheet of white paper. You may want to use a brush to push the ice cubes around the paper if you don’t like the feeling!

Here are some images of icebergs and stormy seas for inspiration but your work can be as abstract as you wish- it’s more about making a pattern with the different shades, tones and tints of blue. The process of creating an image is more important than the end product!

Remember to notice the cold hard feeling of the ice and to warm your hands up gently when you have finished!

You could try freezing other colours for different pictures you might like to make. I made far too many ice cubes – you only need a little! But as you can see from the pictures I had fun getting cold messy fingers and the effect is nice so I refroze the leftovers to do it again another time!

What have you learned about? Cold, hard, blue, shades, tones, tints.

We would love to see how you got on with your art activities so please feel free to share any photos or videos via your child’s teacher, through Google Classroom, or email Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary)  adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk. 

Before you start, do some warm up exercises to get your hands and eyes ready to create! You might want to get some help from someone who is with you.

Try shaking your hands, then touch your fingertips together, clap your hands and touch your nose. Waggle your elbows ! Let your eyes get ready to really look. You could blink three times and look at your hands while you get ready.

When you feel warmed up, you’re ready to start!

For this piece of work, we are looking at the art of British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. He makes sculptures using natural materials and then photographs them. The materials he uses can be leaves, sticks, rocks or snow and ice! His sculptures do not always last and he understands that the landscape and the weather will change his work.

As always whether inside or out, it is a good idea to organise your materials before you start. If you are lucky enough to be able to get outside you could collect sticks, cones, leaves or anything you find interesting.

Look really closely at the materials you will use and don’t forget to feel the textures.

Decide whether you will make your work outside or take the materials back home. Think about the shape of your sculpture – spiral? circle? line?

Arrange your materials in the shape you choose and take a photo.

If you are not able to go outside, you could use food items from your kitchen (an example is shown below).

If you want your work to be permanent you could glue it to paper or card. Once you are happy with your work, take a picture and if you can send it to me!

If you have access to the internet you might like to look at some more of Andy Goldsworthy’s work.

What have you learned about? Nature, sculpture, texture, shape, colour.

We would love to see how you got on with your art activities so please feel free to share any photos or videos via your child’s teacher, through Google Classroom, or email Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary)  adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk.