Do you recognize these materials?
I’m big on repurposing found objects into art, so when I found a plastic slide sheet from my pre-digital days I couldn’t bear to throw it out before giving it the ol’ arts and crafts makeover. If you’re not familiar with these, they’re essentially sheet protectors for slides. I showed the sheet to N with the suggestion that we fill it with mini paintings. She liked the idea, and got busy collecting markers while I chopped watercolor paper up into little squares.
Materials
- Watercolor paper, cut into small squares
- Markers or mark-making tool/s
- Liquid Watercolor Paint
- Paintbrush
- Covered Work Area
N wanted to color each of the squares with red marker. Cool!
She started off slow but steady, and I think when she realized just how many squared were ahead of her, her momentum picked up and the drawings became quite sketchy.
A full tray of watercolors was left over from another project, and while there was a rainbow of color to play with, she stuck to violet. She had a plan!
I was amazed by her diligence, and thought she’d certainly make it to the end. But with two squares to go, she called it quits and asked me to help her finish. I’m partial to keeping my hands out of children’s art, but N often begs me to collaborate with her so I helped her complete the project.
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I encourage you to look around your home for objects that could be repurposed into art. My heart melts when I hear N say, “Let’s turn this into art!” And this happens often! While store-bought art supplies certainly have their place, sourcing materials from the environment is a wonderful lesson in recycling, resourcefulness, and creative thinking.
love this!! wonderful and simple idea.
Thank you, Susan.
It’s wonderful you are repurposing materials and making them into art supplies. Our children’s favorite art supply source is the recycling bin. After they are washed, they become an endless source of creative inspiration. And it’s free!
If only I had more room in the house to store a big recycling bin! I find that I want to keep everything 🙂
Very cute. Art out of the everyday is a great way to go!
We re-used a plastic fudge container to display our mini-treasure collection last year. Not permanent art. But art nonetheless. What do you think?
http://home-adventurer.blogspot.com/2010/09/summer-collection.html
What a great repurpose/recycle idea!
I love that it’s in its own display, too. You could just hang it right up like that. I also really like doing small paintings like that. Changing the size of the canvas changes everything!
Cute idea! It would be cool to pop colorful tissue paper or sequins/beads in these slide sheets and hang as a sun catcher/stained glass art! Anything you could put under contact paper you could use, but this would give it a whole new dimension! Does anyone use slides anymore?