Process Art for Kids: Paint with Gauze!

 

Kids’ painting projects don’t always have to revolve around the ever-popular brush. Put it away. Just for now – you can bring it out later for another artsy activity. Now that your child is officially brush-less (or if her entire set of artist quality ones are currently so covered with school glue and glitter that you don’t even want to deal with them) she’ll need something new to paint with.

Gauze. You probably have some in your first aid kit. Or, if you’re a bit less organized (as I am) it’s shoved in the back of the linen closet underneath the pile of free toothbrushes from the dentist and fancy soaps that you might set out someday. If you take the gauze out and look at it up close, you’ll notice the teeny tiny delicate pattern that the weave makes. When you add paint, you get a pretty print.

A gauze print paint creates a grid-like texture. Your child can create an abstract piece of art, mix colors or make her own design!

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Gauze

·        Card stock or construction paper

·        Tempera paint

·        A paint palette – If you don’t have one, there’s no need to go out and buy one. Turn over a plastic container lid and sue that as a palette.

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Cut the gauze into strips.

 

2.     Pour golf ball-sized pools of tempera paint onto your palette.

3.     Ball the gauze up. Your child can crinkle it around her fingers.

4.     Dip the gaze into the paint. To make a clear print, your child only needs a small amount of paint. Help her skim the paint’s surface. If she goops it on, don’t worry. The first few prints will look somewhat smeary, but as the paint comes off onto the paper the prints will show more of a pattern.

 

5.     Try mixing the colors. Add a lesson on the primary colors to the activity. Have your child dip one piece of gauze into the yellow, and then another into the red. Print the yellow first, and then add red on top to blend into orange. Repeat with yellow and blue to make green and red and blue to make purple.

 

 

 

Are you looking for more art activities? Follow my process art board on Pinterest for a boar-load of fun-filled ideas or check out the Mini Monets and Mommies Facebook page!

Follow Mini Monets and Mommies's board Process Art for Kids on Pinterest.