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Meet the Artists

In this household we have 3 wonderful artists that I want to introduce to everyone. They will be the talk of most of the posts for the kid's art section.

All 3 of these artist love to do many different art activities. Some of their favorites include paint and pottery.  I let them go free with their imagination on how they want their art to be. While many of their pieces may not have the art theory at this point. I mostly want them to feel free to create and love what they do, not do what others love. I usually do the art projects with them and will have links to the adult art section that will have the same project they have done, but with my vision of the project and outcome.  We have tried many different art projects at many different ages. I have always taken pictures of them and their art at younger ages so I plan to go back and use some of these projects for posts because I like what they have done. The older pictures may not be as high of quality as the newer projects, but I feel they are noteworthy. For our children's protection, I have created artistic pseudonyms for each of them. So for the time being I picked famous artists names for them, because they are my famous artists in this home.

Michelangelo

Current Age 11

He is probably my artist who likes art the least, mostly because he doesn't like to stay in one place for too long. As a result, his art is usually rushed, but he likes doing it until he is done liking it for the moment. Besides doing some art at home, this cute kid is also a great hip-hop dancer, which he has been doing for over 2 years. He has tried all the different types of dance classes and hip-hop is his favorite. He also plays percussion in his school band. His band teacher says he has natural talent and is really good at keeping the beat when other kids just don't understand. I am sure being good at dance also helps in that area. Honestly, I thought he would quit band after the first month, especially when we went to sign up for his instrument and he said "This is the stupid instrument you want me to play. Why can't I play something cool?" even though I showed him videos of all the instruments to choose from and that was what he picked. Oh the joy of parenting. He is good at all sports and loves to swim, but didn't like doing swim team because swimming back and forth is boring. He definitely likes to keep moving. 

Leonardo

Current Age 8

Leonardo is probably the artist here who loves art the most. He will ask to paint on canvas all the time. Even at a very young age we would do abstract paintings and he would be the one who wouldn't want to stop even though he was tired because he wanted it perfect in his eyes and it wasn't to that point yet. Even now for book reports or any school project if he gets the opportunity to do something artistic, he will. The last book report page at school had art options and of course that was what he wanted to do. He choose to draw a scene from the book on a shirt to wear to class. I thought it turned out wonderful for his age. Leonardo also enjoys playing indoor soccer and to ride bikes outside. 

Picasso

Current Age 6

Picasso also loves art. She is the one in the house always drawing and coloring pictures. Picasso loves to use her art to make gifts for everyone. We will find plain wooden boxes from the craft room that she decided to paint with a bracelet she made inside of it and a love note from her. She is very sweet and always wanting to make something for everyone. Christmas is a fun time of year with this little girl. Besides making fun creations she also does dance. She has been dancing for over 2 years also. She was the one who asked to dance and then her brother asked to join her on the adventure.  She has tried all the different classes as well and loves most of them. I love to watch her do ballet, but her favorite is Acro and Pom and Cheer. The dance place we go to always puts on wonderful shows and I love to watch her do all the dances. The last big performance she did 8 different dances for the show. She has cut back to only 1 class right now because she wants to join Leonardo and do soccer. It will be fun to watch her try it for the first time next week. 

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Valentines Crayon Art Canvas

I am an Adult who still LOVES crayons. They are so colorful and cheerful. Years ago I created a piece that I love. I never planned to blog about it so I didn't take pictures of the steps on how I did the piece, so I recreated the process to share with you how it is done. The first picture is the finished product, followed by a step by step guide.

Before beginning the process, you will need the following materials. I have provided links to the brands and styles that I use, but feel free to substitute similar items. Keep in mind that lower quality crayons will not work as well, so I suggest you get the real deal and not an off-brand variant.

Acrylic Paint
So many color options, but I love this popular shade of blue right now.

Foam Brush
I buy them in bulk. They are so cheap I just throw away after every project.

Griddle
I want to buy a small griddle to use only for encaustic art. I don't like the idea of mixing tools for cooking as well as for art. A Liddle Griddle is next on my wish list.

Metal Spoon
You can use any metal spoon, but drizzle spoons would make perfecting your art so much easier. This is also on my wish list along with the Liddle Griddle.

11x14 Stretched Canvas
I buy them in bulk because when I start a project, all the kids want to do a project as well. They love to hang their art in their rooms. I always buy the back stapled canvas that have the finished look. All you need is 2 nails in the wall, hang and call it a masterpiece.

Crayola Crayons
I like they higher count box because it comes with more shades of colors. Next time I want to use the Metallic crayons to add shimmer. Comment if you try this and love it. I really think it would work well and add amazing shimmer to the piece and give your piece a unique look.

Blow Dryer
If you don't have a blow dryer or are in the market for a new one, this is the one I own and LOVE it. It has so many wonderful reviews on Amazon and is a great product for the price.

Tablecloth
This is the brand of tablecloth that I use for all art activities. The flannel backing makes it so I can continue to use it over and over again. I have another that I throw on the floor when the kids do their art projects. I highly recommend using some sort of cover as the wax gets all over the place during the project.


1st Step:
When setting up for this art project be sure to use something to cover the area you will be working. I used a tablecloth that was listed above. I also make sure to have the table cloth at least a foot higher on the sides than the canvas to catch crayon splatters. Believe me, there will be plenty of splatters you will not want to clean up.

When the work area is ready, begin by painting the canvas the desired base color. I used a sponge brush and acrylic paint listed in the materials section. Remember to color the sides of the canvas for a finished look. Finally, select the color of crayons you wish to use that will look good against your base color.

These are the colors of crayons I picked for this canvas

2nd Step:
Put pieces of crayons with wrappers removed on the spoons to begin melting. I used metal spoons on a griddle with the handles on the edge so they didn't get hot. Don't set the griddle too high or it will mark your spoons and potentially burn your hand.

I leave pieces of crayon not completely melted to give is more shape.

Step 3:

Use spoon to place melted crayons in desired shape. In my case it was a heart for valentines day.

Once in a desired shape, use your blow dryer to melt and spread the crayon around for the base.

Step 4:

Once you have a good base of color and the overall shape of your main piece, then the fun begins. Hold the crayon an inch or so above the canvas and use the blow dryer to melt it. Be sure to hold the dryer at an angle that will not melt the base again. The crayon will begin to melt and if holding at the correct angle will splash across the canvas. Tap the crayon on the front edge of the dryer to get a better splatter and avoid excess dripping on the canvas.

 Repeat these steps with all the colors of crayons you chose for the piece. 

 After all the splatters are on the canvas that you like, add more melted crayon chunks to the heart (or whatever shape you started with) to give it more depth and dimension.

Can you tell how much splatter there was on the table cloth? This is why I suggest raising the canvas on the side to catch the splatter. The first time I did this project I did not use a side cover and I had a big mess to clean up after.

Step 5:

Enjoy the final product! Remember to allow the crayons to fully cool off and harden before hanging your piece, but it should only take about 10 minutes.

This is the first one I made that I tried to duplicate. I still love it a little more. Maybe because it was my first, maybe because I like the colors. This time I tried to go more red for valentines, but I really like the pastel colors that you can get in the bigger boxes of crayons.

I hope you enjoyed this project! Please comment and share pictures of the pieces you made with this process. Happy Valentine's Day!

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Coming Soon

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Coming Soon

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