This past week was Halloween and Day of the Dead. So at R-tworx we explored Sugar Skulls made out of black paper and pastels. At first I had the kids draw some designs on a template before moving to the black paper. It was a great exercise in learning about the shape of the human skull… though a few kids were a little grossed out by the idea that there are no nose bones in the skull. 🙂
This activity was inspired by:
Deep Space Sparkle’s Katrina Paintings
Craft
Paint a piece of paper with water and then use a dropper to drop coloured water onto the paper.
Activity
Pour milk onto a plate, add drops of food colouring and then add drops of dish soap to watch the colours mix. (Note: it said any kind of dish soap would work but I tried 2 different kinds and didn’t really get the results I had seen on Facebook. It might be trial and error with which kind works the best)
Spray bottles filled with coloured water. Kids seem to love spraying things!!
Last week at R-tworx we created our own duct tapes wallets. It was sticky and surprisingly messy! We all had a great time. Have a go at creating your own duct tape wallet or purse… or maybe even shoes and clothes? Let us know how they turn out!
Cheers!
A jack-o’-lantern (sometimes also spelled Jack O’Lantern) is typically a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with the holiday Halloween. Typically the top is cut off, and the inside flesh then scooped out; an image, usually a monstrous face, is carved onto the outside surface, and the lid replaced. During the night, a candle is placed inside to illuminate the effect. The term is not particularly common outside North America, although the practice of carving lanterns for Halloween is.
In folklore, the myth says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen, when he met the Devil, who claimed it was time for him to die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting the Devil with a chance to bedevil the church-going villagers chasing him.
Jack told the Devil to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods (the Devil could take on any shape he wanted); later, when the coin/Devil disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who had stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack’s wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack had closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped.
Jack only lets the Devil go when he agrees never to take his soul. After a while the thief died, as all living things do. Of course, his life had been too sinful for Jack to go to heaven; however, the Devil had promised not to take his soul, and so he was barred from Hell as well. Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and the Devil mockingly tossed him an ember that would never burn out from the flames of hell. Jack carved out one of his turnips (which was his favorite food), put the ember inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place.
He became known as “Jack of the Lantern”, or Jack-o’-Lantern.
Visit: How to make a pinch pot HERE
Our first R-tworx session of the season began with bold colors and interesting textures inspired by the art of Wassily Kandinsky. This artist is best known for his painting “Concentric Circles” which is the most reproduced abstract artworks in the world! Our students played with bold rainbow colours and texture plates to achieve a layered background. The circles were painted on separate paper, cut and assembled after their backgrounds had dried. The class had children from ages 6 -12 and each child was able to contribute a stunning and original piece. For a complete tutorial please visit: HERE
Last Thursday Rachel and the kids tried their hand at watercolour on canvas. I must say, the results turned out very well! This week will be our last R-tworx session before the Summer Club begins. I just can’t wait! Hope to see you all there.
Cheers,
Jenn S.
This week at R-tworkz we decided to splatter paint! It was super fun but it does tend to get a little messy, it’s definitely an outside project! And don’t forget washable paint! We also modge podged boxes for Father’s Day over all it was an awesome day for art!
Our garden is beginning to take shape. In the last month we started our seedlings, did our Spring Clean Up, chose our bedding plants, made clay pot wind chimes and have now hung the fairy houses. (I couldn’t find enough large bird houses for everyone… so the children are quite excited to have fairies instead.) Please enjoy these progress photographs. Next week we plant our rainbows!
This week for R-tworkz we made illustrations inspired by Eric Carle! The kids started by drawing their illustrations, and then moved on to painting designs on tissue paper! From there we cut pieces of tissue paper and glued it on to our masterpieces until it was all filled in and voila! We had beautiful Eric Carle themed illustrations! We’re hoping everyone comes back next wee for our gigantic cardboard box fort!
On May 2nd the Library R-tworx group practiced watercolour blending techniques. This class helped to teach the importance of painting the background first. We taught different brush strokes and water colouring techniques for background and foreground.
cfyprograms.com 