Art Is Not What You See...

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. -Edgar Degas

Art projects like this are great for schools with very limited art budgets. I help run an art program for one of the local elementary schools. The program has a very limited budget, so I am always looking for projects that use low cost supplies. This project is a perfect!

All that is needed is copy paper, school watercolors and paintbrushes. Students crumple the paper, add a color with the paint brush, un-crumple, decided if they want to add another color, re-crumple, etc until they are satisfied with results. The only problem is the copy paper tend to tear a bit. I think just adds to finished product, but some kids got upset that the paper tore. Art paper would probably work better, but costs more. In the end, though, most of the students were very happy with the results.

This was the project I started this school year with. I read the book to the students before I turned them loose to create their art. The book is intended for young children, but I read the story to grades Kindergarten-5th. The story is a great lesson on how the art you create may not turn out just how you intended, but it still can be very good. This idea was reinforced with using materials that the students couldn't control. It teaches them that even though the materials they used didn't behave like they wanted them to, they still created a lovely work of art!