Family Art Collage

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We continue to settle more and more into our rental. More things have found a resting place and the messes are now from everyday life, not the move. Our belongings have been sorted, tubs have been reorganized, items discarded or donated. I’ve left most decorative items packed for wherever we ultimately end up, however, I’m undecided on whether to hang much on the walls here. Part of me thinks it’s a waste of time since we’ll be here such a short time but the other part finds bare white walls very plain and boring. The space and our life is not perfect but things are feeling more “normal”, whatever that means.

As you know, we’ve had a busy time lately. New baby, surgical procedure and a move to a temporary residence. There were a number of overwhelming moments for me. Supposedly it’s character building so as far as I’m concerned, we’ve earned some major props for our personal development. What made it bearable was being together. We had each other, all five of us. During the mess, I had an idea for a family art project, something to do together. This piece would feature parts created by each family member (except Pipsqueak, who monitored). Each of the individual creations would be combined together to complete one larger, collaborative piece. It made me really excited.

To get the project underway, I chose a number of art mediums – acrylic and watercolor paints, liquid watercolor paints, oil pastels, colored pencils, watercolor pencils and permanent markers – and a variety of paper type – watercolor paper, cardstock and poster board – and set them out for my family. Then we all sat down together and created. It was my favorite part.

To help keep our art materials in order, I used a few Munchkin items normally reserved for kitchen/eating duty. The Miracle 360° cups are wonderful drinking cups with their no-spill-but-drink-from-anywhere rim and they are just tall enough to hold our colored pencils and brushes. The drink box carriers were just as helpful. Sure, they keep my littles from squeezing juice everywhere and their little handles made moving materials around the table easy. The divided plates were ideal as a paint palette keeping paints from blending just as they keep food from touching which can be a make or break issue at dinnertime. All

The finished piece is lovely and will be a delightful conversation piece for us for a good long time. But the real reward of this project is the memory of making, of creating with my family. In my mind, I pictured what the final product would look like and it’s better than I imagined. As I look at each piece, I remember who made it and the conversations we had. I will remember my Love Bug’s face as an idea came to her and she started adding color to her paper. I will remember my Sweet J as he explained that the monster on his paper wasn’t really a monster even though it looked just like a monster. Making is so dear to my heart and having MJ join us really made my heart smile. It’s not just the big things and days we will remember. We will remember the little things too and we should celebrate it.

 

The how to and more images below!

Supplies:

-paper
-art mediums
-brushes
-MDF board
-scissors
-glue

possible art mediums:

-markers
-crayons
-oil pastels
-colored pencils
-watercolor pencils
-acrylic paints
-watercolor paints
-spray paint
-liquid watercolors
-stamps
-and so many most!

Sit down with your family and create. Turn off all the electronics, lay down drop cloths or newspaper and dress the children in their paint clothes if you must but sit down, relax and create together. Don’t worry about the mess. There are no mistakes and there is no wrong way. Enjoy the process.

Additionally,talk about filling the paper with color, covering the white. Encourage mixing mediums. If the children seem stumped, suggest shapes or patterns they could try. Stripes, concentric circles, a grid of colorful squares. Or they could create a sheet using a red from each medium. Red oil pastel, red acrylic, red colored pencil, etc. Talking with them about other possibilities will help their creative process grow (which is awesome!!).

Amass a collection, enough to cover the surface of the board. Cut the paper to your desired shape.

Cut a MDF board to your specifications. Leave plain or paint.

Organize the shape and adhere to the board.

Attach a hanging mechanism, if you desire.

Hang and enjoy.

Munchkin rids the world of the mundane by developing clever, innovative solutions that make family life safe, easier, and more fun. You can find their products at Munchkin.com, Target, Babies’R’Us, Walmart, and Amazon. It’s the little things!