Tape Resist

So a really fun activity that the kids and I did in class was using tape resist to learn our letter of the week.  I laid down "x's" with blue painter's tape and then let the kids paint all over their canvas.

The supplies we used were:

• blue painter's tape
• painting paper (or canvas)
• tempura paint
• paintbrushes
• cup of water
• egg carton (optional)

I decided to let the students work on this project either individually or in pairs.  Since I have new students, I wanted to be able to clearly explain to them how to use the brushes, how to mix colors and how to switch colors.  It was great review for the older students and it was a fun new thing to learn for the younger students.  

I first demonstrated how to hold the brush and what kind of strokes they could make.  After they understood and practiced making strokes, I showed them how to clean the brush before switching colors and how to dip the brushes into the paint.  They responded very well in this setting since there were no other students to distract them.  I was very pleased that some students already knew basic color theory and surprised that some students had never used paint before.  Even though, I've never felt that I was a great painter, I could never deny the soothing nature of painting.  Several students innocently asked if we could paint in class everyday.  It was so sweet to hear them enjoying painting and it inspired me to incorporate more art in the classroom especially projects cross curricular projects such as this.

Here are some process photos:

 

I think taking off the tape was very satisfying for the kids because it revealed their letter and the white made a great contrast to the bursts of colors on their canvas.

Here are some finished examples:

 

 

 

I liked working one-on-one with most of the kids and I wish that I did with all of them but for the sake of time, I had to pair a couple of kids together.  One student decided that she didn't want to fill the entire space of the canvas.  She like packing the color on top of the tape and seeing how that look.  One student tried to put a border around his paper and several enjoyed mixing the colors with the brush on their canvases.  Overall it was cute seeing the different thought processes that they all had toward approaching this assignment.