I picked up the book 500 Kids Art Ideas by Gavin Andrews rather at random on a visit to the craft store last summer. I was sure we would need more ideas for getting through the break, and because my daughter and I both love art, I thought this would be fun to look at.
And it is, but it is quite literally an idea book, not an instruction book. It’s a book of photographs of different projects and techniques, such as painting with cotton balls, drawing your house, painting an Expressionist-style portrait or simply playing around with paint (to give a few examples from a random page I opened to). There’s a brief preview of the book at the publisher’s website, linked above.
The ideas cover a wide range of materials and types of projects, including:
- felt, fibers and more
- made with nature
- making art togetehr
- mixed media and collage
- paint projects
- paper and book art
- printmaking and stamping
- recycled and upcycled
- sculpture and 3-D art
- sketches and drawings
- art and technology
There are also a couple of pages on how to set up a creative space at home.
Flipping through the pages is sure to be inspiring for you and your kids, and it’s kind of nice to know that even if you’re inspired by a project you see here, your project (or your child’s) will be unique because you aren’t following instructions, just using the finished projects here as a jumping off point.
About the book: 176 pages, paperback, full color. Published June 2015 by Quarry Books, retail price $24.99.
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