You DO NOT need fancy supplies to make art. For today’s art project I want you to go to your kitchen cabinet. Now I want you to dig through all those pots and pans and locate that muffin tin you use…oh I don’t know…once every six months…. Okay now once you find it, take it your art table along with a few bottles of paint, some brushes and a few scraps of paper. Got it all together? It’s time to call the kids over and make some Muffin Tin Prints!
Now before we get started, I want to make sure you are familiar with this term: Process Art. Ever heard of it? If you have you can skip to the instructions and get making already! If you have no idea what I am talking about will you hold up for one sec? See, process art is what kids should be making all the time and if you don’t know what it is, your mind is about to be blown! Process art is art made solely for the purpose of creative exploration. That’s right, art with an emphasis on the process and without any emphasis on the final product. Think open-ended projects with no right or wrong, no set outcome or solution to work towards, just art that celebrates each child’s individual process and personality.
Muffin Tin Prints is from a wonderful new book that celebrates all things process art. It’s called Art Workshop for Children and is by my good friend and fellow Blogger Bar Rucci of Art Bar Blog. Her site is really amazing and if you aren’t already a raving fan of hers you should get your tush over there and subscribe to her posts…it’s okay..I’ll wait… Now, back to process art….
I admit the first time I heard about process art I had no idea what the heck it was or what an open-ended project looked like. As adults we get so used to making crafts and projects with a specified outcome that we find it hard to wrap our head around the idea of just exploring for exploration’s sake. But don’t forget that creative exploration is the foundation for learning how to problem solve; in many ways process art is the precursor to a STEAM model of learning. So if you don’t know what an open-ended art project looks like, use Muffin Tin Prints as your entre to this new world. In fact, if this is your family’s first process art project I want you to take the time to do today’s project with your kids and enjoy your own creative exploration.
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Process Art Idea: Muffin Tin Prints
Materials
- Muffin Tins
- Tempera Paint
- Paintbrushes
- Paper
- Scissors
- Jar lid (optional)
Instructions
- Step One Cut your paper into small squares slightly larger than the bottom of the individual muffin tin cups
- Step Two Place the muffin tin upside down on a flat surface. Use a paintbrush to cover the bottom of each “cup” with paint. Make sure to give it a think coating.
- Step Three Take one of your pieces of paper and place it on the cup. Press down using your hand or a small flat object like a jar lid.
- Step Four Remove the paper to reveal a print! Repeat to your heart’s desire!
Tips
- Do this on a large table covered in butcher paper. It’s the best in messy, artsy fun!
- This is a quick project that yields a LOT of prints. Be sure to find a place before hand for all your prints to dry.
- Since this project is not about a final product let your kids experiment! My daughter had fun pouring paint on the muffin tins.
Ideas for the Prints
The results of process art projects can still be quite stunning as evidenced by this project. Here are a couple ideas for using your prints:
- Arrange them on a wall in a larger composition.
- If you have a large circle hole punch, use it to punch out the prints into circles. Use them for collage work or turn them into a colorful garland.
- Use the prints as colorful note cards.
So what did you think? Was this an awesome way to make art? Was it freeing to not worry about making something specific but rather have fun with the exploration? Oh wait a minute, ahem….I mean was it fun for your KIDS? Hey, it’s fabulous to enjoy this as an adult! Process art is for everyone! Now I bet you are hungry for some more cool process art ideas to enjoy with your family, right? So why don’t you grab a copy of Art Workshop for Children and have more fun exploring….
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