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In December you learned about Piet Mondrian. Mondrian’s art became more abstract over time until his paintings contained only lines and rectangles of five colors: black, white, red, blue, and yellow. I recommend that you reread that post to refresh your memory before continuing with this project.
Also in December, I posted a Mondrian-inspired painting project. The project I am sharing with you today is much simpler. It’s also not nearly as messy and requires fewer supplies. I’m pleased with how my artwork came out and I think you’ll have good results, too.
Supplies Needed:
Construction Paper: Black, White, Red, Yellow, Blue
Glue Stick
Scissors
Gather your materials. You will use a full sheet of black and less than one sheet each of the other colors.
Do not cut your sheet of black construction paper. It will be the background of your artwork and will form the black lines between colors. Cut various sized rectangles, strips, and squares of white, red, yellow, and blue.
Lay your colors onto your black paper. If necessary, cut the rectangles so they fit onto the paper. Play with the rectangles until you like the look of your artwork.
To complete your artwork, use your glue stick to attach the rectangles to the black paper.
This is a great project to do with a group of kids. It is not too difficult or time consuming, and each child will create a unique piece.
Don’t forget to check out my post on De Stijl, the art movement to which Piet Mondrian belonged.
You may also be interested to create your own edible Mondrian painting.
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Yesterday you learned about Alexander Calder, his circus, his stabiles, and his mobiles. Today, try your hand at creating a mobile, just like Calder.
Supplies Needed:
Construction Paper
Scissors
Hole Punch
Thread (or yarn for younger children)
Sticks White Glue
This is a great project for older kids who are learning about weight and balance, though, with a little help, younger children can also enjoy creating mobile art.
Gather your materials. Venture outside to collect some sticks. Look for sticks of different lengths but try to choose slim sticks rather than fat ones. Then choose as many or as few colors of construction paper as you wish.
Cut out shapes from your construction paper. I chose to make rounded forms but you can cut any shapes you want. You can even cut out fish or birds. Punch a hole at the top of each cut out.
Lay your sticks out in the order you plan to tie them. I made only four levels but Calder’s mobiles could be much larger. Often his mobiles had five or more levels. The more levels you create, the more difficult it will be to balance your mobile. I would not make your mobile much larger than mine.
Tie your sticks together. Leave the threads or yarn a little loose so you can slide them along the sticks if you need to adjust later. Next, tie the shapes to the sticks.
Have an adult help you hang your mobile from the ceiling or in a doorway. Your adult helper can also help you fix the balance of all the parts of your mobile. Start at the top of your mobile and work your way down. Slide the top thread back and forth along the uppermost stick until the stick hangs straight. Dab a little glue on the thread to hold it in place. Do the same for the next stick and then the next until all of your sticks hang horizontally.
Enjoy your mobile as it swings and spins with the air currents in your home.
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Alexander Calder invented the mobile. Because of Calder, babies all over the world are lulled to sleep by colorful dangling shapes. Calder also created an entire miniature circus which could be packed into briefcases and carried back and forth between America and Europe. He was certainly a unique artist.
Calder was born in Pennsylvania in 1898. His parents were both artists. His father was a sculptor and his mother painted portraits. They knew it was difficult to earn money as an artist so, though they encouraged Calder to create art, they did not want him to choose to art as a job.
Alexander Calder’s talent could be seen even in his first sculpture, which he created when he was four years old. As he continued to sculpt, Calder became interested in sculpture that moved. He created a duck that rocked when tapped and a train that ran down a track.
He followed his parents’ advice and studied engineering in college. Calder wasn’t happy in any of the jobs he worked after college, though, and decided to become an artist after all.
While he studied at the Artist Students’ League in New York, Calder sketched for the National Police Gazette. One of his assignments marked the beginning with a love and fascination for the circus: he sketched scenes from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Calder moved to Paris in 1926 where he began to build toys that moved. These toys eventually became his own miniature circus. He packed his circus into suitcases and performed in the U.S. and in Europe. You can see a video clip of Cirque Calder at YouTube. Calder seems like quite a character.
Calder’s interest in movable art led him to create mobiles. Air currents caused the mobiles to move. Calder also created sculptures that didn’t move. He called them “stabiles.” Most of them were made out of painted wood or metal. Check out the official Alexander Calder website to see pictures of these mobiles and stabiles.
In 1973 Calder painted a plane for Braniff International Airways. The plane became a “flying canvas.” He painted one more plane and began a third before he died in 1976.
Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to make your own Calder-inspired mobile!
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You already read about how the ancient Egyptians created such perfect paintings for their tombs. They first drew a small picture on papyrus, then created a grid on the wall, then painted a larger version of their picture onto the wall. You can do this too.
Supplied Needed:
Graph paper
Pencil
Eraser
Poster board
Measuring stick
Crayons
Draw a picture onto your graph paper. Create your own picture or trace an image from a book.
Use your pencil to lightly draw a grid onto your poster board. (Note: You could instead use easel paper or cut pieces of paper from a roll.) You should measure carefully to be sure that each square is an equal size. This is something an adult can help you with. Also, be sure you include enough squares when you create your grid. If your original picture took up ten squares by twenty squares, you should draw a ten square by twenty square grid onto your poster board.
Now you can transfer your picture onto your poster board. Focus on one square at a time. Before you know it, you’ll have your own poster-board-sized drawing!
Color your picture. When it is perfect, erase the pencil lines of your grid.
What do you think? Would you have liked to paint in an ancient Egyptian tomb?
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To create your own ancient Egyptian mask, check out yesterday’s post.
To read all about Egyptian art, click on any of the following links:
Paintings, Carvings, Sculpture, Amarna Art, Fayum Portraits
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I posted five articles about ancient Egyptian art (read them here: 1,2,3,4,5) but I didn’t post any projects. That was silly. I’ll post a second project tomorrow.
Today, I’ll show you how to create your own ancient Egyptian mask. Egyptians never would have worn these masks when they were alive. Masks were tucked into the wrappings of mummies before they were put into tombs. You can enjoy yours now, though.
Supplies Needed:
Paper Plate
Construction Paper in several colors
Large Tongue Depressor
Scissors
Glue Stick
Tape
Red and Black Markers
I cut an oval out of cardboard but you should use a paper plate instead. It will be much easier to cut the eye holes!
Begin by choosing construction paper colors. I used red and blue but any two colors will work. Draw one side of your headdress onto a piece of construction paper. You will need to use the entire length of the construction paper. When you are happy with the way it looks, cut it out. Then trace it and cut out a second copy. You now have both sides of your headdress.
On another piece of construction paper, trace the top part of your paper plate to create a half circle. Cut out the half circle and glue it to the top of your paper plate.
Cut strips of your other color and use them to decorate the headdress of your mask. 
Next, draw the eyes onto your paper plate. The eye holes should be about the size of a quarter. Have an adult cut out the eye holes. Draw the rest of the features of the face, then trace the lines with your markers.
Glue the sides of the headdress to the back of the plate. Tape a tongue depressor to the bottom of your mask so you can hold the mask over your face. If you choose, decorate the tongue depressor to look like a beard.
Now you too can be an ancient Egyptian pharaoh!
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