Artists often tinker with non-conventional tools to help create their art. In Motherwell’s Angus, artist Theodore Waddell uses masonry trowels and specially modified brushes originally intended to apply tar to roofs to create a heavy build-up of paint on the surface of the canvas.
Materials for the Art Center:
- Potato masher
- Dish cleaning brushes
- Toy cars
- Legos, blocks
- Combs
- Artificial flowers
- Dried Indian Corn or a corn cob
- Nature ideas: pine cones, pine needles, flowers, rocks, twigs, and leaves
Model how to make make mark-making tools with a clothespin and one of the materials in the center. With either the kitchen tools or child-made “brushes,” invite young artists to paint and experiment with the strokes they can create on paper.
Guiding Questions:
- What do you notice about using these different tools?
- How are their strokes different or similar?
- Why do some materials hold more or less paint?
- What are some other tools you might like to try?
TIP: Smaller cotton or pompom balls will hold better in the clothes pins.
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