Art & Soul: Projects From Great Art Programs

Picasso Self-Portrait (from Kids at Art)

Children ages 5 and up will love this fun and simple self-portrait exercise, inspired by Picasso’s whimsical renderings of his own face. Required Materials: A pencil, paper, oil pastels (or crayons, if pastels are not available), glue, and watercolors. Optional: colored paper. Step 1: Fold a piece of paper vertically down the center. Step 2: Looking in a mirror, draw half of your face using the pencil, and color it in with the oil pastels. Step 3: Then, flip the paper to the other side and use the pencil to draw a crazy face, making up your own version of your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, filling in with whatever oil pastel colors you wish. Open the paper to see the results—a Picasso-inspired self-portrait! Step 4 (optional): To take your portrait to the next level, cut out the portrait and glue it onto colored paper, or paint the background of the paper with the watercolors. A premier art studio for children in New York City, Kids at Art focuses on the basics of visual arts, with age-appropriate projects for each group from 2 years through adult—including painting, drawing, collage, and more—taught by professional artists. They offer holiday and summer sessions, as well as the most creative art and karaoke birthday parties. kidsatartnyc.com

Three Piggy Project (from the Art Farm in the City)

Creating a craft as an extension of a story or a book is always fun! The following craft is a creative idea to try with ages 4-8 after reading the tale of “The Three Little Pigs.” Required Materials: Scissors, glue, blue watercolor paint, paintbrush, large 12x18’’ sheet of paper, smaller construction paper to create houses and clouds, shredded yellow construction paper to create straw, a cardboard box cut into small pieces for sticks, red foam or construction paper cut into small rectangles for bricks, pink foam or construction paper to make pigs. Step 1: Paint the large sheet of paper blue to create the sky behind the three houses. Step 2: While that is drying, you can begin creating your houses.  Cut out three houses from the construction paper. Step 3: Using the shredded yellow paper, create the first little pig’s house out of straw. Step 4: Using the cardboard pieces, create the second little pig’s house out of sticks. Step 5: Using the red foam pieces, create the third little pig’s house of bricks. Step 6: Glue all three houses onto the big sheet of paper that you painted in step 1. Children can practice sequencing by placing the houses in the order of the story. Step 7: Create the three little pigs using the pink foam. Step 8: You can also add flowers, grass, curtains, and clouds to help finish your masterpiece! The Art Farm in the City is an eco-friendly and organic facility which teaches children about nature, animals, and how to better care for our planet. Their magical, USDA-licensed, indoor petting zoo has a wide variety of animals, including bunnies, chinchillas, guinea pigs, lizards, turtles, birds, and tropical fish. theartfarms.org

Impressionism Collage (from the Children's Museum of the Arts)

Kids ages 6 and up can make their own Impressionist Collage inspired by Claude Monet’s series of water lily paintings. Required Materials: Colorful tissue paper, blank drawing paper, craft glue, paintbrush to spread glue Step 1: Parents and kids work together to research Claude Monet’s impressionist water lily paintings online or at the library. Step 2: After looking closely at Monet’s impressionist paintings, imagine how a water lily pond might look in daylight or sunset. Think about how Monet chose to represent these colors and light effects in his paintings. Step 3: Now, use tissue paper and collage to try to represent this interesting mixture of colors. Cut and tear pieces of colorful tissue paper and glue them on a piece of drawing paper. Step 4: Focus on creating texture and making your collage three-dimensional by crumpling and gluing the tissue paper throughout the collage. Step 5: Show your water lily collage to friends and family. Can they guess what time of day the painting took place? Make time to go to a park where there’s a pond and flowers. Observe their colors and try to remember all of them, or record them in your journal for future inspiration for painting, drawing, or collage. The Children’s Museum of the Arts (CMA) is a nonprofit arts facility that aims to bring hands-on art programming to all children. The staff of practicing teaching artists guides young artists ages 10 months to 15 years through art projects ranging in a variety of techniques and mediums. CMA offers open hours for art making, registration classes and camps, school group visits and partnerships, birthday parties, and more. cmany.org

Paper Roll Snowman (From Imagination Lane)

This wintry craft is perfect for ages 3-6. Required Materials: Any finished paper roll (bathroom tissue roll or paper towel roll cut in half), orange felt sheet, blue felt sheet or thin ribbon, tacky glue or Mod Podge glue, q-tips, markers, googly eyes, snowflake or winter-themed stickers. Parents to Prep: Cut to size, wrap, and glue a white sheet of construction paper around the roll, cut out an orange nose with felt sheet. Step 1: Using a pipe cleaner of any color, glue each side onto the top of the roll to create a “headband” for the “earmuffs.” Step 2: Using any size and color pompoms, glue one on each side right near the pipe cleaner to create the “earmuff” look. Step 3: Glue each googly eye and your orange nose felt cut-out on the front of the roll to make the snowman’s face. Step 4: Using a thin piece of ribbon or a cut-out from a piece of felt, the kids can tie their “scarf’ onto the snowman. Step 5: Let the kids color the snowman and decorate with stickers! Imagination Lane and Let’s Gogh Art NYC provide art classes, birthday party entertainment such as themed craft parties, games, face painters and glitter tattoo artists for kids ages 2-12. They are also the place to find amazing kids gifts & toys, custom party favors and chic party decor in NYC. imaginationlanenyc.com

Frida Kahlo Collage Painting (from the Art Studio NY)

This unique collage/painting project helps spark the inner artist in kids, teens, and parents alike as they express themselves through a variety of art supplies at home and learn about the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Required Materials: One canvas or thick piece of paper 11x14 or larger, a photocopy or computer printout of Frida Kahlo, scissors, glue, acrylic or washable tempera paint, paintbrushes, glitter or decorative sequins/craft jewels STEP 1: Create a “wash” on your canvas by choosing one solid paint color—either acrylic or washable tempera paint—and apply with a paintbrush to the entire canvas. STEP 2: Choose a photograph of Frida Kahlo in an interesting pose from the internet or a book. Print this image to fit the size of your canvas. STEP 3: Cut out your image of Frida Kahlo, and glue it onto your canvas. STEP 4: With paint and paint brushes, use your imagination to create colorful patterns in the background behind Frida. Use different sized paintbrushes and any paint colors you love for variety. Be creative—there are no mistakes! STEP 5: Now decorate Frida. Add paint, glitter, sequins, and any other decorations to her dress, earrings, and hair. STEP 6: With glue, glitter, and sequins, add more decorations to your background. STEP 7: To finish your piece of artwork, you may add a decorative border. The Art Studio NY offers fun, nurturing art classes, art camps, birthday parties and art events for ages 2-10. In their tenth year in Manhattan, the Art Studio NY is known most for bringing out joyful self-expression in all of their students. They offer over 60 art classes weekly for all ages and all artistic levels in their Upper West Side studio and additional locations throughout Manhattan. theartstudiony.com