5 activities to spark your child’s interest in art

Exploring new textures helps kids develop their imagination. Whipping up some easy-to-make relief paint is a great way to help them do this at home. Once you’ve made the primary colours, encourage your little artist to do the following:

• Paint with their hands
• Make a secondary colour (e.g., blue + yellow = green)
• Paint using different utensils (e.g., fork, spatula)
• Paint a rainbow
• Etc.

Instructions :

• In a bowl, mix equal quantities of glue and shaving cream
• Add food colouring
• Stir with a paintbrush
• Paint your artwork using the glue mixture
• Let dry for several hours

Dating back to the year 1000, Romanesque art is known for its distinctive architectural style and exquisite stained-glass windows. After doing a bit of research, your child can make their very own stained-glass collection. Help them get started by suggesting they do the following:

• Read about Romanesque art online
• Choose a theme
• Find images of stained-glass windows for inspiration
• Copy a stained-glass window they particularly like
• Etc.

Instructions :

• Mix black acrylic paint with a tube of white glue and stir
• Get a sheet of acetate
• Use the black glue mixture to trace the patterns of your stained-glass window
• Let dry for a few hours
• Fill in the “pieces” of the window with coloured paint
• Let dry
• Display the finished artwork in a window

Nearly all of history’s great artists made self-portraits. Capturing their own likenesses in paintings, sketches, or photographs allowed them to perfect their technique. Your child can try their hand at self-portraiture with the help of a mirror. Before they get started, encourage them to do a bit of research:

• Find examples of self-portraits done by great artists (e.g., Kahlo, van Gogh, van Eyck)
• Look up the materials they used (e.g., pastels, oil paint, acrylic paint)
• Try to guess whether a self-portrait was done at the beginning or at the end of the artist’s career
• Describe the emotions you see expressed in the work
• Etc.

Sculptures can be made from wood, clay, wrought iron, and everything in between. As a matter of fact, any work that has volume or a relief element falls into the category of sculpture. In more recent years, contemporary artists have found all sorts of ways to integrate recycled objects into sculptural pieces. You can ask your child to do the same using items from the recycling bin (be careful, these items must be clean). Give them some tips to help them get started:

• Look up examples on the internet
• Choose a theme (e.g., the planet, love)
• Decide what materials to use (e.g., straws, pipe cleaners, string)
• Etc.

Collage is a highly popular art form that can be done with different materials—photos, images snipped from magazines, book passages, small objects, and so on. This centuries-old technique has been used by many artists (including contemporary Quebec artist Adèle Blais). Before your child begins this activity, suggest that they do the following:

• Research famous collage artists
• Choose their favourite
• Look for a common thread in the artist’s work (e.g., colour, subject, format)
• Make a collage in the style of the chosen artist
• Etc.