Art Matisse style

One thing we don't do much of is art/craft.  I have no issues with mess, enjoying the process not the outcome or ideas, it just doesn't seem to fit into the flow of our day/week at the moment.  We have done some craft and done some art related activities but I would like to aim to find a place in our week for some more.

Inspired by Red Ted Art's Kids Get Arty idea I thought it would be fun to look at an artist and then do a craft inspired by their work, thereby covering both parts in one go.  Luath is still very much a put everything in her mouth girl.  Just last week she was trying to eat a crayon (and I mean eat) so I still need to choose activities carefully. 

I had a think about what I liked when I was younger and remembered how I loved to do collages and cutouts to decorate my folders.  I then remembered how I had a few Matisse pictures on one of my folders and bingo, Matisse and his cut outs would be our first experience.

I selected three works to look at - The Snail.  La Gerbe  Polenesia, The Sky.  ( all above).  I printed them out onto 4x6 size so we could look at them together.  One afternoon during some reading time we looked and pointed at things in the pictures and I told Luath a little about Matisse, mainly that he liked doves and cats, she is in a phase of pointing out cats in every book we read. 

The next day for our inspired work I cut out some shapes similar to La Gerbe, but as I was doing this I realised it would be more fun to use Luath handprint cutouts and give it to daddy. Tracing round Luath's hand was a high speed not too successful job but I got a sort of handprint template.

Luath was anxious to help me cut out so I found some child safety scissors lurking in the craft box.  I showed her them opening and closing.  Let her help me cut  a piece of paper.  Luath being Miss Independent wanted to try herself.  She held the scissors at the paper

 but then discovered the fun of opening and closing them.

 

Later that day I covered a piece of paper with homemade glue (I made this a while ago) and then placed the handprints next to the sheet.  Luath was more interested in the cardboard I had used to spread the glue so she checked that out first.  I then told her she could put the hands on the paper.  She had a go, but it was still the gluey cardboard she was more impressed with. 


We finished the picture just as daddy got home to give it to him.

 

Spreading the activity over more than one day worked well for us.  Each part worked on its own and it kept Luath interested.  It also meant we could fit it all in without it feeling rushed.

When I was looking for Matisse images and some facts I discovered that his cutouts are quite a popular thing to do with kids, some links I found
art for small hands   has lesson plan working in the style of Matisse – cut outs
making art fun  has some links, including Matisse cookies
storyboardtoys has a lesson plan, again on cut outs, including some scissor skill worksheets
incredile art department has more lesson plans and links

Linked up with  Kids Get Arty. see what other Artsits have been explored

(Luath is 16 months)