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Outdoor art activites

By Jack Cantey

Fort Wayne Reader

2006-07-10

An Official News Bulletin for parents: It's summer. It's hot. And it's time to tell the kids to stop watching TV and get outside. Why not give them—and yourself—a good reason to spend more time outside this summer? Why not art?

Listed below are several outdoor art activities that will engage your child's (or your little sibling’s) mind and body this summer. They will also sneak in side-by-side learning opportunities for children and parents under the guise of “fun in the sun.” The activities are broken down into four age groups and can be adapted for any experience level.

Included in each section are recommended books that can help expand the lessons, as well as basic material lists with prices. All books listed are available at Allen County Public Library locations; prices for materials are quoted from local art and specialty supply stores.


Ages 2- 5

Draw What You See

Materials:
Sketchbook ($2 and up; various sizes)
Assortment of pencils, crayons, markers, etc. (why buy more? check between your couch cushions)

Picasso once said, “I used to draw like Raphael, but it has taken me a whole lifetime to learn to draw like a child.”

Learning to draw—to recognize and represent the visible world—is crucial for a child's education. Is there a better place to energize a child's eyes than the zoo? For your family's next visit to the zoo, tuck a small sketchbook and drawing utensils in a bag. (I recommend a sketchbook because, unlike loose paper, it illustrates the progress of the child's drawing skills and is easier to carry from place to place.) This setting is a wonderful opportunity to explore a large variety of lines, shapes, colors, and textures with a young child. Later, at home or at school, favorite drawings can be turned into paintings or sculptures. If weather gets in the way of a planned zoo visit, the Botanical Gardens downtown also offer a rich visual world for your child to explore.

Suggested Reading:
Drawing with Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too, by Mona Brookes. (This book is great for the parent who has never been able to draw, but wouldn't mind picking up a few fundamentals.)


Ages 6 – 10

Backyard Pollock Paintings

Materials:
Tag or mat boards, 6-ply or greater (less than $1 and up; various colors)
Washable paint ($3-4 per pint; various colors)
Assortment of brushes (less than $1 and up)

Earlier this year I was walking through an exhibition with my six year-old niece. She spotted something on the wall that excited her: “That's Jackson Pollock!” After getting over my shock that she recognized Pollock's work, I asked her why she liked his paintings.

“Because they're messy. I like messy stuff.”

Okay, so Clement Greenberg my niece is not, but she does have a point. Wasn't it the wildness (my grown-up synonym for “messiness”) of Pollock's large canvases that first attracted me to his work as a teenager?Creating a painting in this style is perfect for elementary-age children, as it is an activity that requires high levels of energy and abandon.

To begin, simply place a board of any color (I recommend beginning with white) on grass or concrete, squirt a few colors of paint into plastic cups, and watch as your child literally gets into the flow of things. A background in painting is not required, as the primary techniques of this activity are dripping, flicking, pouring, and slashing. Add some texture when you've finished painting by sprinkling sand on the board. Finally, you simply leave it out to dry. Trust me, it will be difficult not to jump in and create your own Pollock-like painting.

Suggested Reading:
Action Jackson, by Jan Greenberg.
Express Yourself!: Activities and Adventures in Expressionism, by Raimondo Joyce.
(The latter book, which explores expressionist artists from van Gogh to de Kooning, is a good book for older elementary students.)

Underwater Photography Adventures

Materials:
Waterproof disposable camera ($12-15, plus processing)

The neighborhood pool and the lake are two of the most popular summer spots for families. Purchasing a waterproof disposable camera for your child allows them to get aquatically creative, without the danger of the family camera becoming aquatically defunct. If this is your child's first camera, you can teach them simple rules of composing portraits. The prints from the camera could also jump start a larger project, such as a personal scrapbook or journal.

Suggested Reading:
At the Pool, by Mandy Stanley.
The Tall, Tall, Slide, by Michael Dahl.
(Both of these picture books are recommended for younger elementary students.)


Ages 11 – 14

Fort Wayne: The Video Game!

Materials:
Grid paper sketchbook (less than $5)
Artist's pen sets ($6 and up; various colors)

Does it seem impossible to get your young teen's mind off of video games and the worlds that inhabit those small gaming boxes? Perhaps there are ways to transform your child's passion for video games into more imaginative and constructive experiences this summer. One possible activity is to create an idea for a video game featuring Fort Wayne locations such as the Lawton Park skate park, the Old Fort, or even your neighborhood. Inspiration for characters can also be found at the chosen sites. A simple grid paper sketchbook and artist's pens are ideal materials for early, on-location sketches. If your teen's interests run more toward the literary, encourage them to create studies for video game settings and characters through on-site writings.

Suggested Reading:
Ferguson's Careers in Focus: Computer and Video Game Design.


Checkmate

Materials:
Self-hardening clay ($7-8 per 5lb. box; various colors)
Plastic modeling tools ($2 per set)

If you're looking for a way to take your young teen's interest away from games played solely on a monitor, check out chess. While the strategies can be complicated, the game pieces and their moves are easy to learn. One method of teaching the fundamentals of chess is to create a chess set of your own with your child. Using self-hardening clay, hand build and sculpt pieces with simple, plastic modeling tools. Once the clay has set, a variety of paints and mixed media materials can be used to add colorful, decorative touches. You also don't have to stick with the traditional black vs. white structure. Why not try a different set of foes, like girls vs. boys, Cubs vs. White Sox, or vampires vs. werewolves?

Suggested Reading:
Fun with Clay: A Book for All Beginners, by Joseph Leeming.
Make Your Own Chess Set, by David Carroll.
Chess for Juniors: A Complete Guide for the Beginner, by Robert M. Snyder.
(Don't be fooled by the title of the third book; it is a wonderful tool for both the teen and adult beginner.)


Ages 15 – 18

Real Life Exposures

Materials:
35 or 120 Film ($2-4 per roll)
Toy camera ($50 or less)

Yes, Virginia, great documentary photographs are taken outside of New York and Paris. Looking through some photo history books, it may be hard to believe, but trust me: there are dynamic pictures waiting for you around every corner. You just have to be willing to walk around that next corner. This summer, explore ways in which you can capture life in Fort Wayne through your camera. Pick a specific neighborhood to shoot on several different days, at different times, even with different cameras and film. Or try a more specific subject: a single block, park, building, or even person. As inspiration, consider that international photojournalists David and Peter Turnley created their first photographic series, McClellan Street, while attending Elmhurst High School in the 1970s. If you're bored with a traditional 35mm camera, or don't own one, experiment with inexpensive toy cameras such as the Holga or SuperSampler, or even a homemade pinhole camera.

Suggested Reading:
David & Peter Turnley: In Times of War and Peace.
England/Scotland, 1960, by Bruce Davidson.
(These are two examples of documentary photography at its finest.)