Batik

On a beautiful autumn day, we  must go outside for school!

 Last year, when Earthgirl and I discovered Art Projects for Kids, the first project we did was Batik Crayon Pumpkins.  We also made Batik Leaves, Batik Gourds, and maybe a few more that slip my mind. 

So I brought Batik to Sm'Arties.  Now the Sm'Arties know what batik is, what a resist is, and that you can dye fabric using natural dyes like tea.  (When it falls on your shirt, you call it a stain; when you toss it all over the shirt, it's dye.)

Paper, permanent black markers, crayons, and some sort of paint or dye is all we needed.  We drew pumpkins, colored them,

Drawing the pumpkins provides some practice in using perspective.

...then crumpled up our perfectly good drawings - several times!

Crumpling - the boys were surprisingly careful - I had to encourage them to really crumple.

Then we brushed on diluted brown or blue acrylic paint, while 3 moms stood by armed with paper towels to blot up the excess before the drawings turned into soppy messes.

Drying time is short on a breezy day.  The chains are holding down drawings, newspaper, and tablecloths.

I gave the children colored paper mats to give their pictures a finished look.

Earthgirl's final product

We are not finished with batik.  I have a project in planning stages for November - real batik, with fabric!  I can hardly wait.