Wintry Scene in Miniature

 

Of the hundreds of hands-on art projects we undertake, these Plasticine pictures introduced to me by the lovely Mrs. T, are by far the fan favourite. All the kids, at all of the ages and stages become immersed in this form of art.

We normally complete these works in miniature (they are very hard on the hand muscles) on little wood cookies; disks cut from a thick branch. However, we're preparing a mini art show for the end of the week-so we completed these on tiny canvas with just as much success and anticipation.

First we read 'Perfect Snow' by Canadian Barbara Reid, who completes her illustrations in Plasticine.

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Once we choose a theme-the first step is to complete the background. We encourage the artists to think about colour atypical of sky and earth and also to include a variety of colour rather than stick to solid background.

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If you watch Barbara Reid tutorials-she has tons of tips for adding texture and three dimensional elements to the art. Rolling snakes, balls and other shapes, before actually attaching them to your background.

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At the finish-we ask the kids to consider some serious detail to make the work come alive, contemplating the time of year and what nature (or in this case-the holidays) has to offer.

The littlest artists love this as process art. Mr. M was keen to layer his work, which morphed from a poppy-like picture to eventually a piece that he called 'pizza'! The theme was much less important than his manipulating new materials.

Barbara Reid has a slew of other originals and classics with her amazing talent on every page.