An Eric Carle Inspired Art Day

 

For the last year I have been extremely spoiled.  Extremely spoiled in a way only a parent really understands.  Every afternoon I had two children who napped regularly, at the same time, with minimal protests.  Let's just say that the last couple of weeks haven't been like that, leaving me struggling a bit to find my balance (and maybe my sanity!)...and maybe praying that this too is just a phase....

So what does this have to do with art?  Well it was 3 pm and after playing "catch the toddler who won't stay in her bedroom" for an hour and a half, I decided naptime was over.  We started reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and we started talking about how the pictures were made. 

Just like that, it became an afternoon of art for all of us. And it was amazing.  I can say it was the first time that the three of us worked side by side on an art project, each of us working independently.  Lu kept saying "This is so amazing!"  "This is the best art ever!"  We all had so much fun!

Want to see how these colorful little buildings came about?

We painted on tissue paper with acrylic paint, layer upon layer, letting each layer dry before we added the next.  I picked it up occasionally to make sure that it didn't stick to the newspaper below.

 We started to play around will all sorts of "tools" to add different textures:  Q-tips, marker caps, sponges, an old brush, and even the bottom of a shoe!  This was Lu's favorite part.

 The hubby came home to this...instead of dinner....

 All finished....

 Then we just cut out small pieces and used a glue stick to glue onto a piece of paper. 

 I used markers to add the details:

 And that was it!  Want to see the place that inspired these multicolored buildings?

It's La Boca, a place in Buenos Aires, Argentina...

I hope you like this special art day as much as we did!