Blot Art Earth

So, as always, I'm a little late to the party and Earth Day is almost here.  I finally got around to doing an Earth Day art project with my kiddos.  I've been doing these types of paintings for years, and I see them in various forms on the web, always with different names and descriptions.  I've always referred to them as Blot Art.

The process is simple, provide your paint along with pre-folded sheets of thick paper.  Have the children apply the paint to the paper....I always use spoons, it tends to discourage the spreading of the paint which would most definitely occur if a paintbrush was the desired mode of transportation from bowl to paper.  It was an unusually chilly morning here in AZ, so my lil guy is a bit bundled for the pictures.

 

"Look, it's blue on top of green!"

 Once your child has finished slathering his paper with paint, just fold along the crease and rub.

 There we go!  "It looks like a mountain!"  Yes, yes, I know, not much like the Earth at all, BUT.....

 

...if you try, try again, you may just end up with "TWO Earths!"

 AND, as an extra bonus, you may also end up with South America!

Just a few tips.  Be sure to have plenty of paper on hand and lots of space for pictures to dry.  South America STILL isn't completely dry after nearly 12 hours!  This is truly a process-based project so don't be surprised when the children have no interest in what their finished product looks like and are simply ready to grab another sheet of paper and begin again.

Happy Earth Day!