New York Cares Art Explorers

Forty Faces

nycarescommunityprograms — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:45:57 +0000

How fun is this project based off of Faye Moorehouse’s work, Forty Faces. This post comes from the blog of the art teacher at Clinton Middle School who posted these great pictures.

The students used their thumbs to make 40 different colored prints on paper and then assigned each print a new identity, whether it be a lion or an old man.

Painting Birdhouses!

nycarescommunityprograms — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:13:22 +0000

I just wanted to share the Art Explorer project that I worked on with the kids at the Jackie Robinson Center in Harlem. I found these cute little bird houses in Michael’s for $1 each, and the kids had a great time yesterdy painting these.

I also brought some Q-Tips, for those where you can see dot detailing.

Click to view slideshow.

As told by Team Leader Tracy Yoon

Felt Faces

nycarescommunityprograms — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:16:33 +0000

Another Pinterest find. How much fun do these look?! Think of all the different combinations you can do of faces, hair and features.

Pat the Lamb

nycarescommunityprograms — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:05:12 +0000

New spring project idea found on Pinterest!

Inspiration: Art Blogs

nycarescommunityprograms — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:40:19 +0000

New York Cares’ Art Explorers’ Team Leaders are always looking for new projects for their programs, so I thought I would do my share of scouring the internet and various blogs for project inspiration. Here is a list of some of my favorite blogs featuring children’s art projects and a few highlighted ideas.

Which one is your favorite?

Art Makes Kids Smart and Paper Construction Penguins (so cute!)
Art Projects for Kids and the Torn Paper Animal Collage
Mrs. Art Teacher! and O’keeffe Inspired Abstract Landscapes
Teach Kids Art and the perfect for spring project Blossoming “Popcorn Trees”
and one of my favorites: Quest Artists where I got this idea

Paint Like Jackson Pollock

nycarescommunityprograms — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:28:10 +0000

I really wanted to introduce the kids at my Art Explorers project to great American artists. First stop was Jackson Pollock with a project I found on instructables.com using spaghetti or yarn as paintbrushes – the kids were fascinated! We used yarn, dipping them in paint then dragging or flicking the paint on to the paper. A lot of the time the kids ended up using their hands but as long as you have a covered area and everyone is suitably dressed you should be fine (just warn your volunteers and maybe bring some spare t-shirts!) Depending on the kids it lasted around 40 minutes and they ended up with around 3 pieces each. The kids left knowing a great artist’s style and his name which was a great buzz!

What you need:
- Yarn/spaghetti/string
- Lots of paint
- Plates, tubs, etc for the paint
- Large pieces of paper to act as a canvas

As told by Elly Lacey

Pop-Up Spring!

nycarescommunityprograms — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:53:53 +0000

Using Eric Carle’s The Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up book for inspiration we created a pop-up park just in time for Spring.

Lay out a foundation of green (for the grass) on a large table and create a pop-up world of butterflies, trees and bugs simply by folding the edges of the pieces down and sticking them to the grass.

Fantastic for team-working and letting the kids run wild with their imaginations!

What you need:
- Loads of card
- Scissors
- Pens and pencils
- Decoration

(Again, a thank you to Team Leader Elly Lacey for this project idea)

Horseguard Marionette Based on “This is London”

nycarescommunityprograms — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:56:34 +0000

Quick, March!

I was inspired by the 2D-style drawing in This is London by Miroslav Sasek to develop this horseguard marionette and it’s really simple!

Draw and cut out the simple shapes of the guard – 2 legs, 2 arms, torso with pigeon chest, head, 2 hands, stick, 2 shoes and hat. Stick all the parts together apart from the arms and legs which you pin through the torso with split pins so they can “march”.

Then decorate as you (I mean they!) wish!

Great fun, really simple and the kids love it when the guards move!

What you need:
- Black, red and beige card
- Split pins/brads
- Pens/pencils
- Scissors
- Any decoration you fancy (glitter, stickers, etc)

(Thanks to Team Leader Elly Lacey)

New York Cares Blogging Event

nycarescommunityprograms — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:02:54 +0000

Last night the Children’s Recreation Program Managers hosted a special event at the New York Cares office focusing on our new blogs! We had a great turnout and received some wonderful new projects that we are happy to share with you. A BIG thanks to all the team leaders and volunteers who came last night!

What On Earth Can You Do With An Old Jelly Jar?

nycarescommunityprograms — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:35:28 +0000

A big thanks to Catherine, our resident recycling know-it-all, for sending over this fun packet of inspirational ideas for what to do with an old jelly jar. Have the students use their imagination and post pictures of what you create!

What On Earth Can You Do With An Old Jelly Jar?

Space creates might think the idea of reusing containers is an alien concept but here on Earth it’s easy to keep an old jar out of the trash and give it new life. Follow these tips to keep a jar in use and out of orbit. Or, take a trek around your home or school to find more ways to reuse old jars or other items.