Marble Art: Live and Learn

Art supplies don't last in my home.  I only have one kid, so you'd think we'd be able to make a pack of Crayola paints last longer than an hour, but that has yet to be the case.  Our latest art project was no exception.

I've seen a lot of really cool art lessons that include marble art.  The concept is simple.  Just get some marbles (or Hungry Hungry Hippo balls) dip them in various paint colors, put a piece of paper down in a plastic container, add the marbles and roll them around.  They leave neat paint trails.  I saw one website that showed the kids making spider webs using this technique simply by using black paper and white paint on their marbles.

So of course, I decide this would be a great art lesson for my son.  Have I mentioned that my son LOVES messes?  Yeah, he isn't happy unless he's covered in some form of mess, but that seemed to have slipped my mind as I got the supplies ready.

After cutting the construction paper to fit our plastic container (you can get these pretty cheap at Target and wash them out to use as storage when you're done), I asked my son what four colors he'd like to use for the project.  I thought by limiting the paint to only four containers, I would somehow limit the mess.  Yeah, I know...

So our first task was to get our marbles covered in paint.  I decided to do this myself by pouring a little paint on a paper towel and rolling the marbles in it.  (Ok, I could have walked all the way to the kitchen and gotten a paper plate, or even individual paper bowls for each color, but who has the energy to walk such a great distance??)  It didn't take long for paint to get everyone on my hands, but I made it work, got the marbles in their respective colors, then put them in the container so my son could roll them around.

It worked just like all the internet sites said it would.  The marbles rolled around leaving a really cool design on the construction paper.  Suceess!!  And the only person messy was myself!

Um....yeah....not to be content with such a simple art project, my kid decided to take matters into his own hands.

Grabbing the small individual Crayola paint container, he poured the whole brown bottle (yup, it was brand new) into the container.  Ok, I thought.  I've officially lost control over how I wanted to do this project so I might as well let him take the lead.  He poured all the red into the container, then the green and of course the blue.  So now the construction paper was completely saturated with color.  He put the marbles in and then I saw it....that gleam in his eye....pure mischievous.  I quickly realize his plan and snap the plastic lid on the container and tell him to go nuts!  He does.  He wiggles, dances and shakes that container all around the house while singing a song about marbles.

By the time he's done, the originial art work is completely covered with paint and you can't really make out the marble paint trails anymore.  However, I give him credit for thinking of putting paint in the container THEN adding the marble.  It was actually a lot easier then painting the marble THEN putting it in the container.

So here was the first masterpiece:

Of course, he wanted to do it again so in went another piece of paper and the rest of whatever paint was left.  But wait!  There's more!!  He wanted to see what would happen if we added a pipe cleaner.  Here is masterpiece #2:

By this time, my kid was LOVING the activity and requesting more paper and more paint.  I had some new paints I was hesitant to open, but he was having such a great time, I figured I might as well let him continue.  I handed over the brown paint, then went to put his latest masterpiece on the table to dry.  All I heard was "Uh-oh," followed by silence.  I turn to see my son holding the brown paint container, open, over the floor.  Yeah, he spilled the whole thing on the white carpet.

Oh well, probably won't be the last time that happens, I think and as I go to get the carpet cleaner, my son reaches for his paper towels and, before I could stop him, "wipes" up the paint by smearing it ALL OVER the place including his feet.

I just tell him it's ok but he needs to clean his feet before continuing with his art project.  The rest of the activity is me, cleaning the carpet, and him running all over the house with a container of marbles, paper and paint, singing and dancing.

So will I be doing this craft again.  Um....YES!!!!

So what if he spilled paint?  So what if we, once again, need to buy more paint because he spilled every container out?  So what if the art didn't turn out like other pictures on the internet?  I'm grateful that he was able to explore his creativity to such a messy degree! 

So yes, I was exhausted when the school day ended and there is still a brown tint on my carpet that I need to work on.  But the main thing is that my kid had a really great day!  The rest, well, it just doesn't matter that much.  :)