Art Festival Activities Inspire Children to Express their Creativity

Since this was a large festival sponsored by the City of Paso Robles, Studios on the Park,  and several large donors who contributed to make it a success, the organizers were able to hire some professionals to provide some of the activities. Other activities were sponsored by some of the  various youth or service organizations. I believe some businesses paid to participate, such as the face painters, just for the publicity they would get, since thousands of people come to this event who might want to hire them to do parties later on.  

Here are some activities I observed at this year's event which were appealing to children. 

• Face Painting: Although the children weren't painting their own faces, this is a popular attraction every year I've attended the Festival of the Arts. There is a small fee for a painted face.
• Making Stained Glass Art: The Boys and Girls Club and the SLO Museum of Art worked together to provide this creative experience for children. The glass used for this activity consisted of bottles and glasses. 
• The Public Mural: This mural is an annual event and is inspired by the Salinas River which flows through Paso Robles. Henry AJ Ramos and the Artists Reimagining Color youth group help to direct this project. All ages can participate. The canvas for the mural is 60 feet long, and facing Spring Street.
• Blow Art: In this activity, children use regular drinking straws to blow air that directs the paint on their paper into interesting patterns and designs. One can begin by blowing gently, and then try blowing faster to experiment. One can also tilt the straw or change its length. This activity is called "Puff it Paint" in the book Scribble Art by MaryAnn Kohl, a great resource for independent creative art experiences you can encourage your children to do. It tells you how to create an art center for your children at home and lists basic art materials you will need for it. Your children will never be bored when they have leisure time if you have this book around and use it. Activities are indexed by experience level, art technique, the amount of planning needed, and what cautions need to be observed. 
• Deb's Zany Hats: This booth facilitated children making their own fancy hat from paper bags and decorating them with a variety of materials. I'm sure this could easily be done at home with what you can find around the house -- yarn, paint, glue, markers, stickers, pictures cut from magazines -- whatever you've got at your house. Making your own party hats could be a fun birthday party activity.  
• Irresistible Chalk Resist: The Paso Robles Art Association helped with this activity in which the children colored their papers with crayons and chalk. Then they traced a drawing out of the chalk onto paper. I wasn't at the booth long enough to see the whole process and the finished work, but the children were enjoying it.
• Pointillism Meets Pollock: This activity was sponsored by the Paso Robles Library Foundation. I'm still trying to understand the name of the activity, since Pointillism was introduced by Georges Seurat. Pointillism is painting in bright colors in tiny, precise dots in such a way that when the dots are viewed from the proper distance they blend together and seem to glisten. The only place on line I could find Pollock's name associated with Pollock was in conjunction with the work of Martina Nehrling, who used used bright bands of color in her work. Jackson Pollock, on the other hand, was known for action painting. He would involve his whole body into throwing and spattering his paint on canvas he had placed on the ground. Your kids might really enjoy imitating this technique. I suggest they do it outside, as Pollock did. His "Action Spatter" activity is described in Discovering Great Artists by MaryAnn Kohl, the author of Scribble Art described above. It's arranged the same way as the other book, but the projects are arranged to help children learn about famous artists and try their techniques. There is also an activity called "Pointillist Color Cards" in this book to help students experiment with Seurat's technique. In it, children use cotton swabs to make their points rather than the sponge topped bottles the children are using in the picture here to make their bookmarks. Cotton swabs can, of course, make smaller points. This is a wonderful book for parents and teachers to keep handy. 
• Rose Petal Pool Playing Area: This might require too many rose petals to try at home, but the idea is probably self-explanatory.
• Musical Petting Zoo: This annual activity is designed to help students try out various musical instruments they might want to consider playing. From brass to percussion, most instrument families are represented. The only one I didn't notice being there were the woodwinds. This activity is presented by the SLO Symphony.

In 2011, most of the hands-on art activities in the children's zone were related to various artists and their styles. As you can see in the pictures, one of these activities was related to Botticelli, who liked to make round paintings. There were other activities related to other artists' styles. Although I don't have the picture, one of them was inspired by Michelangelo. Children lay down under a table and painted on a large paper taped to the table's underside. Directions for reproducing this activity in your home are found in Kohl's book referenced above, Discovering Great Artists.  The link is in the module above if you want to buy it. Directions for the Botticelli activity are also there.

The tie dye art was supposedly inspired by Peter Max, since he was "king" of the hippy period when it was a very popular style. MaryAnn Kohl calls it  "Paper Dip and Dye" in Scribble Art, also referenced in the previous text module. You can also buy it from the module above. If you have older children, there are directions on line for making a tie dye t-shirt or other garment.

Another 2011 activity was fingerprint art such as that made famous by Ed Emberly in his many art books. I have listed those for you in the Great Art Books module above to make them easy to find and buy. Children love Ed Emberly. When I did school book fairs and home school conventions, his books flew off the shelves. 

This last photo from the 2011 art festival is the Paint Jam. A business located on the Central Coast of California brings to your party or corporate event everything needed, including the apron and easel, to paint a picture to take home with you. I don't know if similar businesses exist elsewhere, but I certainly would have considered using them when I had kids if I'd known about them. The children (or adults) have a wonderful art experience and there is no mess the hostess has to clean up afterwards. PaintJamUSA cleans it up. If you're looking for a business idea, this just might work for you.