{"id":18007,"date":"2018-04-12T00:01:39","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T04:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=18007"},"modified":"2018-04-11T23:07:22","modified_gmt":"2018-04-12T03:07:22","slug":"art-at-the-library-watercolor-salt-painting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2018\/04\/art-at-the-library-watercolor-salt-painting\/","title":{"rendered":"Art at the library: Watercolor Salt Painting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I have a confession to make: I\u2019m not a crafty person. There, I admit it.\u00a0 Whenever I even <em>think<\/em> about having to go to the local craft store I break out into a sweat. Pinterest overwhelms me. So when my coworker turned to me and said, \u201cWe should start a monthly art program,\u201d I thought, <em>of course!<\/em> We always get a good turnout whenever we do any type of painting activity. Gravity painting? Check. Marble painting? Check. Magnetic painting, fingerpainting, painting little flower pots to look like leprechaun hats? Check, check, and check.<\/p>\n<p>So yes, I am super excited to announce we are starting a monthly art program at our library and we\u2019re gleaning our ideas from the Lab for Kids books. Our first one is from <em>Art Lab for Kids<\/em> by Susan Schwake called Watercolor Salt Painting. This one seemed easy and fun, so we decided to give it a try.<\/p>\n<p>Materials we used:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>White cardstock paper<\/li>\n<li>Watercolor sets<\/li>\n<li>Soft art brushes<\/li>\n<li>Newspaper<\/li>\n<li>Cups<\/li>\n<li>Paper towels<\/li>\n<li>Salt<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We covered our tables with newspaper and gave every child a piece of cardstock. We handed out the watercolor sets and reminded kids they\u2019d have to share. Each child got their own brush and cup of water. As we handed out the supplies, I asked the kids to think about something they\u2019d like to paint, either a picture of something specific, or maybe they\u2019d just like to experiment with colors. I showed them my example painting, and explained that using darker colors would allow the effects of the salt to really stand out. I also explained that the salt would end up separating the pigment of the paint, so maybe they could make a starry nightscape, clouds in the sky, or, in my example, Snowy Day.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18008 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Snowy_Day.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"481\" height=\"571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Snowy_Day.jpeg 481w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Snowy_Day-253x300.jpeg 253w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Snowy_Day-421x500.jpeg 421w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Snowy_Day-76x90.jpeg 76w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 481px) 100vw, 481px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I tried really hard to stress the \u201cless is more\u201d tactic: less water, less salt. \u201cA little goes a long way,\u201d I kept reminding them. Then we let them get to work.<\/p>\n<p>First, we had them lightly brush plain water on their paper. While the paper was still damp, we had the kids start painting their pictures.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-18007 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-large'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2018\/04\/art-at-the-library-watercolor-salt-painting\/presalt_1\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_1.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_1.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_1-375x500.jpeg 375w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_1-68x90.jpeg 68w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2018\/04\/art-at-the-library-watercolor-salt-painting\/presalt_2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_2.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_2.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_2-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_2-375x500.jpeg 375w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/presalt_2-68x90.jpeg 68w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Once they had their picture ready, and the paint was still wet, they started sprinkling salt across their painting. Some kids sprinkled salt across their entire painting, while others were more specific in the placement of the salt.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-18007 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-large'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2018\/04\/art-at-the-library-watercolor-salt-painting\/salted_3\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_3.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_3.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_3-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_3-375x500.jpeg 375w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_3-68x90.jpeg 68w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2018\/04\/art-at-the-library-watercolor-salt-painting\/salted_4\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"481\" height=\"567\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_4.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_4.jpeg 481w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_4-254x300.jpeg 254w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_4-424x500.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/salted_4-76x90.jpeg 76w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 481px) 100vw, 481px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Once their paining was dry, the kids just brushed off the salt with their fingers to reveal the unique texture beneath.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18013 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/finished.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/finished.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/finished-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/finished-120x90.jpeg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Everyone had a great time! The parents were impressed, the kids were proud, and we were thrilled with the turnout (about 38 people altogether!)\u00a0 We wanted to do something fun, creative, and simple\u2014and we succeeded. I was also reminded that maybe I <em>am<\/em> a bit crafty after all.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">****************************************************************************<\/p>\n<p><em>Today&#8217;s guest blogger is Michelle Coxford. Michelle is a Regional Children\u2019s Librarian at the Stanislaus County Public Library system and is based out of the Turlock Library Branch in Turlock, California.\u00a0 When she&#8217;s not stressing out over program planning, or other work-related issues, she&#8217;s trying to convince her pre-teen son that she actually get paid to recommend books to kids, and that she really does know what she&#8217;s talking about.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><i>If you\u2019d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:alscblog@gmail.com\">alscblog@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have a confession to make: I\u2019m not a crafty person. There, I admit it.\u00a0 Whenever I even think about having to go to the local craft store I break out into a sweat. Pinterest overwhelms me. So when my coworker turned to me and said, \u201cWe should start a monthly art program,\u201d I thought, of course! We always get a good turnout whenever we do any type of painting activity. Gravity painting? Check. Marble painting? Check. Magnetic painting, fingerpainting, painting little flower pots to look like leprechaun hats? Check, check, and check. So yes, I am super excited to announce we are starting a monthly art program at our library and we\u2019re gleaning our ideas from the Lab for Kids books. Our first one is from Art Lab for Kids by Susan Schwake called Watercolor Salt Painting. This one seemed easy and fun, so we decided to give it&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[134,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-blogger","category-programming-ideas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18007\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}