Painting with Duct Tape

What?!?!  You don't paint with duct tape.  You line windows and trim with painters tape.  How do you paint with duct tape?

The kids and I were inspired by a local art project we saw where we meet for our art class.  So we thought we would attempt to "paint" with duct tape.

First I picked a piece of art that would be simple and yet present a bit of a challenge, all at once.  Our art class ranges from preschool through 7th grade.  So we have a wide age range, with an even wider interest level.

I chose Fall of Icarus by Henri Matisse.  Beautiful and yet simple lines to recreate.  We also had a nice little discussion about Icarus.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love working with these kids!!!  They are super creative.  To do this project we used several colors of duct tape and watercolor paper (super thick to withstand the strength of the duct tape).

This is what the kids started doing....I told you....very creative!!!

I warn you ahead of time.  If you need fingerprinted anytime around doing this product, you may not have any left.  I spent A LOT of time peeling off sections of tape for the kiddos that didn't quite have the strength in their hands.  But it was so worth it.

1.  First they chose a color for their background.  I encouraged them to try and copy this work, but let them choose what they wanted to do.

2.  After they put the tape on their background, they drew Icarus falling on the background.

3.  Then they filled in Icarus with small pieces of duct tape.

4.  And then they added their stars.

That is the straight forward way to finish this project....these are the projects that they finished up with.  I LOVE them!!  I think Henri Matisse would be proud of these kids!!!