Whale Art Projects
Whale art projects can include a wide variety of materials and include 2D and 3D forms. These art projects can raise awareness about the danger whales are in from climate change and hunting. Look around your home or school for recyclable materials for your art projects, and help save the planet while you're being creative.
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Mosaic Whales
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Mosaic patterns can be simple or very detailed. The glittering ocean is an ideal subject for a mosaic, as well as your whale. For a mosaic tile or wall art, cut a piece of board into the desired shape. Drill a hole through it at this stage, if you want it to hang. For the design use pieces of broken dishes and shiny stones, either bought broken, or created by wrapping the dish in a towel and hitting with a hammer. Wear protective eye wear during this stage. Use gloves to handle the pieces, as they are sharp. Glue the pieces onto your board in your chosen design, leaving spaces between each piece. A blue ocean boarder, with a whale shape in the center, is one idea. Use heavy craft glue. Children can help with this part as long as they wear gloves. Once all the pieces are glued, spread cement-based grout over your piece, while wearing gloves, and make sure it gets in between all of your pieces of shard. Once covered, use a toothbrush to rub off the grout from your colored pieces. Let it set overnight before hanging.
Another mosaic art project, with less mess, is to use colored cardboard as the base and cut out pieces of paper to create your design. Tissue, wrapping paper, scrapbooking, and construction paper all work well. Cut them into random small shapes and glue them onto your background, leaving spaces in between.
Soft Whale Projects
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A sock can become a soft whale art project. Scraps of old clothing or fabric can be turned into creative whale art projects. For a beanbag whale, use a piece of blue or grey material and cut out two whale shapes about 5 or 6 inches long. Sew along the edges, leaving an inch open at the bottom for filling. At this stage, decide what accessories you want to attach to your whale. Soft or googly eyes, a blow hole, or flower can be glued or sewn onto your whale. Fill with beans or rice, and sew up the bottom.
For another soft whale, use a sock that has no holes. A white sock may look like a Beluga Whale, while a blue one can resemble a Blue Whale. Stuff the sock almost all the way to the end, leaving 2 to 3 inches that you can then tie off with a rubber band to create the tail. The heel of the sock is the top of the whale`s head. Use the toe of the sock as the mouth, pushing it in and gluing it to create a lip. Fins can be added from foam, construction paper, or fabric. Add googly, fabric or paper eyes.
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Whale Finger Paintings
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Younger children can have fun finger painting a whale. Use heavy construction or painting paper as the background. Have a number of colors available, as well as some pictures of whales for reference. Children can finger paint the ocean as well as whales swimming around the page.
Finger print whales are another idea for children. Use a white or blue sheet of paper and some colored ink pads. A thumb-print for the body, a couple of baby finger prints as the tail, and some fins. Once the ink has dried, have the children use a thin pen to draw details on their whale, such as a blow-hole or eyes.
Printmaking
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Younger children can create their own whale art using printmaking ideas. Cut a piece of foam into a whale shape, glue a large bead on top as a handle, and have plates of paint available. Children can then dunk the foam into the paint and stamp in onto their paper. Another idea is to cut thin sponges into whale and ocean shapes for the children to use. For older children, have them cut a whale shape into the end of half a potato using a spoon. This can then be dunked into paint and stamped onto their paper.
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References
- Photo Credit sperm whale diving image by Lars Lachmann from Fotolia.com shell mosaic image by Chris Bibbo from Fotolia.com sock 6 image by chrisharvey from Fotolia.com
