Why Process Art?
Process art is about the process of creating rather than the product they create. Instead of trying to have children create identical projects, change it up with a free art experience. With the following projects, all you need to do is provide your kids with the materials and they’re good to go! It’s about the process of them trying new things, finessing fine motor skills, getting creative, exploring their senses, etc.
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Painting with Funnels
Give every child a funnel. Pour paint into the funnel and let them swirl their funnels around to get the paint out. It creates beautiful abstract art that’s perfect for display!
Unique Paintbrushes
*The idea for these paintbrushes came from Babble Dabble Do. We used clothespins to make “paintbrushes” out of leftover craft items. We tried different sized pom-poms, feathers, felt, pipe cleaners, etc. The kids got a kick out of the different ways each “brush” painted. I love exploring with these kids because they get so excited about the little things!
Color Art
*This idea came from The Museum School. We modified it a little bit by exchanging a few craft supplies. Purple everything: Purple crayons, purple markers, purple paint, purple stickers, purple crayons! We used them all when doing our purple process art activity as an introduction to Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. All I did was gather up all of our purple craft supplies and a large piece of white poster board paper. The rest was up to the kids! They could’ve continued this activity for hours if we didn’t have more fun planned! (We used purple, but you can do any color, of course!)
Sponge Painting
It’s as easy as it sounds. Roll out a large piece of bulletin board paper, give the kids some paint and sponges, and let them go to town. We used flower, hand, star, etc. sponges for a little extra practice with recognizing shapes.
Painting on Tinfoil
*Thanks to Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails for this idea. Painting on tinfoil is an amazing sensory activity, as well as a fun process art activity! Give the kids any paint brushes you have (or let them use their hands!), squirt some paint on strips of tinfoil, and let them play! So easy, and you probably have everything you need at home already.
Pom-Pom Drop Painting
*Thanks to Fun-a-Day for this fun idea. Give them paper, pom-poms, and paint. They can use the pom-poms like paintbrushes to spread the paint or they can drop the pom-poms to make splatters! We used large pom-poms and tempera paint.
Sticker Shape Collage
I cut foam with a sticky backing into large, crazy shapes, and then let the kids make a collage with the shapes. They’re like giant stickers! We did this as an introduction to a Henry Matisse project you can find here.
Painting with Circles
There’s a theme here – we love paint! For this project, we used all recyclable materials as our “paintbrushes” – paper towel tubes, cupcake liners, plastic cups, and pom-poms. It was a great introduction to our class about pointillism and Seurat!
Plants as Paintbrushes
This is a great way to explore nature in the spring and summer when plants are thriving. We used flowers, leaves, and succulents as our paintbrushes. It was so easy and a great excuse to get outside! Plus, it’s an excellent sensory activity. (We made fairy gardens after this too!)
Paint with Car Races
*This idea came from Fantastic Fun and Learning! We used cardboard boxes to build this car ramp. All we did was dip small cars in paint and send them down the ramp! The kids had a blast!
Cardboard Paint Spreading
Lay out flattened cardboard boxes and give kids small pieces of cardboard. Squirt paint all along the flattened boxes and have the kids spread it around. It’s a fun way to introduce color mixing, as well as practice for this really fun squeegee painting activity.
Group Canvas Art
*My art class for toddlers and preschoolers did Art Pantry’s instagram family canvas challenge. Each week we added a layer to a 3′ x 4’ canvas. It’s a wonderful process art opportunity that kids will LOVE! We did 5 layers – here are the details!
Dinosaur Footprints
We created paintings using the dinosaurs as our paintbrushes. It’s simple – just let the kids dip the dinosaurs into the paint and then onto the paper – however they’d like. For more dinosaur activities, check out this program full of dinosaur fun! You can also use pretty much any plastic animals you have. Compare footprints for extra science fun!
We have more art history projects!
Frida Kahlo fabric flowers
Betsy Ross flags
Gerhard Richter squeegee paintings
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