The topic of Lesson 4 of Mother Goose Time’s Art Studio is Fresco & Mural. A fresco is a painting done on a wet plaster wall. Fresco is the Italian word for “fresh” because artists painted on freshly plastered walls. A mural is a large painting on any type of wall or ceiling, indoors or outdoors. We decided to create cardboard murals outdoors with large sections of cardboard pulled from the recycling bin.
Frescos and Murals
Over the holiday, we were out of town during a major and came home three days later to a wet basement. So we removed any wet cardboard boxes. They weren’t too wet so they dried quickly. I decided to make use of our extra cardboard and cut it apart for our murals. Using a staple gun, I fit it all together like a puzzle and stapled it to our fence.
Our murals on cardboard don’t exactly look like Cathedral Art, but it’s our version. As a family child care provider, I’m all for making the most of inexpensive or recycled items.
Using paper plates to hold the paint makes for easy cleanup. It might not work if it’s breezy outside but it wasn’t the day we painted.
No rules, no directions, just paint! Here is a lovely painting of a flower with fireworks around it.
Experimenting with colors and design.
The beautiful beginning of a rainbow.
Beautiful flower painting. The next Monet??
I wanted to paint too! It’s an irresistible invitation to create!
The foam “paintbrush” pictured below was provided by Mother Goose Time. It’s such a smart tool. The paintbrush is simply a rectangle piece of craft foam that’s rolled and held together with a rubber band. It’s a perfect size for little hands and creates a fun texture.
I just love how the mural looks! I wish it would last longer and we could keep it up long term but not with the rain that came our way.
Clean up was easy – just take down the cardboard and in the recycle bin it goes! The paint plates go in the trash and wash up the paintbrushes and tools. Then turn on the sprinkler and wash up the kids!
It was another fab art experience with Mother Goose Time! See more Art Studio ideas below.