Art School | Watercolor in the Kitchen
by Deborah Harju, posted on November 6th, 2012 in Art School
Today we are going to create homemade watercolors using ingredients in our kitchen. We explored the use of kitchen ingredients in art once before when we learned about mosaics. However, this time we are creating our own medium using food coloring.
It’s a fun way to test out techniques and mix colors, and all using things most kitchens have on hand. By the end of the lesson you will have an amazing array of bookmarks to share. You’ll want to start with several strips of watercolor paper that have been cut into pieces that are 2 inches by 6 inches. Using watercolor paper prevents the water from traveling too far, so you have a little more control over where the color goes.
Supplies: watercolor paper cut into strips 2”x 6”, bowls, food coloring, twine, cooling rack, wax paper, ice pick or other pointy utensil
You will want to mix your food coloring now into water bowls until you receive your desired colors. Below we have pink, purple, blue and gray. The more vivid the color you desire, the more drops you’ll want to add.
Take a strip and dip one side into a bowl of your choice. The longer you keep the strip in, the more color will be absorbed.
We placed our wet strips on a cooling rack with wax paper beneath to gather any drops or spills.
Once the strips have dried, you can take the same strips and do some experimenting. Mix the food coloring together a little. Dip the strips on their side. Redip the same section of the strips into different colors. Splatter the strips with small droplets. Get creative!
Place the wet strips back on the cooling rack to dry and admire your creations.
Now we can turn these works of art into bookmarks. I used an ice pick for this part but you are welcome to use another pointy object, as long as it’s wide enough for a piece of twine or yarn to fit through the hole you make. I recommend adults doing this part for their children. Take the ice pick and decide which side you want to be the top. Center your ice pick and poke a hole through.
Using the twine, cut a few inches in length and double it up.
Using the ice pick, push the twine (still doubled up) through the hole and insert the cut ends through the loop, creating a knot.
When complete, admire your handiwork of kitchen created watercolors and new bookmarks at the same time.
