still life with preschoolers

 In a still life painting everyday, ordinary things become the prominent feature. A still life can feature any inanimate object. Sometimes you'll see natural objects like fruit and feathers or artificial objects like vases and jars.

While painting flowers and fruit can be a bit difficult for young children, you can help your child make their own still life with simple food made stamps...

 materials

:Bowl of Fruit (for inspiration)
:Apples
:Pears
:Scissors          
:Paper Bag
:Glue
:Stamp Pad
 to work: 
get to work

1. Prepare by cutting a bowl shape out of paper bag. Also cut apples, oranges, star fruit etc. in half and let dry or pat dry.
2. Place the actual bowl of fruit in the center of the table and explain to the children that recreating images of objects that don’t move, is called “still life.”
3. Draw a line along their paper that shows where the edge of the paper fruit bowl is. Do this for both the top and the sides
4. Dip the fruit into the stamping ink and begin stamping along the line making sure not to cross over the lines indicating the sides of the bowl.
5. Glue the bowl on last so the fruit looks like it is resting in the bowl.


a simple variation

:Instead of using fruit stamps try using various types of textured/decorative paper and make fruit cut outs. Glue the pieces along the line. The children can then glue the bowl cut out over top or draw their own with markers or pastels.