Conkers, acorns and beech nuts were used to inspire some wonderful artwork that included making and using natural acorn ink, collage work, colour mixing and clay work.
Making natural inks is fun! Brown acorns were collected, crushed in a pestle and mortar, gently simmered in water and then strained. The tannins released from the outer skin created a beautiful orangey brown colour. If you add an iron mordant to the original ink, it darkens the colour noticeably and makes the ink permanent. Salt preserves the liquid and gum Arabic or honey can be used to thicken it.
The artist Emma Bridgewater prints lovely natural motifs that have been used to make calendars. We used her November design for inspiration to make a frame for some autumnal collages. The children had the choice of applying the acorn ink with either a stick, a quill or a paint brush to create spikey marks for branches. They then printed oak leaves and painted on acorns using either their fingers or paintbrushes. It was wonderful to see how the children developed their ideas independently.
A collage was created by splattering white paint onto a black piece of card. A moon was added to tie in with the last super moon of 2024. Torn beech, oak and field maple leaves were used to make a leafy autumnal ground. Sticks were snapped to size and used to create little wooden houses. These collages were then adhered to the printed oak leaf frames. We had one girl who was fascinated by the planets, so painted them instead!
Clay and assorted natural objects were used to construct little woodland scenes. Conkers had white spikey marks drawn onto them to make hedgehogs, coils rolled out to make snails, tiny textured rabbits were included as were trees. The children loved using a garlic press to make the hedges.
To enhance the children’s colour mixing skills, primary coloured ready mixed paint was blended to make assorted browns. The challenge was to make the colours as similar to the colours of an acorn and conker. The latter were put into a tray with the brown paint and then rolled around a tray to make marks.
Well done everyone, a lovely, relaxed and creative afternoon!
Comments