Train shirts & face painting @ circus art camp day 3

Historically trains played a large roll in the life of a circus so I thought it might be fun to paint one on a t-shirt as part of this week's camp. Initially I planned to have everyone stamp on the engine and cars then paint in animals but that seemed a little complicated for this large group. Instead I put on a pattern of the engine and 2 cars then gave them the paints to decorate things as they wanted. The older group used fabric paints and a special glitter for wet paint. They were a little concerned about the lack of wheels on the cars. Quite a few requested their wheels be drawn on as they were not sure they could do 6 circles of the same size. The younger kids just added the wheels and said " they don't have to be perfect, it is my art." Great attitude! The younger group got to use the paint markers with great results. They are easy to draw with so many embellishments appeared. The crayola ones are far superior to the other brand we tried out. We also used small tubes of quick drying fabric paint from Michaels. Again not as good as the so soft brand but many had glitter and got the job done. The kids were pleased.

Not many of the group had ever used face paints or designed their own faces. we first had them sketch out what they wanted on thier face then issued the paints, mirrors, q-tips and set them loose on each other. At first they were a little timid but all of a sudden the faces took shape. they learned how to put the paint on, how to take it off, and a little about painting safety. The results were pretty good. Take a look:





We ended the day making and decorating popcorn boxes which we then filled with popcorn and fresh roasted peanuts. What a fun way to end the day!