Bark Art
During a weekend walk recently, my daughter discovered some gorgeous paperbark which had fallen from a melaleuca tree. She was fascinated with the bark and we spent a fair bit of time investigating it and comparing it to the bark of other trees nearby. We also talked about its paper-like qualities, and I told her about how Aboriginal people painted pictures on paperbark to tell stories. As there was quite an abundance of bark lying around, we took a couple of pieces home to paint on ourselves.
To paint on the bark we used good quality thick paint, and cotton buds as they are smaller and firmer than brushes. (Egg cartons make great paint containers for cotton buds too. Best bit is that cleanup only involves throwing it all out!) We painted pictures of Australian animals (like possums and lizards) and also worked together on a piece of bark that we covered with all kinds of insects. We both enjoyed working collaboratively on the big piece and it turned out very well. I also love activities that combine outdoor and indoor time, and especially enjoy following a child’s interest in an area. The only problem was that the activity was finished when we ran out of bark!
Great activity and very low cost too! Reminds me of when I was in year 7, we did a similar thing. A whole month of bark art, knowing now what I know about school budgets it was possibly our teachers way of making the art materials last longer.
@Nicole – I’ve done this with much older kids too, but since L was so interested in the bark I figured we might as well give it a go! And you’re right on the low cost front…
Love her finished piece, it looks so effective…now how to frame it?
Christie
I remember doing this as a kid.
Also, my great grandmother used to make pictures out of bark. Really gorgeous ones. She hasn’t for a while now, but I might have to photograph some of her work.
I remember doing this when I was little. It’s a great art activity Catherine and I like your idea for putting out the paint. We use egg cartons too! No clean up = easy.
Hi Cath! Thanks for stopping by at my page and ‘following’ me. I love this idea of bark painting. There is a park not far from my house where a few trees lose bark, so next time I’m down there I will definitely get some for my daughter to paint! I look forward to keeping up with your page.
[...] in Activities, Featured Articles, Outdoor on August 30, 2009 | no responses We had a great time painting on paperbark, but once the bark was used up the activity was over. Of course the next day my three year old [...]
hi..i really enjoy painting on tree bark. it is a lovely medium to work with and it is also free!! keep up the good work…. http://www.barkart.co.uk Paul.
My soanish theacher is having us do bark art on any picture we want;having troble deciding.