Teach Art to Your Children v 1.5

Hi Everyone! This week my daughter and I looked at ceramic tiles and enamel. While looking for paint for this purpose online, I came across a product called VanAken Jazz Gloss Tempera. We bought a few colors and followed along with a brief tutorial on the Dick Blick website. (Follow the link to learn more about the supplies and process for this week's lesson.)

These tiles are easy, no-fire tiles that the children can make. To prepare for the lesson, we used white school glue to draw designs on white tiles. The glue was to dry clear and act as a barrier on the tiles so that the tempera could "flood" into the designs. We allowed the glue to dry before using the tempera.

Before we started painting, I showed my daughter examples of cloisonné  items I had on hand here in the house. I explained to her what enamel was and showed her how the colored glass flooded the lines created by the metal wires in the "real" cloisonné.

I'm a little disappointed to report that the white glue we used dried too flat (it bled out if you will) to hold a flood of the tempera. Nonetheless, Kate had a good time painting over the glue designs and making abstract designs. The Jazz Gloss will dry like enamel...it is very thick and held it's thickness as it was placed onto the tiles. I'm excited about how the tiles will look when they are dry.. I will share pictures of them next Friday.

Until then, how about taking a few minutes to explain enamel to your kids? They can use a marker to mimic wire or metal and then use markers to color in their designs taking care not to cross the marker lines. If you want to really get into the lesson, spring for a few colors of the Jazz Gloss and some un-glazed tiles. You can make wall art, coasters or desk accessories with them. Grandma will love a set of these for sure.

Have fun with your kids!

xo

PS- Next week we will be back in our art journals, studying the masters. If you want to play along, pick up a journal and tune in next Friday.

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