Learning through Play: Sand Art
Sand art is a great activity for toddlers, preschoolers, and
even older children. It can be messy
though, so be prepared with a tarp or create your artwork outside. The pinching and controlled work will improve
younger children’s fine motor skills and patience. They will explore the texture of sand and the
way it moves. You can discuss art,
culture or science with older children as they create this artwork.
The Projects
You will need colored sand, or sand, trays, and liquid water
color. You will also need paper and glue
or sticky boards, sand paper, and crayons.
Pencils, spoons or funnels may also be used.
If you would like to create your own colored sand rather
than buying dyed sand, it is possible. Spread some sand out on a tray and add a little liquid watercolor. Liquid water color will work better here than
food color, which tends to clump more.
Use your hands to spread the color throughout the whole pile. You can add more color if you feel the sand
needs it, but don’t allow the sand to become too wet. Allow the sand to dry, stirring it
occasionally with your hands. Be sure
the sand is fully dry before moving it into a storage container, otherwise the
sand can grow mold and will clump.
Once your sand is dry, there are many different activities
to do with it. One of the most popular
is to fill bottles with the sand. Choose
a fun bottle to display and the colors you would like to layer inside. It’s recommended to use a funnel to help
channel the sand into the bottle. Use a
spoon or pinch sand into the funnel.
Change colors as needed to create your layers. Fill the bottle as full as possible, as loose
sand will shift over time. If the bottle
is full, the pressure of the sand will keep the layers in place. Add a lid.
Although this is beautiful art, you can also look at it as a
representation of the Earth’s layers for an added lesson.
Another type of sand art that is created worldwide is the
mandala or rangoli, which are both impermanent forms of art that take great
patience and care. Mandalas are created
by monks as a form of prayer and meditation.
Housewives create rangoli as a blessing for the house. The Navajo Medicine Men also created sand
paintings, which was also impermanent.
Working with sand offers a great medium for temporary art work, which
can make the artist ponder their work.
Ask yourself how you feel about your hard work being destroyed. You can create a temporary piece of work, or
create a more permanent piece of art if you prefer. You can plan your design ahead by drawing it
on a piece of paper. You can look up
some of the designs used in rangoli, mandalas, or Navajo sand Art to get some
ideas.
For temporary work, you can draw an outline with sidewalk
chalk outside and sprinkle sand as needed.
For a more permanent piece, you can use paper and glue or sticky
boards. Remember not to pile the sand
too high, as the sand needs to touch the glue or sticky board to stick. The sand that doesn’t stick can be reused as
rainbow sand. Just collect all the extra
sand of the various colors together.
You don’t need colored sand to create sand art. Many cultures built things using sandstone
and would create works of art on these walls.
The artists would need to consider the way the texture of the sand would
affect the final product. You can
experiment with crayons and sand paper to simulate this. Remember to use crayons, not markers, as the
tips could become ruined.
Some Information to
Share
There are multiple layers hiding under the Earth’s surface,
as your sand bottle can represent. The
Earth’s layers are: the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner
core. Above the crust is the layer of
dirt and silt on the surface. Underneath
the surface dirt and the debris left with time is the crust, which varies in
thickness and is made mostly of alumino-silicates. Under the crust is the mantle, both the upper
and lower mantle. Together the whole
mantle is about 2900 kilometers thick.
Convection leads to the circulation of heat through the mantle which is
theorized to be responsible for the movement of the tectonic plates. The center of the Earth is the core. The outer core is 2300 kilometers thick and
is composed mostly of a nickel-iron alloy, with as much as 10% of the core
composed of elements lighter than iron alloy.
The outer core is a liquid, but a less viscous liquid than the
mantle. The inner core is solid because
of the pressure from the weight of all the other layers. The inner core is 1200 kilometers thick and
almost entirely iron. The entire core is
through to contribute to the Earth’s magnetic field.
People around the world create sand paintings. Some of the most common are called mandalas,
which are mostly associated with Tibetan monks, but were also made by Native
Americans. The early Christian nun
Hildegard von Bingen is well known for her mandalas as well. Mandalas are created from colored sand as a
reminder of the impermanence of life.
Work on the mandala may require many hours or days, but after the
mandala is finished, it is swept into a jar and emptied into a nearby body of
water as a blessing. Another form of
sand paintings are the rangolis or kolams created by Indian women. They are mostly made with colored flour, but
colored sand, flower petals or colored rice powder might also be used. Rangoli and kolams are made in the doorway
for two reasons. Firstly, since the Hindu
principle of dharma states that one should serve animals and humans alike, the
colored flour or rice powder might be used to feed insects. Secondly, the artwork welcomes Laksmi, the
Goddess of Prosperity into the home.
Symmetry is key in this artform as it represents balance. They also often incorporate geometrical
shapes, animals, fruit, and flowers. The
lotus is a favorite to include.
Some of the most famous art created on sand or stone
surfaces is that of the ancient Egyptian artists. Stone surfaces were prepared for painting
with whitewash or a layer of course mud and plaster. Limestone was often painted directly. This often left the paintings with some
texture. The artistic style was
influenced by even more ancient African cultures and near-Asian cultures. The styles were settled upon in the Old
Kingdom, and as artists had little desire to create their own styles, they
tended to copy the accepted art forms.
Typical colors for artwork included red, blue, black, gold, and
green. When painting gods, either an
animal form or a human with an animal head could be shown. For example, Anubis could be shown as a
jackal or as a human with a jackal head.
Images of people also followed rules.
Faces were painted in profile except the eye would be shown as if from
the front. The top half of the body
faces the viewer so both shoulders can be seen.
Arms and legs are often shown in motion.
Feet are shown with the big toe closest to the viewer.
Bibliography:
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-for-kids/0020-crust-mantel-core.php, http://library.thinkquest.org/28327/html/universe/solar_system/planets/earth/interior/layers_of_earth.html, http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Inside.shtml, http://www.namgyal.org/mandalas/background.cfm,
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