Blown Dye Art: A Fun School Art Lesson for Kids

Kids will love this simple blown dye painting idea. Using just paper, colourful dye and a straw, children can create wild, colourful patterns while learning how colour, movement and air can change a painting.

What you will need

• Paper, preferably thicker art paper

• Water-soluble food dye or school art dye

• Red, yellow and blue dye

• Drinking straws

• Aprons

• Newspaper or a table cover

• Paper towels for spills

Let's get started

1. Set up the table:

Cover the tables and give each group of children some paper and two colours of dye to begin with. Keeping the colours limited makes the activity easier to manage and stops the artwork becoming one big puddle of brown!

2. Make a puddle:

Put a small drop of dye onto the paper. Don't use too much. Leaving plenty of white space will make the finished painting look much better.

3. Start blowing:

Place the straw close to the dye and gently blow through it. Watch the dye spread across the paper in different directions.

This is where the fun begins. Try blowing from different angles and see what shapes you can create. Remember, gentle blowing works best.

4. Mix the colours

Add a second colour and let it run into the first. Watch what happens when the colours meet. Once the children have had a go with two colours, try all three primary colours, red, yellow and blue.

Ask them: What new colours can you see?

5. Let it dry

Leave the paintings flat until they are completely dry. Once dry, the patterns can be used as artwork, backgrounds, bookmarks or even handmade greeting cards.

A few handy tips

• One colour with lots of white space can look fantastic.

• Don't soak the paper. A small puddle is all you need.

• Make sure there is enough dye for the children to blow across the page.

• Gentle blowing gives better control than blowing too hard.

• Keep paper towels nearby because things can get messy.

• Every painting will be different, and that's part of the fun.

  
  

  A great little Ideas for Art activity

  Blown dye painting is quick to set up, inexpensive and perfect when you need a creative school art lesson that children can get stuck into straight away. It also gives children a chance to experiment with colour mixing, movement and simple painting techniques without worrying about making the "perfect" picture.

  Give them the materials, show them how it works, and then let them explore. You might be surprised by what they create.

  
  

  Share, enjoy and have fun!