2.4 Activity: “Magic Foam”

Please create a non-representational abstract art using several layers of easy processes that results in the creation of a complex final product! Think about the nine principles you just learned as you design your project and try to apply as many of them as possible.

1. Keep things complex but easy to do.
2. Layer processes within the same activity.
3. Give choices to promote individual expression.
4. Draw on strengths; do not privilege intact cognition and fine motor skills
5. Create structures to create freedom
6. Support their independence
7. Be creative yourself and use artist grade materials.
8. Celebrate their creativity, on the spot (be authentic) and at a larger, public event. Use art talk.
9. Maximize possibility for “flow” experiences:

• Clarity of minute-by-minute goals.
• Immediate feedback from the activity itself.
• Task matches skills.
• Being in control.

Don’t make REPRESENTATIONAL art like this:

Instead, try to make a NON-REPRESENTATIONAL or ABSTRACT art like this:

To do this project:

1. You MUST use the Magic Foam somehow in the project. The Magic Foam pieces can be incorporated into your painting or it can be used as a tool to create your painting.
2. You need to use additional materials that you can find (any type of paint/ink, brushes, markers, scissors, collage pieces, etc.). Please see below for some ideas.

Inexpensive art supplies you can purchase:

Painting tools found around the house or at a hardware store:

Painting tools found in Dollar Stores (we use artist grade paint, paper, and brushes, but tools can be found in recycle bins, Dollar stores, etc.)

Here are some ideas to consider when using the Magic Foam:

Perhaps…

• Cut it up into unrecognizable shapes?
• Glue it onto a paper towel roll to make a printmaking tool?
• Attach it to a small or large block?
• Use it under a layer of tissue or foil?
• Do a “rubbing” on tissue by coloring over pieces scattered on a table, & then tear those pieces into smaller pieces