In the Art Room: Marker Hacks in the Art Room!

Hey, y'all! Today I'm sharing my very favorite marker hacks! In this post, I'll be sharing my favorite lessons involving these hacks but be sure and listen to the podcast episode where I share even more details. Be sure to click on the link and visit the posts I'm sharing...these are free lessons and many of them include a video as well as free handouts for you and your students! Here's the podcast episode:

James Rizzi meets Van Gogh Cities! This project was a huge hit with my third and fourth grade students. What I loved is that my students had a chance to explore painting but without the mess! I did this project near the end of the year when we were completely out of watercolor paint. Did you know that you can use markers as watercolor paint?! All you do is color and add water! I loved the technique so much I did it for the next lesson too.

 Chris Uphues Hearts! This lesson began as a sub plan and quickly became a kid and teacher favorite! I know many of you have done this one in your art rooms and it makes me so happy. Again, we outlined the hearts in marker and then used paint to "wake up" the marker and turn it into paint. 

 Marker Prints! In the podcast episode I mention printing with markers and it being a little tricky when you dampen the paper. I had totally forgotten about the photo I shared above...last year we used baby wipes instead of a sponge and water and it proved to be great at getting the paper just damp enough to pull a print. You can hear more about this in the episode and definitely check out more in the link!

 I mean, how fun is that?!

 Color Diffusing Coffee Filters! I think many of us know about this hack BUT...did you know...that after your students are done coloring their filter they should LEAVE THEM ON A STYROFOAM PLATE when you spray with water and allow to dry. Why? So that the marvelous marker color stays on the filter and doesn't drain out and get on the surface below. Hear more about that in the podcast episode. 

 We attached these using paperclips and hung them in the windows of our school for Dot Day!

 Self Portraits in Kimonos! Here is another use for those coffee filters! This lesson was a kid favorite and look how precious they are! More details in the link. 

 Children's Day! These color diffusing fish came from our sponsor, Roylco. I love using color diffusing papers with markers and these were a huge hit! 

 We used permanent markers for details we wished to remain and waterbased markers for ones we wanted to spread. We also used watercolor paint for more pops of color. Notice how the fish is on a plastic bag...this is how the fish dried as well so that the color would remain on the fish!

 Again, we hung these in our large bank of windows and they looked so beautiful. 

 To attach one to the other, I used paperclips. I also used paper clips to attach the fish to the ceiling tiles. 

 Making Marker Juice! What to do with all of those dried out markers?! Make Marker Juice! Now in the podcast, I share an easy way (as seen above) and the hard, better results, way. We used these paints to create a background for our "Ain't Gonna Paint No More" self portraits. 

My kindergarteners had a big time making these!

 Foil-Covered Printing Plates! What to do with printing plates once printmaking is complete? Cover them with foil and make a new work of art! I don't talk about permanent markers in the podcast but I did want to share the projects we've done with them here. Permanent markers are great for many reasons but one is when coloring over foil. They make the most beautiful shimmery effect. 

 Dot Day Sparkle! Check out this beauty! These were made with Styrofoam plates, foil and permanent marker. 

 Foil Relief! When weaving one year, my students were stressed about the amount of waste yarn we were throwing away. We decided to keep it and then create with it! Check out the blog post for details.  

Speaking of not wasting a thing, we also do something similar with our printing plates! Follow this link for more. 

I hope you learned a fun and new marker hack today!