Summer Art Experiences

Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844-1926) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Lancaster and Philadelphia when she was young. As an artist, she was inspired by the relationship between mothers and their children. Only a small number of American women pursued a professional career as an artist in the 19th century, but Mary Cassatt persevered and became a well known and respected artist.

When you feel inspired to create artwork, here are a few activities you may enjoy:

Sketching and drawing – take your sketchbook or paper and go outside to sketch and draw. Enjoy the scenes of summer.

Look back over the art activities on our specialist website and try one of the activities that you didn’t do this spring.

Lay in the grass and draw the clouds in the sky.

Create art with the materials you have at home. Remember, you are the ARTIST.

Here is a list of creative activities by Crayola that you might be interested in doing.

Pass-Along Story. Create a

multi-page illustrated storybook. Start with a

title and cover page. Then pass the book along

to another family member, who will write and

illustrate the first page. Continue to pass the

book around, giving each family member several

chances to see what has been added and bring a

new twist or turn to the plot.

Our Favorite Recipes. Think about your

family’s favorite foods. Write a

recipe book, illustrated with pictures that show

how much of each ingredient is needed. Make

photocopies to share with relatives.

Overcoming Obstacles. Sketch

an obstacle course that uses blankets, boxes,

chairs and other household items. Build the course

according to plan. Practice moving through and

around the objects. See problems? Modify the

course as needed for fun play that is built on

creative ideas.

Imagine Dinosaur Pets. What if your next

pet was a dinosaur? How would it change your

house? Yard? Neighborhood?

Draw a picture of your house, remodeled to

accommodate this new pet.

New Super-Healthy, Best-Tasting Breakfast.

Imagine you are responsible for

inventing a new breakfast food that is highly

nutritious, fast to fix, and most importantly—

kids’ favorite. What would this new food be

made of? What would it be named? Create an

advertisement that will show other kids how good

it is.

That’s Our Song. Pick a favorite

song and customize the lyrics to insert family

members’ names or tell a personalized tale with

that tune. Write, illustrate, and perform your new version

Dream Car. Design a new car

that fits your family’s wildest dreams. Love the

beach? Then design a car that surfs the waves.

Always in a hurry? How could your new car fly?

Worried about gas prices? Design a car run on

alternative fuels. Draw to show the

new shape and functions of this special auto.

Perfect Planet. Pretend that scientists just

discovered a new planet in a far-away galaxy. They

call it the “Perfect Planet” since life on the planet

is ideal. What would it look

like? What plants and animals would there be?

How would they get along? What would make

this planet so unique?

Comic Strip Hero. Pretend you

are the new superhero in a comic strip. Draw yourself

and create a unique costume.

What are you known for? Who helps you? Who

do you triumph over? Draw a few

comic strips that show your special powers and

the problems you solve.

You Are What You Eat. Everyone has at least

one or two favorite foods. Draw a

person made up of your favorite foods. Perhaps

one has pasta hair and doughnut eyes. Would the

arms be ice cream cones or chicken drumsticks?

How would your self-portrait be different if only

healthy foods were included?

Pets in Charge. Set up this scenario: What if

pets ruled everything? Imagine if dogs ran the

schools and cats ran the grocery stores. What

pet would be president? What if humans’ jobs

were all focused on serving the pets that were

in charge? Draw this scene from

your imagination.

Combo Creatures. If you could combine

different animals into one with lots of mixed-up

features, what would you create? Would you

combine an elephant’s trunk, a skunk’s stripe, a

monkey’s tail and a duck’s webbed feet? What

might this animal be able to do that it couldn’t

do before? Pick an animal and

add a variety of other features. Give your combo

creature a new name and then create an

advertisement explaining why this new creature

has benefits the original animal didn’t have.

Shadow Pals. Go outside on a

sunny day and reacquaint yourselves with your

shadow. Stretch and see how your shadow

imitates you. What if your shadow became your

personal pal and could see, hear, taste and

smell? Draw your shadow experiencing new

adventures with you.

Choose Wheels. What if you had more

choices at the shoe store? Do you want a pair

of shoes with customized wheels, or with special

powers, so you could walk on water or through

the air? What if the new pair of shoes’ special

powers changed based on your needs? If you

are in a hurry, do you want shoes that can

sprout wings and fly? Can you reach the

top shelf? Try the elevator shoes that make you

taller. Draw a picture of people

wearing the new design.

Perfect Playground. Design the

playground of your dreams. What equipment

would it have? How would it be different from

other playgrounds? Draw the area

or use play dough to make miniature rides,

benches, tree houses and other playground items.

Drawing to the Music. Use crayons or markers

and a big piece of plain paper. Turn on music that

has various styles and beats. Try some classical,

jazz, rumba and salsa. Move your arms to the

music while drawing. How do the lines and

patterns look different, based on the musical

inspiration?

Growing Up to Be … Imagine

what you will be doing 10 or 20 years from now.

Draw pictures of what you might look like

and write a description of where you might live, what

jobs you might have, and how you will be the same

or different from who you are today.

Pack My Bags, I’m Ready to Go. If you

could vacation anywhere on the globe, where

would you go? Draw a picture of

what you would expect to see on this trip. Why

did you pick this destination? What sites do you

want to see and what adventures would you

expect to have? What unique foods and tasty

treats would you want to try?

But It’s Light Out! Look at a

map of Northern Canada or Alaska. Find some

locations where daylight lasts nearly 24 hours in

the summer. Imagine living in a

place where the sun stayed out until very late at

night. Write and illustrate a humorous

story about a young child who doesn’t want

to go to bed until it is dark outside. Include the

solutions that the family comes up with to help

the youngster go to sleep.

On Butterfly Wings. Envision

flying on a butterfly’s or bird’s wings. What would

it be like to soar through the air, enjoying

this beautiful creature’s adventures? Draw

what the garden and house look like

from this point of view. Where would you go?

How would the winged creature communicate?

© 2011 Crayola LLC. Serpentine Design®