Are the same old paints and brushes getting old? Want to do something fun and new? What do you know? We can make great art with a lot of cool stuff around us. We are going on a trip to find new art supplies. In this guide we will show you 10 Unconventional Art Materials.
Not just normal things like paints and brushes will do. We’re going to try a lot of different things to make our art unique and fun! There are ten cool things we can use to make art. Things like coffee grounds, gears which look like little wheels, and even rust will be used! With all these cool things, making art is going to be a lot of fun!
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List of 10 Unconventional Art Materials
Coffee Grounds
key Aspect
- Mix coffee grounds with water to create a natural paint.
- Sprinkle coffee grounds onto wet paint for a textured effect.
- Use coffee grounds to add depth and shading to your drawings.
Let’s start with coffee. Do you know what adults do when they wake up? So, when they’re done, they leave behind something called coffee grounds. They can be used to make art instead of being thrown away! If you mix them with water, they turn into a paint. You can also sprinkle them on paper to make it rough. It works like magic! Also, guess what? You can check what happens with different kinds of coffee. There may be people who make darker colours and people who make brighter colours. It’s fun to try new things!
Bottle Caps
key Aspect
- Dip bottle caps in paint and stamp them onto your canvas.
- Arrange bottle caps in a pattern and glue them onto your surface.
- Use bottle caps as stencils to create unique shapes and designs.
Let’s talk about those bottle caps. We often have a lot of bottle caps sitting around after a party or get-together. We don’t have to throw them away; we can use them for art! They look cool when we paint them and stamp them on paper. They can also be used to hold small drawings. That’s pretty cool, right? Also, guess what? We can make lots of different kinds of art with bottle caps of all sizes and shapes. There are big caps, small caps, round caps, square caps, and more.
Eggshells
key Aspect
- Crush eggshells and mix them with glue to create a textured paste.
- Arrange whole eggshells on your canvas and paint over them for a unique surface.
- Use eggshells as molds for sculpting or casting.
Did you know eggshells can make our art look really cool? Yeah! They are actually pretty strong, even though they look weak. They can be broken up into little pieces and mixed with paint or glue to make our drawings look cool and bumpy. We can also leave them whole and use them as moulds to make shapes out of playdough. That’s really cool, right?
Tea Bags
key Aspect
- Steep tea bags in hot water to create a natural dye.
- Tear open used tea bags and sprinkle the tea leaves onto wet paint.
- Use tea bags as a stamp or stencil for delicate patterns.
Also, guess what? Tea bags are useful for more than just making tea. They can also help us give our art colour and depth. They can be put in hot water to make coloured water that we can then use to paint or dye fabric or paper. What’s more, we can tear open used tea bags and put the tea leaves on our drawings to make them look even better! That’s cool, right?
Old CDs/DVDs
key Aspect
- Cut or break CDs into small pieces and incorporate them into collages or mosaics.
- Melt CDs in the oven or with a heat gun to create sculptural forms.
- Paint directly onto the reflective surface of CDs for a metallic effect.
Are there any old, shiny discs around? What do you know? They can be used to make cool art! You name itâwe can break, cut, or even melt them to make cool shapes and textures. These discs reflect a lot of light, so our art will sparkle and shine like magic!
Bubble Wrap
key Aspect
- Press bubble wrap onto wet paint for a textured effect.
- Use bubble wrap as a stamp to create repeating patterns.
- Layer bubble wrap with other materials for added depth and dimension.
Also, have you ever used bubble wrap to play? You can do more than just pop bubbles! It can also help our art look really cool. Bubble wrap can be pressed into wet paint to make it bumpy, or it can be dipped in paint and stamped on to make cool designs. It can even be stacked on top of other things to make our art look really cool and 3D.
Newspaper
key Aspect
- Tear or crumple newspaper and glue it onto your canvas for a textured background.
- Use newspaper as a collage material to add visual interest to your compositions.
- Draw or paint directly onto newspaper for a unique surface texture.
Let us talk about the newspaper! Those big papers we get every day. Did you know you can do more with them than just read? They’re also great for art! You can tear them up, crumple them up, or stack them on top of each other to make cool art backgrounds and textures. You can even draw with them!
Rust
key Aspect
- Create rust prints by placing rusty objects onto paper or fabric and allowing them to oxidize.
- Scrape rust from metal surfaces and mix it with a binding agent to create a rusty paint.
- Incorporate rusty objects into mixed media pieces
Also, have you ever seen rust? Is that orange stuff that shows up on old metal sometimes? But what do you know? Rust can look really nice in art! When you put rusty things on paper or fabric and wait for them to turn rusty, you have made a “rust print.” You can also scrape rust off of metal and mix it with paint or glue to make art shades. That’s cool, right?
Spices
key Aspect
- Mix ground spices with water or glue to create natural pigments.
- Sprinkle whole spices onto wet paint for a textured effect.
- Use spices as a stamp or stencil to add intricate patterns to your artwork.
Did you know that herbs do more than just make food taste good? Also, they can make our art look really cool. It’s time to talk about cinnamon, pepper, and turmeric. These are the spices we cook with most of the time. But what do you know? We can also use them to improve the look of our drawings and works.
Let’s do this. These spices can be mixed with glue or water. We can paint or draw with this mix after that. It’s like painting with colours from the outdoors! What’s even cooler? Whole spices can be mixed into wet paint to make it feel bumpy and interesting.
Fabric Scraps
key Aspect
- Glue or sew fabric scraps onto canvas or paper to create collages.
- Use fabric dye or paint to alter the colors of your fabric scraps.
- Layer fabric scraps with other materials for added depth and dimension.
Let’s talk about another fun thing we can do with our art. Do you happen to have any extra fabric lying around? It could be from when mum or dad were sewing? Yes, those pieces of fabric can be used to make our art even better!
These bits of fabric can be stuck on paper or canvas or sewn on. It’s like putting together a bright puzzle! And if we want to, we can use special paint or dye to change the colour of our fabric scraps. That way, our art will look like nothing else!
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Verdict
We might make something completely different, like a colourful scenery made of coffee grounds or a sea made of bubble wrap. What do you know? When we let our imaginations run wild, the options are endless!
Also, guess what? We can also show our friends what we’ve made! They can see the cool art we made with coffee grounds and bubble wrap. Maybe they’ll want to give it a try! Oh, let’s have fun and be creative with these strange art supplies! đ¨
