Let kids create some modern art masterpieces in the bath tub, using brightly coloured foam shapes and water! Easy, effective and open-ended artistic exploration for young children and a great way to introduce a little art theory too.
We recently went for a day out into London and visited the Tate Modern. Cakie loved the enormous, wonderful, collage by Henri Matisse, The Snail, (one of my all time favourites too!) She stood in front of it examining the colours and shapes as we talked about what animal could be hiding in the picture.
The next night I set up a fun, arty invitation to play in the bath for a bit of modern art recreating! First, I made the water bright orange for a bit of fun (read all about our multi-sensory bath times here!)
Then I cut some simple shapes from coloured foam craft sheets, and tried to cut similar ones to match those used in The Snail. I dipped them in the water and stuck them straight onto the side of the bath, arranged as much as possible like the original art work!
The girls wanted to create their own pictures straight away and C made a few different finished pieces. This was her favourite one, titled Sun Peeping out from the Sky!
Pop especially enjoyed layering the pieces on top of each other and overlapping them, fascinated by the way the foam stuck as if by magic. (It’s been a while since we made this window foam art!) She busily made some Flowers in the Garden, complete with leaves and petals.
As soon as the bath was over, the foam shapes dried out and are now ready to be used again on the window, fridge door or bath again! They could even be glued down to create a large work of art together.
Have you tried creating art in the bath tub?
You may also like to see our shaving cream bath paint recipe!
Cakie: 3.11
Pop: 2.4
Bean: 5 months
Never miss out on another play idea again! Sign up to receive posts in your inbox.
Enter your email address:
Delivered by FeedBurner
![It’s Playtime [7]: Literacy Play](https://theimaginationtree.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/purple-playtimebanner2-150x33.jpg)
What a GREAT idea! I’ve already cut up foam shapes to stick on the door, didn’t think to use them in the bath! I love your blog!
Yay! Have fun with it!
Gorgeous! What a lovely way to explore Matisse!
thanks Maggy! It was quite impromptu and sometimes that’s the best way!
That’s great, thanks. I have pinned it, hope that is ok.
yes of course! thanks for pinning it 🙂
I just love, love, love this post! It says so much about what is possible in the world of art!
Thank you Deborah! I love the poster you made from it too!
I was looking for artwork to put into the kids bathroom for quite awhile and we couldn’t find anything we liked. I finally picked up a variety of the paint chip samples from different paint departments and then cut out different shapes using a cricut. I gave my 3 yr old and 21 month old a piece of white paper and a glue stick. They had a blast making their art and it now hangs in their bathroom and they LOVE looking at it every day (and sometimes i have a hard time getting them off the potty b/c they are telling me all about their pictures of shapes)
Sounds fantastic!! Great idea!
How creative! Totally love it! Was just searching your site to figure out where the traffic to my blog is coming from… haha. You’re a top referrer… so thank you for the link… wherever it is, lol. x
you’re very welcome! 🙂