As this week’s Monday ArtDay project proves, sometimes it’s the simplest projects that let you get the most creative! The possibilities are endless – all you need is a few ink pads, your fingers and thumbs, and lot of imagination.
Materials:
washable ink pads of various colors
crayons, pens, or markers
and paper
Instructions:
Roll the pad of one finger (yours, or that of an eager volunteer) in an ink pad and then press the finger evenly onto the paper. After you have the print, you can use a crayon or marker to add details, bringing the print to life! Use long strings of fingerprints to make snakes and earthworms, or four thumbprints together to create the wings of a butterfly. Make fingerprint people by adding eyes and noses and mouths – and, if you like, a few fingerprint hats. And don’t forget to clean little fingertips between each ink pad – otherwise, you’ll be left with a bunch of murky brown ink pads and a pair of very colorful little hands.
Tips:
If you want to see the clear whorls of the print, don’t press quite as hard on the pad – the more ink on your finger, the blurrier the print. Experiment with varying amounts of pressure when you hold your finger to the paper and get lighter and darker shades of your ink pad color. Fingerprint characters are a great way for older children to tell stories with their art, turning their fingers and thumbs into the stars of their very own comic strip.
This project is also a great way to teach your kids a little about the fascinating science of fingerprints. Even though their hands will grow in size in the years to come, their fingerprints will never change and no one else will ever have fingerprints exactly like theirs. Show them the different shapes you see in fingerprints – whorls, arches, and loops are some of the basics.
And don’t forget to send along your little urbanite’s fingerprint masterpieces when they’re done!
