X
c
Open Mondays 11am–6pm | Reserve tickets now
Contact Calendar Museum Store S
Asheville Art Museum

Asheville Art Museum

North Carolina museum exhibiting 20th century American art

Explore
D

Exhibitions

Collection

Learn

Calendar

Perspective Café

Museum From Home

Museum Store

Blog

About Us

Learn more about current and upcoming exhibitions.

EXPLORE EXHIBITIONS
>
Visit
D

Plan Your Visit

Tours

Perspective Café

Facility Rental

smARTguide

About Asheville

c

Museum Hours:

Open daily 11am–6pm. Late-night Thursdays until 9pm; closed Tuesdays. Pre-purchased online tickets are encouraged; walk-in tickets are also available.
m

Museum Location:

2 South Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801
P

Museum Contact:

828.253.3227
mailbox@ashevilleart.org
Support
D

Membership

Give

Collectors’ Circle

Volunteer

Careers + Internships

Museum Members receive 12 months of free general admission.
BECOME A MEMBER
>
Become A Member!
Home > Blog > Tot Time: Spring Fun with Texture
Lily Byrd, Faces in Flowers, circa 1968, oil on canvas, 20 1/4 × 16 1/8 inches. Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Pearce Roberts, Jr., 1983.04.21. © Estate of Lily Bird.

Museum From Home

Tot Time: Spring Fun with Texture

April 13, 2020

Eric Carle wrote and illustrated (made pictures for) The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He cut, painted, and glued pieces of paper together to create collages to help tell his stories. For this two-part activity, we’re going to use objects we find around the house as tools to make texture on painted papers. Once the papers dry, we can use them to create flowers, birds, butterflies— anything we can think of!

Watch and listen to the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle:

Part 1: Painting with Different Textures

If you don’t have paint, you can use markers to color on white paper. Or, skip this step and go to Part 2 using colored papers.

Materials:

  • Washable paints
  • White paper or colored paper that is strong enough to hold paint
  • Objects to create texture: What can you find? Some examples are bubble wrap, corks, Legos, fork, fly swatter, sponge, or an old toothbrush,
  • Parents could also cut a wavy or zig-zag line along one edge of a piece of cardboard to use as a scraping tool.

Activity:

  • Once you’ve gathered your materials, prepare a place to work. This part can be messy, so you could work outside on the driveway or sidewalk.
  • Paint each piece of paper one color, or mix two colors to make a new color. Make sure the paper is covered from edge to edge.
  • While the paint’s still wet, use objects you found to create texture in the paint. Try different techniques like dabbing, dragging, swirling etc. Allow your child to be creative!
  • (If you don’t have paint, you can use markers to color on white paper, or skip this painting step and go to Part 2 using colored papers.)

Part 2: Cutting and Collaging with Painted or Colored Papers

Materials:

  • Painted or colored papers for shapes
  • Large sheet of paper to use for background
  • Scissors
  • Glue stick

Activity:

  • Decide what do you want to create. A flower? Butterfly? Caterpillar? What shapes do you need to make them?
  • Draw shapes on the back of your painted paper, then cut them out. (Younger children will need help cutting. Alternately, parents can cut a variety of shapes and let children put them together to create a spring picture.)
  • Glue shapes to a background piece of paper.

Questions for Engagement

What season is it? What do you see that makes you say that?

What do you notice that’s different in the spring versus winter? Have you seen any birds? Flowers? Insects? What colors do you see? Do you know what texture is?

Texture is the way something feels. Artists sometimes create texture on their work with paint.

^
Back
to top
Asheville Art Museum

Sign up for e-News!

f
t
i

Explore

  • Exhibitions
  • Collection
  • Learn
  • Calendar
  • Store
  • Blog
  • About Us

Visit

  • Plan Your Visit
  • Perspective Café
  • Virtual Visits
  • Facility Rental
  • Accessibility
  • Program & Event Tickets
  • About Asheville
  • Contact

Support

The Asheville Art Museum's vision is to transform lives through art.
  • Membership
  • Give
  • Benefit Events
  • Collectors’ Circle
  • Volunteer
  • Careers
  • Internships

Location & Hours

c

Museum Hours:

Open daily 11am–6pm. Late-night Thursdays until 9pm; closed Tuesdays. Pre-purchased online tickets are encouraged; walk-in tickets are also available.
m

Museum Location:

2 South Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801
P

Museum Contact

828.253.3227
mailbox@ashevilleart.org
© 2023 Asheville Art Museum
For Press
>
Copyright Information
>
Contact
>