Tips for the 1'x1' mural tiles...
The kids enthusiastically hit the "tiles" of plywood set up for them to paint and the results are adorable! Since then, we've seen many children walking their parents down the fence to point out their art projects with great pride.
We chose a focus of a word primer, with words in both English and Spanish. Children painted everything from plants, flowers, and butterflies to Sponge Bob and popsicles.
Tips:
-if you have the manpower/volunteers, get a crew to lightly sand the edges of the cut plywood on Prep Day 1. If the squares aren't sanded, be prepared for splinters on Prep Day 2.
-we had about 25 kids show up on Prep Day 2 to paint. They painted 60 or so landscape tiles and about 100 wooden 1' squares in about 1 hour. Once they started, the kids worked fast!
-have two ADULTS pour out paint into plastic cups at least 20 minutes before the kids actually begin to paint. Our teens made a messy disaster because they just had no experience with pouring or dipping out paint.
-Have lots of paper towels and at least one container of diaper wipes! (see above) Have at least one bucket of water for cleaning up kids, brushes, etc.
-We had 5 long banquet tables set up and tried to get two cups/colors on each table. Make sure you cover the tables with plastic/waterproof tablecloths if you don't want them destroyed by the painting! Consider using painter's tape to hold the tablecloths down if you are in a windy area.
-sponge brushes work fine for basic painting, but it's nice to have at least a few thinner detail brushes available. Plan on tossing them at the end of the event because they will be well loved by that point in time.
-try to have 1 adult supervising/table. Little kids need supervision and help on this project mostly to keep paint from spilling or to keep the brushes in the proper paint color. We let even very young children paint their own tiles and made a point of including their smeary artwork in the final project. :0)
-for the most part, mixing colors was not worth the time and the result was a muddy mess of a color. In hindsight, I'd force the kids to stick with the pure paint colors that are given to you.
-Set up ground rules with the kids before they start.
•No painting anything other than the tiles/stepping stones. If you paint each other, you will be asked to leave immediately
•Share paint and brushes.
•Keep the brush with the paint cup.
•Only one layer of paint on the boards (paint just smears into a blob of goo otherwise... i.e. if you want a blue sky, paint the flower first, then paint the background blue)
•If you want words or names on the tiles, consider coming back and doing it in Sharpie marker at a later date. The words were hard to read unless a child was super careful during the actual painting.
-You will need someplace to set up the tiles to dry. We laid then out in the grass or on ripped open cardboard boxes. Most will be pretty dry within an hour, but some kids will pour on the paint and those might take 3-4 hours to dry. Remember that you need to protect them from rainfall, at least until they are fully dried out.
-Warn parents in advance that kids might ruin their clothing in the painting process to avoid surprises.
-Have treats, snacks, and beverages available if the activity is longer than an hour or so. It was very hot when we were doing this; someone brought us freezie pops and they were the BOMB for the event! Cheap, cold and refreshing.
-We hung the tiles after the actual build day because it was just too chaotic on site the day of. They were hung on a chain link fence that separates the park from RR tracks. Layout the designs on the grass before you actually hang them. Plan on at least 2 adults/teens to do this (although it was much faster with 6). You will need one person on each side of the fence.
-We used zip ties to hang the tiles. Because we were hanging 2 tiles with the same zip tie, we needed long ties. They are surprisingly expensive (about $65 for our project).
Photos from our Opening Ceremony showing the murals and stepping stones:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8443520@N05/sets/72157627220685531/
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