Spray Bottle Art: Nature Prints

A great process-oriented art activity for your outdoor classroom:

Materials needed:

Flat nature objects (leaves, grass, petals etc.)
Small pebbles
Paper (non-glossy, absorbent paper works the best)
Small spray bottles
Liquid watercolor or food color
Aprons
Plastic trays (to help keep the project contained)

The Process:

1. First, collect a variety of leaves, grass, and flowers. (You will discover that flatter objects leave clearer prints.) Then lay them out in designs on the papers, weighting the objects down with small pebbles.

2. Using spray bottles filled with food color, gently spray the paper. The key is not to drench the paper with paint!

3. After the papers dry, remove the objects, revealing a beautiful nature print.

Collaborative Group Version:

The project was so successful with our class, we were inspired to do a collaborative version. On a large sheet of white butcher paper, all the kids participated in laying out a design of leaves. Spraying was even more fun with such a large surface to cover.The resulting banner was amazing!