Week 3....I choose a salt painting.  It sounded interesting and I was excited to give it a try.  I started doing some browsing on the Internet and found this beautiful picture and thought it really couldn't be that hard.  Also, noticed that a lot of the salt paintings were done in schools by younger children.  Once again, I thought I could make some really cool art for my sister who recently upsized and needs some art to fill the walls!

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The above picture is what I had envisioned, however after a little experimentation at home I realized that this wasn't working out the way I had intended.   Then in class, a peer shared her salt picture; something she was making for her daughter.   Once again, I started thinking about what I could draw and who I wanted the picture to be for.  Then it hit me...how hard could it be to draw a lady bug?  My sister-in-law has called my 9 month old niece, Bella, her little lady bug since before she was born.  We have been discussing her upcoming 1st birthday (going to be celebrated a little early due to being a military family) and she brought up lady bugs again.  That is when I knew what to do!

I started the salt painting with an outline.  I drew the outline, topped with glue, poured salt (I used kosher salt), let dry and then painted it black.  I used black water color paints and just dabbed it along.  I expected the wet paint to spread to other areas so I waited until the black outline was dry before continuing.

After the outline dried, I poured glue in the center and in the face.  Next I used a small paint brush to spread the glue around then topped with more salt.  The black outline is raised and the interior is more flat.  I did this on purpose, hoping the colors would not run together.

The watercolor red did not seem to have enough color so I mixed in a little orange.  The color was looking like a bright red as I painted, however it dried more of a red-orange color.  I wish it would have been more red, but lady bugs are orange too.  After the color was added I used a small brush to make the spots and the lady bug's cute face.  I would have to say the legs and  the face are my favorite parts.

Finally, I painted the background a bright yellow with water colors and added Bella's name in a rainbow glitter.  I thought I was finished, but shopping at Micael's this weekend reminded me that this one of a kind needed a frame.

I found the salt painting fun and relaxing.  One thing I might change is to combine the salt with the paint and then apply the salty paint to a picture.  I think that mixing it ahead of time will help the colors from bleeding together.  

After experimenting with salt paintings I would definitely use it in my classroom.  There are many different ways that you can paint with salt.

Other websites to visit for ideas:

http://www.oneperfectdayblog.net/2012/04/27/kids-art-raised-salt-painting/

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/watercolor-painting-technique-creating-texture-wit.html