Spin art is a childhood favorite. I don’t think I’ve ever met a child who doesn’t want to take a shot at it. I think it’s interesting that even the kids who often don’t want to sit down and work on a static art project, suddenly come alive when you introduce movement art like this.
Recently, I scored an old turntable during my in-law’s storage purge. You know the saying, one man’s trash is a teacher’s treasure! The turntable doesn’t spin fast enough to use centrifugal force like many spin art methods, but it’s great for doing spin art with markers or paint brushes. By simply rounding the edges of a standard page and then pressing the center of the page through the peg, you’re ready to create. Turn on the record player and pull out the markers, it’s time to have some fun!
It’s fun to watch the kiddos do take after take, experimenting first with holding the marker still and then adding motion on motion to create intricate designs.
I also love the salad spinner method shared by Jean at The Artful Parent. You can grab a salad spinner at IKEA for a few dollars, plus the manual spinner builds large motor skills as well.
Spin art ignites creativity and wonder while also incorporating fine motor skills and an added awareness of principles of motion. It’s engaging and gratifying, for young and old alike.
(Anyone else have a hard time doing spin art without getting Billy Idol’s Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Right Round” stuck in your head? Well, if you didn’t before, now you probably will.)
Do you have a favorite method for spin art or other motion art?
So much fun! I use to love doing this when I was a kid! 🙂
Very cool and we have a turntable in our basement! We may be doing this today if I can get it hooked up!
Enjoy! (And sing a little Billy Idol while you’re at it so I don’t feel like I’m the only one. :0)
It was actually Dead or Alive that sang “You Spin Me Round” (Right round like a record, baby, right, right, round, round). I was a HUGE Dead or Alive fan back in the 80’s – oddly, because of his pierced nose long before his time! ;o) It was remade by Marilyn Manson, I think, but never Billy Idol as far as I know.
You are so right! Thanks for the correction!
Oooh, spin art with an old turntable!! This reminds me of my former teaching days – easy, fun, and a great way to explore the science of movement. We sometimes changed it up a bit by thinning down some tempera paints (different colors in cups) and giving the kids eye droppers to squirt the paint onto the spinning paper. The movement of the fluid paint outward gives kids the chance to experiment with yet another science concept! Be sure to use small droppers, though – if they are too big, then too much paint comes out at once and spins right off the paper and onto….well, everything! Fun stuff – thanks, Amanda!
We recently dipped spinning tops in tempura and spun them on large sheets of paper. Endless fun.
Brilliant!
WE are big fans too!!!!
http://theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.com/2011/08/creative-crafting-spinning-plates.html
Isn’t it fun?
Addictive! Paper plates work well and you can do both sides. They are a bit sturdier too =) I haven’t figured out what to do with the end product yet!
Love it! Makes me wish we had an old record player!
I never get that song stuck in my head — thanks for planting it there, though. 🙂 This is right up my alley, and if we had a record player I’m sure we’d be busy spinning and drawing on a daily basis. xx