This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World. This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons including, how to make natural pigments.
Using natural elements
One of the greatest ways to connect children to the natural world is to create and make art using natural elements. There are so many fun ideas for teaching kids how to make natural paint, ink, and dye from pigments derived from nature. These Montessori art activities are not only fun for students, but they can be connected to the Great Lessons. In addition, it will inspire so many other avenues of learning.
Coming of Humans Great Lesson
The Lascaux Cave
When I first introduce the concept of how to make natural ink, paint, or dye to students, I start by introducing the Coming of Humans Great Lesson. On Sep. 12, 1940, the entrance to the Lascaux Cave (Montignac, France) was discovered. The now-famous cave is covered in more than 600 Palaeolithic cave paintings! These images are primarily of large animals, which were once native to the region. Amazingly, they are estimated to be up to 20,000 years old! Of course, there weren’t any art stores around then, so these ancient artists had to create their own pigment in order to create these works of art.
Using Natural Pigments in Preshistoric Times
Natural pigments have been used since prehistoric times. The earliest record of their use dating all the way back to 5000 BC! Studying the types of pigments these cave artists used can be a great history art lesson. Also, It may inspire your students to experiment with natural pigments on their own!
This lesson leads students into learning more about the natural world and how pigments can be derived from living and non-living materials. The truth is, all color is driven from organic matter and that’s exciting to discover when you’re a kid!
How Pigments Evolved
Over time, the pigmenting process evolved. We went from processing pigments by hand to commercially manufacturing synthetic pigments. And, we now have the luxury of choosing from an infinite number of pigmented color swatches of so many different mediums!
If you want to learn more about how kids can use colors and pigments to create art and strengthen their art literacy, check out my book Kids Color Theory – Contemporary Color Mixing Guide with Pigmented Colorants for Children by clicking here.
I will show you that teaching kids how to make natural paint, ink, or dye can be a rewarding history lesson connected to multiple art activities.
What are pigments?
One of the activities of this lesson has to do with identifying pigments. But, before you can ask your students to find pigments in nature, you have to teach them what a pigment actually is.
Pigments are either mineral or plant-based. Mineral materials are from rocks or clay, and plant-based materials are leaves, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
Pigment is truly color from nature, extracted from animals, plant tissue, or minerals. It’s natural colors from the natural world! For example, red beets, purple wild berries, green spinach, yellow turmeric, and brown coffee grounds are all natural pigments. Pigments can be extracted from all these things!
The Difference Between Natural Inks, Natural Paints, and Natural Dyes
The difference between colored mediums like ink, paint, and dye comes down to the binders that they’re processed with. Binders can come from plants, animal fat, or man-made synthetic material. A binder is a glue that holds the pigmented color together to lay on a surface.
Each medium is combined with specific binders for masterful artist application.
- Inks are usually water-based and combined with water.
- Dyes are usually combined with a mordant to help stain clothes.
- Paints are combined with a thick binder so it’s able to adhere to a surface like wood or canvas, and may or may not be washable.
For example, tempera paint can be combined with egg yolks. Dyes can be combined with mordants to stain clothes without washing out. And, inks can be combined with water or safe water-soluble solutions so that they absorb into the paper.
A binder can also help a pigment be solid and opaque (not letting light through) or light and translucent (where light can be seen through it). So, I recommend that you use a safe water-based binder to teach these principles.
Where to Start: Natural Ink, Paint, and Dye Activities
There are so many activities your students can do with natural inks, paints, and dyes. It goes beyond just making natural pigments and creating with them.
Identify Pigment Sources
I start the conversation by asking students where our ancestors might have found pigments without art stores around. Then, once they collectively come up with ideas, we head outdoors for observation.
Observe Natural Pigments in Nature
Before I teach students how to make natural dye, paint, or ink, I want them to understand where the natural materials that make the pigment come from. I take the students on a nature walk around the schoolyard, backyard, vegetable garden, or food market to observe the color in living and nonliving matter. I have them look for natural colors and materials that may be able to create pigment.
Also, I have them hunt for color sources they may be able to use to make their own pigments. This creates an important connection between nature, science, history, and art. Approaching art through the lens of the natural world is an essential educational lesson. Also, it’s a great opportunity you won’t want to miss presenting to your students each year.
Discuss the Importance of Natural Pigments
Over the past twenty years of working with thousands of kids doing arts and crafts, I’ve seen incredible lessons unfold. The common link is that when children work with natural materials, it almost always leads to deep levels of thought and discussions about the planet’s resources and how things are made or manufactured. These conversations then create awareness about sustainability and current environmental issues.
Read About the Colors of Nature
Sometimes, I’ll help students find inspiration by reading books to them. A beautiful new book I’m currently loving is The Color of Nature by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty.
Create a Shelf Display
You can create a lovely shelf display showing the relationship between natural materials (like fruit, vegetables, minerals) and pigments. Another idea is to use the same material, but display it in its natural state, its processed state, and as the finished pigmented medium along with a painted/drawn example (as shown in the photo below).
Make Nature-Based Pigments
One of the simplest ways I teach kids how to make paint, dye, or ink is by creating the pigments from fruits, plants, and locally-sourced colorful foods. Store-bought items can also be substituted to teach these lessons.
Try making your own natural inks, dyes, and paints using one of these methods. You can make ink with beets – blend beets in a blender with water, strain out the flesh, and add a drop of vinegar (natural ink ideas here)
Make paint with beets or kale veggies – blend your chosen veggie in a blender with water, strain out the flesh, add cornstarch if you want a thicker medium (full recipe here)
Make ink from tea – boil water and pour over loose-leaf tea, allow the tea to steep, strain out tea leaves. You can then add cornstarch (or gum arabic) to thicken (watch dye fabric with tea video here)
One Step Further: Download a FREE Color Theory Lesson
Creating a natural ink, paint, or dye in just one single color can lead to many, many art and color theory lessons. I created Kids Color Theory Practice & Process Curriculum to provide more than 30 art sequences to help kids learn more about this essential domain. It lays the foundation for basic contemporary color concepts that lead to more advanced art skills.
In addition, I encourage exploring the color theory domain with your students in more detail, with this FREE lesson. It will help you get started. And, it includes step-by-step instructions and a list of the materials your students need to complete the activity them to create and explore within this lesson will open their eyes and spark their creativity. To download the Color Theory Mixing Lesson, click here.
A Short Cut Just for You: Buy Kids Color Theory Curriculum
I further explore the importance of color theory in my book, Kids Color Theory. In the book, I define color theory, share how to teach it to kids, and give tips for gathering the right materials and setting up a Montessori art environment for students. The book also includes 11 color-mixing lessons to help put your new natural inks, dyes, and paints to use!
To purchase Kids Color Theory, click here.
