Inspired by Coral Reefs

This past week was Earth week in the class, and I chose Coral Reefs for inspiration and to introduce some new techniques . In my opinion there is nothing on the planet that compares to the beauty and color. To achieve the bright colors we used ink rather than paint and used unconventional methods to apply some of the media . We will revisit a version of this lesson in the summer when we have more space and time . It takes a lot of practice to master the unpredictable nature of watercolors and inks, but they gave it a great effort and produced some nice pieces.

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INKS:

If you would like to try to make the inks at home, simply take apart a non toxic felt pen and soak the wick in standard alcohol to remove the pigment, or add concentrated food grade food coloring to alcohol. It does stain since the pigments are highly concentrated so protect your hands and clothing if you are concerned. They work better on coated paper.