Joan Miro was an artist who didn’t subscribe to any artistic label. Learn more about this incredibly talented artist with these Joan Miro Projects for Kids.
“When I stand in front of a canvas, I never know what I’m going to do – and nobody is more surprised than I at what comes out.” – Joan Miro
For an artist to admit that he has no clue about what he’s going to paint – now that’s something new! But then Joan Miro isn’t your everyday artist, and his paintings are definitely not conventional!
Largely considered to be a Surrealist, the Spanish artist nevertheless refused to subscribe to any ‘club’, and preferred to have no labels. Yet, he seemed to have dabbled in all the major forms like Fauvism, Surrealism and Cubism, and has worked with a huge variety of art mediums – painting, collage, sculptures – even four-dimensional art!
His art has been so coded that there is said to be a ‘Surrealist pictorial language’ that he follows in his work, and there have been occasions when he has had to give detailed explanations about the meanings of the artistic symbols!
A look at Miro’s work over the years gives a general idea of the course of his life, but the most pronounced is his fondness for his homeland.
His heart has had influences of fellow artists, world events and his travels, but his heart remained in his beloved Catalan. Even something as bare as the empty sky enthralled him. Studying Miro’s art is a very interesting exercise and something I’d certainly recommend for you, but it may prove to be a tad intense for the little ones.
So for them, today we have 10 special Joan Miro projects for kids so that they can get introduced to an artist who didn’t know what he was going to do till he’d finished painting!
10 Joan Miro Projects for Kids
1. The Singing Fish Watercolor
The singing fish is one of Miro’s more fun, whimsical works of art, and is sure to interest kids! This project from Making Art Fun has a free printable that you can use to first sketch the fish and then paint, followed by cutting out and spraying – a fun and interesting project!
2. Tissue Paper Painting
Painting with tissue paper that ‘bleeds’ color gives a lovely effect to the final artwork, as this project from Art Projects for Kids shows us. This is a simple project that reflects Miro’s delightful mix of simple lines and complex composition – and all you need is markers, tissue paper and oil pastels!
3. Three Dimensional Miro
Miro thought of four-dimensional art, so why don’t we make at least a three-dimensional sculpture? Arte a Scuola has a detailed tutorial on making a 3D Miro, which actually looks very good! All you need are recycled cereal boxes, paints and markers and you can make your own custom sculpture!
FREE DOWNLOAD
Looking for a resource to explore Art Appreciation with kids? Click the image below, enter 0$ in the price & download our Printable ‘Famous Artists’ Mini Cards & Art appreciation Worksheet for free.
4. Miro Sculptures
As we mentioned, Miro tried out an assortment of art techniques including sculpting, producing 400 sculptures in the process. This project from Red Ted Art tries to recreate Miro’s signature style of sculpture, out of kid-friendly clay. This is a very open-ended activity and perfect for the youngest ones among us!
5. Miro in Ink
Miro said, “A form gives me an idea, this idea evokes another form, and everything culminates in figures, animals, and things..”. This project from Once Upon an Art Room brings this concept to life, by letting kids using a combination of lines and shapes to form their own creature and then color it in.
6. Miro Earth and Sky
At a sleepover at school, Cecilia’s teacher tells her that she’s going to be wrapped by a Miro that night. It takes some discussion and discovery for Cecilia to realize that her teacher was talking about her sleeping bag that was inspired by Miro’s painting. This is a good book for middle-schoolers to get introduced to Miro and his work.
7. Miro on Coffee Filters
Miro had rather unusual styles for painting, but Miro on coffee filters? Well, contrary to what you think, this project from Art Projects for Kids is pretty stunning art! If you follow the instructions carefully, you’ll have your own frame-worthy Miro art!
8. Painter’s Tape Art
Here’s an easy project on creating forms that even toddlers can do, from Toddler Approved. Just get them to create shapes with painter’s tape and then fill in the shapes with colors of their choice. Prepare to be surprised; they’re sure to come up with some stunning creations!
9. Wire Sculptures
This project from Zeichnen-Rosenau is great for older kids. It includes twisting wire into various forms and then using newspaper and popsicle sticks to complete the structure. Kids an be encouraged to use all kinds of mixed media and the younger kids can try it with pipe cleaners.
10. Roll-a-Miro Game
Make art even more fun with this game from Once upon an Art Room! Each player rolls a dice to land on a symbol and begins to create an artwork. Remember how we said that Miro had his own pictorial language for his symbolic art? Well now you can have your own too!
Each piece of Miro’s art speaks volumes – you just need to take some time to listen! Show your kids pictures of Miro’s art and ask them what it looks like to them. And then, you can get together and try out some of these fun activities!
FREE DOWNLOAD
Looking for a resource to explore Art Appreciation with kids? Click image to download our Printable ‘Famous Artists’ Mini Cards & Art appreciation Worksheet for free.
You may also like these posts in our Great Artists series:
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