Dried Bean Mosaic Flowers
Create interchangeable flower sculptures using cardboard, dried beans, and clothespins! The dried beans provide rich, natural hues to each petal and pistil, and the clothespins allow for endless customization and creativity. Swap petals and pistils to create an array of floral arrangements!
Materials:
- Assorted Dry Beans
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Hot Glue or Craft Glue
- Mini Clothespins
Step 1: Sketch petal and pistil (the center of a flower) shapes on a piece of cardboard. Use a clothespin as a guide to make the petals large enough to accommodate the clothespin underneath.
Step 2: Use strong scissors to cut out the petal forms and pistil shape.
Step 3: Apply glue to each petal and arrange the dried beans onto the cardboard as close together as possible to avoid gaps. Create unique designs with the different colors and sizes of the beans.
Step 4: Once the glue has dried and your beans are secure, use hot glue to adhere the clothespins centrally to the back of the petals, allowing the petals to be interchangeable.
Step 5: Using the center pistol of your flower as a guide, draw and cut out a larger piece from a new sheet of cardboard.
Step 6: Glue the smaller piece on top of the larger piece. Trim the larger piece as needed to accommodate your petals.
Step 7: Clip your petals into place using the clothespin. The interchangeability of the petals allows for endless customization and creativity.
Ideas to take dried bean mosaic flowers to the next level:
- Do you prefer bright, bold colors instead of the natural hues of dried beans? Paint the beans using acrylic paint to add a splash of color to your floral arrangements.
- Explore the idea of using dried bean flower art as a means of storytelling. How could you incorporate narrative elements into your artwork?
Learning and Discussion Questions:
1. Flowers have been used in art across cultures and times. See examples of how flowers have been used in artwork from 1515 to the present day in this article on Artsy.
2. Can you think of other materials besides dried beans that could be used to add texture and dimension to flower art? How might they compare to using beans?
3. What types of beans did you find most effective for creating different textures and colors in your flower art?
WheatonArts Family Art Workshop video tutorials are presented by PNC Arts Alive!
Music Credits: **Daily Beetle by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/… **Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-… **Artist: http://incompetech.com/
