Welcome to another Wacky Workshops project – earth art.

It’s hard not to get excited when you think of all there is left to be discovered on this beautiful planet.

Less than five per cent of our oceans have been explored though they cover around 70 per cent of the planet’s surface.

There are huge chunks of the amazon jungle, various deserts, high mountains and deep caves that have yet to be explored properly.

More than that, the mini-worlds that exist in just about every living thing are fascinating. You can see the outline of a tree in the leaf’s veins, the tree itself is home to billions of tiny creatures that we don’t see.

The earth is deceiving – dig a little and you will find worms, ant tunnels and all kinds of wonders.

Dig a little deeper and you will come to understand the earth is made up of layers (strata), much like an onion.

These layers consist of different kinds, textures, and shades of soil, as well as sedimentary rock, even watercourses.

To celebrate Mother Earth Day (April 22) I have an art project that depicts these different layers and is a ton of fun for little ones.

EARTH STRATA ART

This art project is not only a great opportunity to learn about the layers the earth is made up of, but also to explore different textures.

EARTH STRATA ART MATERIALS

• Heavy cardboard rectangle, like from a box (if it’s too light it will not support all the media we are attaching)
• Paints – blue, green, brown and black are great colours to use, but you can also use red and orange – with this project anything goes.
• Sand
• Soil
• Small rocks of various shapes and colours
• Air-dry clay (I was out this time, so used plasticine instead)
• Terracotta pot chips
• Leaf litter
• Bark

EARTH STRATA ART METHOD

Start by painting your cardboard with some brown and black paint – dab on paint colours with the brush and mix them up a bit – a solid colour will ruin the effect.

• Add a thick layer of glue to the cardboard.
• Start adding your materials – remember to do it in layers (lines across the cardboard), but don’t keep them too straight as the layers in the earth strata are not straight.
• You will notice I used green glass buttons on this piece to depict the colourful treasures to be found deep in the earth – anything goes.
• Plasticine and blue paint represent a watercourse then closer to the top I added sand, then finally soil and bark and leaf litter.

You can even use the end of the paintbrush to make ant tunnels near the top, as I did.

I hope you have fun with this project – it’s always been a big hit in art classes and let’s face it, what kid doesn’t like to play with paint, glue, sand, and dirt?

Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.