Printing with your hand
Art & Design · Early Years · The School
Making a clean print
Cover your whole hand in paint, right into the creases. Press it down flat, once. Do not wriggle it, or the print smudges. Lift it straight up, just like lifting a stamp. That gives you one clean handprint.
One print, not many
This is not the same as making a repeating pattern. You are making just ONE careful print, then turning it into a picture. Take your time getting this single print right, because you will build the rest of the picture right on top of it.
Turning it into something else
Turn your handprint on its side. The thumb can become a bird's head. The fingers can become feathers or leaves. Add an eye. Add a beak, or a branch. A handprint stops looking like a hand once you add a few small details.
Print your hand with the fingers spread wide open. Let the paint dry completely. Now turn the print upside down, so the fingers point down towards the ground. The palm becomes a trunk. The fingers become roots, digging into the ground. Paint a green blob on top for leaves. That single handprint has become a whole tree, just by turning it round and adding one new shape.