Weekend Project: Pendulum Painting

I was flipping through channels today and paused on the Martha Stewart show to watch them do a little pendulum painting. I had never heard of or seen this before and I thought it was ingenious! Whether you do this with your kids or on your own, you can make colorful and unique art to decorate your home! I will paraphrase the instructions, but you can click here to read the full instructions.

NOTE: Artist Gallery Wrapped Canvases are B1G1 FREE at Michaels through Saturday!

You will need:

• 3 poles or dowels (length depends on how big you want your art to be)
• twine
• rubber feet
• knife
• plastic bottle (think water or soda bottle)
• glue nozzle
• hot glue gun
• duct tape
• hole punch
• large paper clip
• tempera paint
• water
• measuring cup
• sieve
• paper/canvas (something to paint on!)

1. Tie the dowels together with twine to create a tripod. Attach rubber feet to the bottom so it can't slide around.
2. Use hot glue gun to attach the glue nozzle to the mouth of the plastic bottle. Use duct tape to reinforce (don't want leaks). Cut out the bottom of the bottle.
3. You are going to punch three equidistant holes toward the bottom of the bottle. Reinforce these areas with duct tape, then punch the hole using a hole punch.
4. Thread a piece of twine through each hole, bring the three pieces together and make a loop. Put the loop around the paper clip and secure the paper clip to the top of your tripod (the glue nozzle should be at least 1 inch above the paper).
5. Mix one part tempera paint with one part water. Stir and put through a sieve to keep any clumps from clogging the nozzle. Fill the bottle with paint.
6. Open the nozzle and plug with your finger. Pull the bottle to the side and release to let it swing and paint your paper. Change the direction as desired to create your own art! When you are finished plug the nozzle with your finger and close it.

Imagine the possibilities with all the colors and patterns! I think I want to make little ones with mini tripods. I'll put up pictures when mine are done (probably not for a while until we move and I have a new place to decorate :)) Here are some pictures for inspiration: