• Subscribe to Blog via Email

    Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 4,531 other subscribers

Toothpaste Batik on Fabric

Fabric Batik Painting

My creative and wonderful blogging friend, Phyl, has posted several times about her toothpaste batik process.  I have admired the results for years and decided to try it last year for our Wild about the Arts Fine Arts Night.  I was hesitant to try because of the logistics.  It was not a quick and easy project, but I loved the process and I loved that it was so “different” than other things my students have experienced. These were made with 4th and 5th graders.  I would think that with the washing and painting, it might be a good project to try with a smaller class or with a club.  I know it is do-able in bigger classes because Phyl has taught this project many times.

We used animals as our subject matter to go along with the theme of our Fine Arts night.  We followed the steps exactly as described in this blog post.  The only difference is that we used Sax Versatemp Tempera Paint.  Next time I will try the original Crayola non-washable tempera, because Phyl said those colors turn out pretty vibrant.  The other difference is that I think her toothpaste lines were thicker.  The kids chose to outline quite a bit with Sharpies.

Toothpaste Batik

Another thing I noticed is how interesting the preliminary sketches looked after the paint soaked through the cloth and onto the paper underneath.  The texture of the paint blotches looked beautiful.  I encouraged early finishers (of the batik painting) to enhance their paint soaked sketches with Kwik Stix and oil pastels.  Everyone loves Kwik Stix.  Seriously.

Toothpaste Batik Design

Toothpaste and Batik Painting on Fabric

Animal Drawings with Kwik Stix

I feel like some of these are just the cutest ever.

Fabric Batik for Kids

Have you ever tried a batik process with kids?  How did it go?

(Amazon affiliate links have been used in this post.  Purchasing through these links adds no extra cost to you.  Thank you for supporting Art is Basic.)

Tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

About Marcia Beckett

Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.

4 Responses to Toothpaste Batik on Fabric

  1. Pingback: 30 Inspiring Fourth Grade Art Projects For Creative Kids - BULLETINr

  2. Pingback: 30 Inspiring Fourth Grade Art Projects For Creative Kids - Country Highlights

  3. Pingback: 30 Inspiring Fourth Grade Art Projects For Creative Kids – B010 Info Blog

  4. Pingback: 30 Inspiring Fourth Grade Artwork Initiatives For Artistic Children – Gsensenews

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.