Firework Salt Painting

It's not long till Bonfire Night and many of us are turning to Bonfire Night topics now. The children will soon be seeing fireworks lighting up the night sky. They will hear them soaring up high and they will hear the crashing and banging noises they make. 

We did a lovely activity recently that I am here to share with you today - Salt Painted Fireworks! Make sure you're following us on Instagram as I always do the step by steps over there on my stories. Instagram is the place I share my activities first.

For this activity you are going to need black card, PVA glue, salt, a pot of water, paint brushes and watercolours. I have children ranging in age from 4 years old to 8. Even I had a go at this activity alongside them (at their request) and I really enjoyed it too! 

I love activities where the whole family can have fun and get involved. It's so lovely when you can make and create together.

Firstly lets explore why we celebrate Bonfire Night. It's held annually on the 5th November, it's sometimes called Guy Fawkes Night. It marks the anniversary where Guy Fawkes set out to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Across the UK people celebrate Bonfire Night by letting off fireworks, having bonfires, lighting sparklers and eating toffee apples. 

Traditionally on top of the bonfire people make a figure that represents Guy Fawkes that they put on top of the Bonfire to burn. It shows him going up in flames as he would of done if his attempt to blow up Parliament was successful 

Guy Fawkes and his group put together 36 barrels of gun powder that they put underneath the Houses of Parliament in an attempt to blow up Kind James 1 and his government. This was because of religion. England was a Protestant country and the plotters with Catholic. They wanted England to be Catholic and believed by getting rid of James and his ministers this is something they could achieve.

It wasn't a successful attempt because a member of Guy Fawkes' group had wrote to one of his friends in Parliament warning him to stay away on the 5th of November. The guards stormed the cellars and there they discovered the gunpowder plotters waiting. They were all arrested and executed! 

Some families hold their own parties in their gardens but usually (this year will be different because of COVID) towns and villages organise large gatherings in public parks. 

It is referred to as The Gun Powder Plot. 

This activity is also great fun for Diwali, New Year and July 4th - anytime fireworks are likely to be set off this is a fun one to do with the children. 

Make sure you use card for this activity. There will be lots of moisture added to your artwork and only card will withstand this. Paper will likely rip and tear. 

You begin by using PVA glue. You can use clear PVA or the white PVA. Any PVA glue will work great. Start by making your fireworks in the sky. Let the children have free rein on their creations. Doesn't look like a firework to you? It does to them! One of my boys said that he wasn't making a firework he was making a rainbow. This is great if the children are opening up and telling you about their intentions.

It's always important to roll with what they're telling you they're making rather than dictating to them what you would like them to make. 

Ask questions - 

A rainbow! What colours are in your rainbow?

How is a rainbow made?

Do we see a rainbow in the day or at night time?

Remember this is their creation and no two designs should look the same. 

Once they have finished adding the glue to their black card it's time to start sprinkling on some salt. Make sure all of the glue is full of salt. We sprinkled so much down on our card before lifting the corners to move the salt that had fallen on the card into the glue. You only need a small amount of salt. That's with making sure the glue is fall of salt. It doesn't take much to achieve this. 

If you have submerges enough salt into the glue you are ready to start painting right away. You will need to use watercolours for this activity. 

Use a dab technique to add your colour to the salt. This will ensure that the glue and salt doesn't lift away from your picture. 

Make sure you have enough colour on your brush before painting. My 3 started by dipping their brushes on the paint. They quickly learnt that to get their colours more vibrant they needed to swirl their brush around in the colours a bit longer. 

This is a process art activity. You will find that as your artwork starts to dry some of the salt may fall off. I left ours on the side for 2 days so I could make sure that it was all fully dried. I then took them over to the bin to sake off any loose salt. 

We then added some stars to the night sky. We used ready made children's paint and used a painting tool to make our dots. You could use the end of a paint brush or a pencil to make your stars. 

I've added the artwork to our fridge. Over the coming week the children will be seeing and hearing lots of fireworks. Not only are we celebrating Bonfire Night this week but it is also Diwali the festival of light where more fireworks will be set off into the night sky. 

Diwali is celebrated some time between October and November, the date changes every year. It is celebrated across the world by millions of Sikhs, Hindus and Jains. Their focus for celebrations:

It is a 5 day celebration that sees people gathering for parties, lighting fireworks, eating delicious food and lighting oil lamps called Diya lamps. 

This year Diwali begins on Thursday 12th November for 5 days with the main day being on Saturday 14th November 2020.

There we have it. A lovely art technique that you can do with your children to learn about the upcoming festivals and celebrations. 

If you give this a go I would love to see your artwork!