The Art Room Turn Everyday Things into Works of Art

With a little imagination, the most unlikely object can be transformed into something beautiful! This book is all about having fun with art. The 12 projects show how you can make something unique out of cheap or unwanted materials. Squirrelling away bottles, feathers, pebbles, corks and lots more, you can make all kinds of exciting things ranging from a Button Snowman to The Owl and the Pussycat Puppet Show, from a Geometric Fish to a Self-Portrait Plate. So delve into your cupboards, pull out your household junk, and get creative!

JULI BEATTIE has 35 years' experience of using art to help children learn. In 2002 she founded The Art Room, a non profit working with children who find it difficult to manage mainstream education. Juli lives in Oxford with her husband and has 3 grown up children. ARABELLA WARNER has worked in children's television for over 25 years on many award winning shows. She has also written for a wide range of publications. She teaches film making in schools and has made several videos with the students from The Art Room. Arabella lives in Oxford with her husband, three children and cat.

TAKE A CHAIR (AN OLD CHAIR)



Try breathing life back into the battered old chair you have in your bedroom. Paint your favourite book character on the seat, add butterfly wings to the back, or create a sumptuous throne fir for a king or queen. Transform it into a tiger, a train or a tropical palm tree. Write a poem, a story or a list of your friends on it. Whatever you do, make it your own.





YOU WILL NEED:

Old chair

(see materials page for where to find them)

Sandpaper

White emulsion paint to use as an undercoat

Coloured acrylic paint

Paint brushes

PVA glue

All kinds of materials - e.g. gems for thrones, fabric, tags, buttons and ribbons



1. Sand down the chair to give a smooth surface.

2. Wipe down with a damp cloth to remove all the bits you've sanded off.

3. When dry, paint the chair with white emulsion. This creates a blank canvas.

4. When it's dry, paint, stick, create, using the materials you have available.

5. Varnish the chair using diluted PVA glue - 1 part water, 2 parts PVA.





These 'statement chairs' by the Spanish designer Marti Guixe are a brilliant example of how easy it is to make something personal. Don't buy expensive labels, he says, create something yourself. We agree. Go for it!