I wanted to share the Palila Project with the 11th graders in my friend Rachel's class, but the students wouldn't be able to share materials like paint or brushes because of Covid-19 protocols. 15 individual sets of paints can be really expensive, running into the hundreds of dollars.
Rachel and I had a budget around $100, so we had to be creative.
I decided first of all to use only primary colors (cyan, magenta, yellow), black and white. That would allow me to teach the students how to mix secondary colors, tints, and hues, as well as being cost effective.
I realized that I might be able to use high quality house paint. It is the right consistency, and some of my artist friends had incorporated it into their work successfully.
Justin Quesada at Hilo Sherwin Williams helped me match the paint I wanted against paint samples in the store. With somewhat bated breath I started mixing them at home, with beautiful results. Our grand total... $30.
I decanted the paint into the 90 4oz condiment bottles I ordered online. It was a bit mess, but lots of fun with my trusty funnel. I'm so excited for the students to pick up their paint!
What is in a paint packet?
• 3 nylon brushes
• 6 4 oz bottles of paint (blue, red, yellow, white, black, gloss medium)
• 100 grit sand paper
• paper towels and tracing paper to make a palette
• wax paper to make mono prints and to glue down collage materials
• photocopies to collage and use as a transfer
• permission slip to take photos of the students
Students need to provide:
• water container and water
• plastic tray to set the palette on