Play with ink

10-minute art activity

Play with ink

Welcome in elements of risk and accident in this ink-blowing activity and try making it into a mindful practice.

- Play with ink
  
  Ink misadventures
  
  What you need
  
  Paper | Ink (or paint), mixed with a little water | Paper straws | Pipettes or spoons to drop ink onto paper
  
  Steps
  
  You can play with ink by:
  
  • mixing ink or liquid paint with a little water and washing up liquid
  
  • dropping a small amount of this mixture onto your paper
  
  • using a straw to gently blow the ink across the page
  
  • watching how it behaves: allow rivers of ink to run, divide, pool and move in unpredictable ways

- Breathe
  
  Make this a mindfulness practice
  
  Focus
  
  Train your busy mind to concentrate on one point of focus
  
  Be curios
  
  Closely observe the movement of ink and wonder at the shapes it makes
  
  Accept
  
  Bring an attitude of openness to what’s emerging on the page, without trying to control or judge
  
  Breathe
  
  Each time your mind wanders, bring your attention back to the breath as you exhale

More
- Aida, Age 13, Untitled, 2022.
  
  Acrylic paint on watercolour paper. A4 landscape.
  
  Experiment teaching resource
  
  Bring lessons from the art studio into the classroom using art from our artists and collection.
  
  Teach
- Chalk printing step 8
  
  How to: make a chalk print
  
  Try these two simple techniques and experiment with using chalk to make colourful abstract prints.
  
  Make
- Fiona Rae RA, Figure 1o, 2015.
  
  Oil and acrylic on canvas. © Fiona Rae, Photo: Antony Makinson, Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd, London Courtesy Timothy Taylor Gallery, London.
  
  Fiona Rae's experiments
  
  Fiona Raw explains how turning away from colour has had an invigorating effect on her work.
  
  Watch