Foil and shoe polish aren’t your typical art supplies but this foil and shoe polish art will change your mind. It’s moody and dark with an emphasis on line quality. Check it out here!
Supplies for making foil and shoe polish art….
- Foil- the heavy duty kind from th grocery store is perfect.
- Scarp cardboard- this is the backing for your foil art, cut to size of your choice
- Glue- school glue or a glue gun if students are old enough to handle the heat.
- Pencil or marker
- Shoe polish-the liquid kind with the sponge applicator is so easy!
- Paper towels or soft cloth- for buffing shoe polish away
Begin with a simple drawing….
A simple subject is key for this process. Every line will be drawn or traced with glue. Since glue spreads drawing details creates lines that are too close together and, eventually, undesirable blobs of glue.
Depending on the comfort level of your artists begin with a simple line drawing right on the cardboard or begin freehand with the glue.
The images in the post were done using hot glue, because I’m impatient. If your artists are too young to handle a hot glue gun school glue will work just as well, they just require some drying time!
Adhering foil to your drawing…..
Tear off a piece of foil larger than your cardboard and glue design. Apply adhesive to your glue drawing. Heavy application of a glue stick or school glue spread out to a thin layer is needed.
Lay the foil onto the glue beginning near the center and gently pressing it down, moving outward. When the edge is reached, wrap any extra around the edges to the back.
Use a gentle touch to press the foil into the crevices of the raised glue lines. Occasionally the foil may tear as it’s being pressed . No worries, just gently push the tear back into place. The imperfection will disappear in the next step.
Adding shoe polish….
Shoe polish may be an unusual art supply but it’s perfect for this project! We used liquid shoe polish with a sponge applicator. Gently sponge the polish onto the foil art, being sure to put enough on to soak into all the nooks and crannies.
(I didn’t experiment with the more solid wax type polishes but I’m willing to bet that they would work in a similar manner.)
Allow the polish to dry, briefly, for a minute or two. Use a paper towel or soft to buff off any extra black polish. High areas of the design tend to be buffed clean and shiny while the crevices and low lying areas retain the dark pigment. This creates a lovely, moody darkness that really brings out the texture and detail of the glue drawing.
More foil art projects for kids…..
-If you liked this foil and shoe polish art be sure to check out this project that uses the same beginning steps but then adds shiny, colorful permanent marker instead of black polish! The same emphasis is on line and design but the addition of color is a whole new twist!
–Use foil instead of paper for a whole new painting experience!
-Use foil to create a printing plate and these unique foil monoprints!
