Item of the Week: TWIGS!

This week’s Item of the Week is the au natural TWIG!

Living in the city of Memphis, Tennessee for years has proven to be one of the most tree-filled, tree-covered, the color green galore experiences of city life in the United States I've ever had! Trees are literally everywhere. This makes access to twigs from trees readily available, affordable, and everlasting. Why wouldn't we sometimes bring twigs inside to make beautiful, lasting art? Yep! Here’s how we do it!

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It wasn’t until my visit to Manhattan, New York that I realized and instantly appreciated the natural beauty that the presence of trees automatically provides. I immediately noticed their absence the moment we arrived. Where were the many, healthy, common shades green that I unconsciously saw each day in Memphis? Pretty much, only in Central Park were there trees in New York, which we only walked near the entrance of; and it seemed we were all experiencing…withdrawal symptoms after having been exposed to the life of trees everywhere, every single day back home.

However, if you’re fortunate enough to live in areas where you have access to a few spare twigs from trees, consider making beautiful, long lasting art with them, such as a beautiful landscape drawing of “trees” using the twigs as the trees for the scene as seen in the featured photo.

Here’s what you can do to create your beautiful 3-D art using twigs:

1. Gather several small, short twigs from the yard and be sure no bugs were included
2. Color a sky scene on white paper (top half) and grass or dirt at the bottom (for the ground)
3. Line a row of varied twig heights and sizes, side-by-side (a few may overlap)
4. Glue (or tape) each twig down where you laid them out in step 3
5. Cover the bottom of the row of twigs with green construction paper with tape or glue (or both) (serves as the grass)
6. Ensure all the twigs are securely adhered to the paper
7. Add any smaller embellishes if desired (stars or stickers for the sky, lady bugs on the grass, etc)
8. Be sure to let the twigs dry completely before holding or mounting upright (we let ours dry overnight)

That’s it! All it requires is a bit of time, a few minimal supplies, and a bit of imagination, and you’ve created yet another masterpiece keepsake using materials you probably have on-hand.

Let us know in the comments section below what art or academic ideas you’ve implemented along your homeschool journey. We hope you partake in our twig project, too. As always, enjoy! :)

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”
Ayn Rand