Friday, June 17, 2011

Power Drill Painting!


I found this simple, yet brilliant idea over at the terrific Play At Home Mom blog. The moment I saw it, I knew it would become a staple of our outdoor curriculum.


Painting with power drills! And the best part is that I had both of mine -- the plug-in and the 12-volt cordless -- already at the school to aid us in the ongoing process of moving into our new space.


I started by just installing a brush in the bigger drill like one would a normal drill bit, but it kept coming loose and flying off, so I wound up securing it with duct tape which worked perfectly. (Okay, so I actually used packing tape since there was a lot of that around and I've still not uncovered our stash of the silvery stuff in the aftermath of our move. But I would have used duct tape, if I'd had it!)


The smaller drill has a "quick release" system for holding the drill bits, so I just taped the brush to a long wood drilling bit which worked just fine.


Of course, with only two power drills and 20+ kids, we needed something to occupy their interests while awaiting their turn, so I slipped a couple of small brushes into our egg beater style hand drills. These guys had to stand on milk crates in order to get the right angle, talk about a full-body physics-packed endeavor for 2-year-olds!


The raw power of the larger drill was appealing, of course, and attracted a pretty good following, although those who actually wanted to "paint something" found it frustrating to control, opting instead for the 12-volt.


The eye protection came out fairly quickly, not just because it's a good habit when working with power tools, but also because there was a bit of paint spray.


My only regret is that we didn't first spend a day using the hand drills, learning about the dynamics and forces at work on a smaller, slower scale, before stepping up to the power tools on the second day. I think we'd have had a better understanding of what was going on.


But no worries, we'll be doing this again, probably even next week.

We didn't save a lot of these, since it truly was all about the process, but this was a fairly typical result using the 12-volt . . .


And the larger drill gave us things that looked like this.


Rex told me it was a rainbow tornado.

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27 comments:

Luisa said...

This awesome I have never seen painting like this. Your kids are so lucky :)

Shannon said...

What a great idea. This looks like so much fun. Thanks for sharing it.

Muma Paparazzi said...

Oh I love it...hubby usually just shakes his head at what I want to try, not sure he'll let me use his power tools for painting but I've got a couple of toy ones which for a home project will do the trick! Thanks for sharing...agree with above such lucky kids :)

amy said...

That is so cool!!!!!

Jena @ HappyLittleMesses said...

OH, My Goodness, you are speaking my boys' language. We are so trying this out. They are going to be STOKED!

Scott said...

"Rainbow Tornado" - the perfect title.

And what a cool way to paint!

BarbaraZab said...

Decidedly cool!! And definitely going on my list to try when school starts up again in August! I don't even have to ask permission because our light weight power drill was a present from my husband to me.

theconfidentmom said...

Oh man, wait until I share this with my husband, I bet he will want to do "activities" with my son like crazy!!! Loved the rainbow tornado too, I need to get me one of those!

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to try this! Truly inspired.

LeeanneA said...

This blows my mind - so fun! I love the paint effect that results! A must try!

Jazz said...

I love how they turned out. Especially the art from the bigger drill. They're so interesting and pretty to me.

Anonymous said...

That rainbow tornado is awesome!

CJ said...

LOVE IT!!

Leslie said...

I love this!

MOM #1 said...

What fun! I want to drill paint too.

Play-based Classroom said...

Teacher Tom, you've done it again! This is well beyond cool! I wish we were allowed power tools in the classroom (something I'm slowly warming my directer up to). I need to have her read your blog! :)

CaSandra said...

Wow! I would have never imagined this, but can't wait to give it a try myself! And I'm sure the kids will be stoked. What a great way to get the kids that are always at the wood working/take apart area over to the easel, and vice versa. I love ideas that incorporate skills from different centers!

Chesterbrook Academy Elementary said...

I find the power drill painting very original and creating.

The artwork is amazing.
The colors are so vibrant.
Lucky children to have someone who thinks so out of the box!

kristin @ preschool daze said...

i can't tell you HOW FAST i am going to do this. if we weren't off for summer, i would do it today.

INCREDIBLE.

Kristi @ Creative Connections for Kids said...

I'm posting this on FB and pinning it on pinterest for Father's Day. Thanks for another great idea!

I Am Rachele said...

That is one of the most interesting and creative ways to paint that I've seen in a long time! Time to pull out my son's "power tools"!

Captain Crafty said...

My twin boys are going to LOVE this!
Maybe I should just let them paint my whole house this way!!
Thanks,
Zoe

B+C's Mom said...

What a great idea! We have one of those little lithium drills that would be perfect for kids to handle (it's super light).

nomzam said...

haha I love this idea amazing. Very creative mind. power drills for fun.

Precision engineers said...

People who immerse themselves several hours painting or creating something enter a purer area, in a very strong state of concentration... they abstract themselves from their surroundings and time passes by without noticing it.

primecath said...

I am going to try this with my Seniors (not students), the very elderly many of whom have dementia. Holding a power drill may be very memorable and I hope stories will emerge along with their creativity.

Mistie said...

I love this idea, I can't believe the post is from 2011, I want to try it out with my 8 yo daughter she would love it.

I noticed your using more of the screwdriver type of drills (less overall power) as opposed to a drill like these ones ...

Do they work better, what are your recommendations, if any?