Art Works! is a series of blog posts created by the staff at www.EscapadeDirect.com that offer children of all ages and abilities the opportunity for hands-on art activities that allow them to explore, discover, and express their individual creativity.

We encourage parents to join in on the activities, too, and create their own Art Works!

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Art Works! Activity #4: Make Your Own Myriorama

A myriorama is an endless puzzle that was popular during the 1800s. The panels can be arranged and rearranged to form endless possibilities!

Create your own myriorama – our post shows you how!

What You Need:

• Cardstock Paper, Chipboard or Blank Cards


• Pencil


• Colored Pencils


• Black Permanent Marker


• Scissors


• Myriorama Template


• Watercolor Paint (optional)


• Crayons (optional)

What You Do:

• Determine what you would like your myriorama scene to look like. For example, country landscapes, city skylines, or even your own backyard or bedroom are fun ideas to start with!


• Print the size template you would like to use from this activity (see link above). The original myriorama’s were fairly small, but younger children may find it easier to use the larger templates. Cut out the desired panels.


• Use the small horizontal marks on the edges of the template as your guide. These marks will allow your myriorama to line up correctly, whichever way you arrange the cards. Use all three guide marks or just the marks you need. The lowest marks on the templates are perfect for creating foreground drawings, the highest marks are for creating a distant horizon, and the marks in the middle allow you to add additional elements to the center of your drawings. Regardless of whether you choose to use one or more of these marks, you must use the same marks on each card in your myriorama so that you are able to endlessly rearrange the cards.


• Use a pencil and begin sketching your myriorama. Add drawings of people, buildings, lakes, rivers, ponds, animals, plants – whatever you would like to add. Make sure to draw these extra elements within the borders of each card – only the horizontal parts of your drawing should touch the edges of each card.


• When your drawings are complete, use colored pencils, watercolor paints, pastels, or crayons to color in your pictures. Make sure to use the same color on all the elements of your drawings that flow from card to card. If desired, use a permanent black marker to outline your drawing elements to make them stand out even more.


• When your myriorama cards are completed, arrange them on a table, then rearrange them again and again. Have fun creating an endless landscape!

Variations:

• We recommend you create at least 5 myriorama cards to start with. You can always add more cards to your puzzle. The more cards you create, the more combinations of landscapes you will have!


• Need something to store your myriorama cards in? An old matchbox makes a perfect storage box! Cover the box with decorative paper, then place your myriorama cards inside for safe keeping. Makes a great homemade gift, too!


• Not sure what to draw? Here are several more of our ideas: Create an underwater landscape scene, complete with fish and maybe even a shark or two! Go abstract! Create colorful abstract art that flows from one card to another. Create a prehistoric scence from the land of dinosaurs! Get up close and create a scence of the minibeasts that live in your backyard grass! Be creative!

You Might Also Like:

Endless Landscape (Myriorama) – The Endless Landscape puzzle, called a Myriorama in the nineteenth century, is a set of cards picturing a landscape. The horizon matches on each card so that the cards can be changed in any number of combinations to portray different scenes. The Endless Landscape puzzle is based on one originating in Leipzig in the 1830s.

Blank Cards – Create your own game or activity with this quality playing card deck. The cards are coated on both sides, and look and feel like a regular playing card.

Chipboard – This sturdy chipboard paper is a blank slate, ready for your imagination! Chipboard is a recycled paperboard which can be cut, bent, pasted, laminated, drawn on or painted. The possibilities are endless.

Share Your Art Works! Activities!
If you have an Art Works! project that you would like to share, email us a digital picture (or scan) of your project , and we will post it in our Kids Gallery. If you would like, include the artists first name, age, and your state. It’s fun for kids to see how other children interpreted the project!

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As always, encourage your children to come up with their own new ideas for art – and make sure to check back next week for another Art Works! activity in this series!

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