Shadow Dance Painting

CJ traces Sofie's shadow with sidewalk chalk--they'll fill in the details with sidewalk paint.
Photo credits:  Seth Chrisman

Explore the movement of the sun as you create one-of-a-kind shadow dance paintings. The model holds a dance pose while the tracer uses chalk to outline the dancer.  On the day we tried this, the sun was peeking in and out of the clouds--so we had to act fast--or the shadows disappeared!

Here's What You Need:

A sunny day
At least one model and one tracer, to trace each other's shadows
Side-walk chalk
Ingredients for sidewalk paint:  (washes off with the next rain, or a hose)
For each color:
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup powdered milk
1/4 teaspoon food coloring
small jar with lid
containers for each color of paint
sponge-tipped paint brushes

CJ mixes ingredients for sidewalk paint

Here's What You Do:

*Put the warm water, powdered milk and food coloring in a jar.  Shake well to mix. Make several colors and pour into open containers.  We used sponge-tipped paint brushes, but any kind will work.

*Find a nice open spot with concrete, like a driveway.

*One dancer poses and another traces the shadow--then switch roles.

*When the outlines are complete, use the sidewalk paint to fill in clothing details, add hair, facial features, etc.

Sofie paints her shadow dance pose