Tag Archives: mistakes

“Beautiful Oops!”

“Beautiful Oops!”


Beautiful Oops!

Beautiful Oops! is a timeless lesson about turning mistakes into beautiful works of art.


“Mistakes” are all in how you look at them.

I truly appreciate author Barney Saltzberg bringing this lesson to children as well as to the adults who read this book. We all need to understand and give ourselves permission to make mistakes, which are really not mistakes at all but opportunities to learn. Giving one’s self permission to make mistakes and to take risks are two of the many traits of a creative person.

TITLE: Beautiful Oops!

AUTHOR: Barney Saltzberg

ILLUSTRATOR: Barney Saltzberg

PUBLISHER: Workman Publishing, 2010


CREATIVE COMPONENTS:  imagination, creative expression, risk-taking, permission to be creative, new perspectives


1) As an artist Leonardo da Vinci saw images in nature and everyday objects such as cracks in a wall or clouds that he’d sketch. Choose a spot on a wall or cracks in the sidewalk. Stare at that spot until an image develops in your mind. Sketch your image. Now look at that same spot on the wall or the sidewalk. Do you see your sketched image or an entirely different image?

2) Create a paint blot. Place a large blob of paint in the middle of a blank sheet of paper. Fold the paper in half. Gently, smush the paint by pressing down with the palm of your hand. Unfold the paper. What does the paint blot look like? Ask those around you what it looks like to them. How many different answers did you get? Now try this. Fold a paper in half. Unfold the paper. Along the folded line, place small dots of paint. Refold the paper. Unfold. What do you see? What else can it be? Once the paint has dried develop this paint blot into one of the images you imagined it could be.


To learn more about author/illustrator Barney Saltzberg,

visit: http://www.barneysaltzberg.com

Creative Thinking Challenge: Oopsy Doopsy

Oopsy Doopsy


That mistake is not a mistake. It’s art!

Creative Thinking Prompt: Oopsy Doopsy!  Many artists start out their projects with a specific end goal. Often that original idea is altered by a mistake that occurs during the art process. Many artists use that mistake to turn their projects into a work of art that the artist could not have imagined otherwise.

Try your hand at turning mistakes into works of art. Remember art is not perfectionism; it’s about expression.

1) Crumple up a piece of paper. Unfold it. Outline some of the folds. Using those lines, create an image.

2) Make a tear (or a few tears) in a piece of paper. Create an art piece, incorporating the tear into your art.

3) Drop a blob of paint on a piece of paper and smear it with your finger. After it dries, incorporate the paint blob into an art image.

4) Take discarded paper and rip it into shreds. Using those shreds, arrange them to form a picture.

Think Deeper: What other mistakes can you think of that you can recreate into a work of art?