Art glitters with paint from discarded green mussel shells
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TO INSTIL environmental consciousness, the love of arts and an interest in science among primary schoolchildren, Chulalongkorn University (CU)'s Faculty of Education has launched an art project to teach schoolchildren to paint. And in keeping with the the
Education lecturer Associate Professor Poonarat Pichayapaiboon said CU Faculty of Science researchers, with sponsorship from the Thailand Research Fund, had developed a nano-particle extract of aragonite crystals from green mussel shells that had been thrown out and are plentiful.
From that innovation, the researchers came up with the paint that could become a fun and creative art material. “When the light hits the paint, you can see beautiful glittering colours on paintings or handicrafts, which gives uniqueness to the artworks,” he said.
Because the paint is made from natural ingredients, it is safe for users, including children, as there is no mica that could cause lung disease, she said.
To develop the paint, the researchers invited well-known artists to try the product and make suggestions for improvements. The end result was bright, glittering pigments that stuck firmly to drawing papers, she said, adding the paint could also dissolve easily in water.
This paint and the art project “Enhancing student environmental sustainability awareness with innovative art materials: Multidisciplinary art and science activities” were honoured with various awards. They included the EIU Best Practice 2014 Award from the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) and a gold medal from the 42nd International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva last April.
Punnarat added that besides its artistic value, the use of “Pearle-scent Paint” also helped promote awareness among the youth of environment protection and natural ingredients.
The project, which taught art and science in an integrated manner, also built environmental awareness among the attending primary students from Chulalongkorn University Demonstration Primary School about global warning and why the students should use “Pearle-scent Paint” and what the paint was made of. Then the pupils got to paint with these eco-friendly pigments, he added.
Chulalongkorn University Demonstration Primary School’s head of the artistic potential promotion project, Somjai Jongrakwit, said the faculty staff had explained to the schoolteachers about the “Pearle-scent Paint” whose main ingredient was from thrown-away green mussel shells. The school arranged an activity to teach Prathom 4 students on how to use paints and brushes.
After that, the school arranged full-scale art activity in the previous school term for the second batch of students and also campaigned for the environment and the global warning awareness, Somjai added.
Prathom 5 student Punnada Phraesaeng-iam said she found that this special paint made the artwork look more beautiful than normal water paints or by simply sprinkling glitter onto it. “The painting using Pearle-scent Paint is obviously gleaming and the colour doesn’t come off the paper easily,” she said. Before they started drawing and painting, the project’s teaching staff would tell them about this paint, what it is made of and about global warming. Then the kids would draw about global warning from their own point of view, she said.
“Besides learning art, we also learn about natural conservation by making use of natural waste to create something beautiful,” she added.
