Snowboard Slalom

crayola supplies

Gel Markers
Construction Paper

household supplies

none

Why

Capture action in the exciting, extreme sport of snowboarding! Make great snow scenes with Crayola® Gel Markers using pointillism.

Steps

1. Snowboarding has only been around for 36 years! A dad in Michigan, Sherman Poppen, tied two skis together with a rope for his daughter to use in the snow and the "snurfer" was created. Lots of people snowboard, which is tons of fun!
2. The two main events for snowboarding are the halfpipe (with twists, turns, and jumps) and the giant slalom (boarding down a course as fast as you can.) Watch tapes, or visit a resort to find out how it's done.
3. On light blue construction paper, sketch your snowboarder on a mountain's giant slalom or halfpipe with Crayola Gel Markers. Capture the athlete's body language and movement.
4. Fill in your picture using pointillism, an art technique made famous by French Impressionist artists. Pointillist pictures are made of dots of color, with points of light spaced together to create shape, form, and dimension. Use different colors to make shadows and shadings.

When & Where

"Our whole family is immersed in snowboards. Pointillism creates a perfect snowy effect."
- Anne V., mom of 10- and 12-year-olds.

"Kids love this! Pointillism is similar to the technique used by Australian Aboriginal people for dreamtime pictures."
- Paulette L., museum volunteer.

Interesting Info

Snowboarding is considered to be the fastest growing sport in the world with 7 million participants in 2000. That's a 51.2% increase from the year before. Skiing only grew by 6%, with about 14.7 million skiers.