Encourage your little one’s inner artist with easy and entertaining art activities for kids using dot stickers, inspired by the works of Yayoi Kusama. Also known as the ‘princess of polka dots’, Yayoi is a Japanese contemporary artist whose career has spanned over eight decades. She has dabbled in various mediums, from mirror room art installations to towering pumpkin sculptures.

Her works are currently on display in the Yayoi Kusama and Kusama for Kids exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) until 21 April. Can’t make it there? These activities will inspire your youngsters to unleash their creativity and improve their fine motor skills.

Colour in a Spotted Pumpkin

Suitable for Ages 3+

Print out this spotted pumpkin template using a colour printer and let your little ones go wild with colour to create their own take on Yayoi Kusama’s iconic artwork, Pumpkin (OG), 1992. For all the fun of painting with a fraction of the clean-up, try paint sticks for extra-pigmented and vivid spots. This activity will help your youngsters identify colours and shapes and encourage fine motor skills as they try to stay within the lines.

A series of images showing a pair of hands cutting out a drawing of an orange pumpkin with white polka dots that have been coloured in with many different colours.

Questions to Ask to Help With Learning

  • How many spots are on the pumpkin?
  • How many colours have you added to the pumpkin?
  • Do you know how pumpkins grow?

What You’ll Need 

Hot Tip: We recommend printing the template using a colour printer to capture the bright orange colour of Yayoi’s spotted pumpkin.

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Get Creative with Dot Stickers

A series of images showing dot stickers of various colours and sizes being placed onto a piece of blue cardboard until it is almost covered and there are not many gaps of blue left.

Suitable for Ages 3+

For an easy art project that’s ideal for preschoolers, grab some coloured paper and some dot stickers and see what patterns and pictures your kids can create simply using their imagination. It’s the perfect mess-free art activity that will encourage your kids to consider colour, design and improve their fine motor skills as they place each sticker on their page. 

Questions to Ask to Help With Learning

  • How many stickers did you use?
  • What patterns or pictures can you create with these stickers?
  • If you mixed the red dots with the blue dots, what colour would you make?

What You’ll Need 

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See more spots and explore the Yayoi Kusama and Kusama for Kids exhibitions at the NGV until 21 April 2025. The exhibitions celebrate over eight decades of her art, featuring some of her most well-known artworks and some new and exclusive installations.

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