• If you'd like to receive emails every time a new post is added, enter your email below.

Author Archives: Marcia Beckett

About Marcia Beckett

Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.

“Emily’s Blue Period” Art Project: Personal Collages

By | | , , , ,
Leave a comment
A colorful personal collage featuring animals, words like "hoping," "joy," and "style," along with various textures and images.

Personal Collages:  4th and 5th Grade   We read the book Emily’s Blue Period, which is about a girl whose parents are divorcing and now she has two homes. Emily was learning about Pablo Picasso, his Blue Period and his collages in her art class. She goes through her own “blue period” of sadness.  Her art teacher asks the class to make personal collages about their homes.  She doesn’t know what to do because she has two homes now.  She ends up … Read more… →

3 Fun and Easy Kindergarten Art Lessons

By | | , , ,
2 Comments
A collage of three fun and easy kindergarten art projects featuring colorful drawings, glue stick, markers, and scissors. Text reads "3 Easy Art Projects for Kindergarten.

For me it is always a challenge to keep up with Kindergarten art projects. I see my classes twice per week for 40 minutes, so they get to do a lot of art!  They go through lessons and projects quickly, their attention spans are short and they have difficulty sometimes with very basic skills.  Here are three Kindergarten art lessons that are fairly easy to prepare for, teach important art concepts and use the same selection of materials. The first … Read more… →

Color Theory and Rhythm Drawings by 3rd Grade

By | | , ,
Leave a comment
Colorful abstract drawing on white paper with the word "Rainbow" written underneath, showcasing concepts of color theory.

This is a project I love to do with the 3rd graders.  Their drawing all turn out so unique and fun.  First, we talk about what rhythm in art is.  Rhythm is like a visual beat in a picture, created by lines, colors, shapes and space.  Rhythm can be made by repeating certain elements of art.  Here is a good handout about rhythm. Here is another handout about rhythmic line designs.   The students each drew their own line drawing showing … Read more… →

Huge Sale on Art Teacher Resources

By | | , ,
Leave a comment
Colorful flyer highlighting a Cyber Monday sale offering up to 28% off on Art Teacher Resources. Don't miss out on this huge sale happening November 28-29!

Hi friends! Thank you all for your amazing support of my blog and my shop.  You have no idea what it means to me!  I love reading your comments on my blog posts. Like I mentioned earlier this week, I am part of the huge sale at Teachers Pay Teachers this MONDAY and TUESDAY– Nov. 28 and 29 ONLY.   Many sellers are participating and nearly all of my products are 20% (the only thing not included is the Growing Art … Read more… →

Abstract Shape Collages and Artist Reggie Laurent

By | | , , , , , , ,
1 Comment
Abstract painting with colorful, irregular shapes and patterns. Artist Reggie Laurent's influence is evident in the vibrant abstract shape collages.

Reggie Laurent:  Contemporary Artist Reggie Laurent is a self-taught artist living in Georgia.  He creates very intricate abstract shape paintings.  I saw his paintings online and I was immediately drawn to all of the fun patterns and colors. My first graders learned about his abstract pictures. They are filled with lots of different shapes, fitted together like a puzzle.  His artworks are highly detailed and very colorful. Student Shape Collages The students learned about and used organic (freeform) and geometric shapes … Read more… →

Letter Painting with Kwik Stix

By | | ,
1 Comment
The word "CREATE" in colorful, cut-out letters on paper, surrounded by Kwik Stix and a pencil on a wooden surface.

I love Kwik Stix and so do my students.  “It’s like drawing with lipstick!”  I posted a video review of the product because I liked them so much.  Then, the Kwik Stix company saw it and contacted me about trying out their metallic and neon colors.  I tried them out to share with you and I also came up with a fun project you could try using them.  (Disclosure: I received these as a gift from the company.  I am … Read more… →

Published Article in Arts & Activities Magazine

By | |
2 Comments
Published Article in Arts & Activities Magazine

I have a new article in Arts & Activities magazine this month!  I am very excited.  I encourage you to submit articles to magazines if you have ideas you’d like to share.  It is very rewarding to see your words in print!  Arts & Activities and School Arts magazines are always looking for new articles. You can read the full article here: http://pubdev.ipaperus.com/ArtsandActivities/AADecember2016/?page=16

A Great Way to Communicate with Parents in Art Class

By | | , , ,
9 Comments
A Great Way to Communicate with Parents in Art Class

This year I have started using a new way to communicate with parents.  After receiving some feedback last year that parents didn’t know quite what we were learning about with each project, I decided to type up description statements that would explain artists we learned about, skills and techniques practiced and any other goals of the art project. After the projects are completed I have a student helper tape the descriptions to the back for the younger classes.  The older … Read more… →

Blogging with Students: A Guest Post

By | | , ,
Leave a comment
Illustration of a ship on waves with three figures aboard. Text reads "The Logonauts" around the circle.

Hi friends!  I have a treat for you today.  My very intelligent and dedicated co-worker Katie McEnaney is guest posting for Art is Basic today.  She was previously our 3rd grade Language Arts/Social Studies/Drama teacher and this year she moved to the 6th/7th grade level.  She also created the blog The Logonauts, which focuses on a variety of literature related topics. Many readers have asked me for advice about blogging with students.  Since my time is so limited with my students, I … Read more… →

Painted and Doodled Stars Tutorial

By | | , , , , ,
7 Comments
Colorful, hand-drawn stars in various shapes and sizes with decorative patterns on a white background.

I feel like I have stumbled upon my newest art series for my own art.  Earlier I wrote a blog post about how to make watercolor doodled flowers.  Using a similar technique, I made watercolor mandalas.  I have a new painting to show you with watercolor and doodled stars.   These were all made by starting with watercolor paints and then doodling on top with thin markers. Products I Use (Amazon Affiliate links are used) Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections: Tropicals Prima Marketing … Read more… →

New Art History Sketchbook Prompt Set!! Set #4

By | | , , ,
Leave a comment
New Art History Sketchbook Prompt Set!! Set #4

I have a brand new set of Art History Sketchbook Prompts to share with you! These cards are a great way for students to do some independent learning if they finish an art project early. This is set #4 of the Art History Sketchbook Prompts, with all NEW artists! These art history cards feature a selection of inspiring famous artworks with a prompt that can be used to spark drawing and writing.  Only $5!  The price reflects the increase in … Read more… →

Animal Personality Drawings

By | | , , ,
2 Comments
Animal Personality Drawings

Here is a really fun twist on self-portraits!  I teach the grades K-4/5 at my school and the middle school art teacher is in charge of grades 5/6-8.  We have a new art teacher at the middle school level this year and her name is Jayne Baitinger-Peterson.  She comes to our school with over 30 years teaching experience at the elementary level and she has been enjoying the change with middle school youth.  She gave me permission to share these … Read more… →

If I Were President… by Kindergarten

By | | ,
1 Comment
If I Were President… by Kindergarten

With the election coming up, my kindergarten classes answered the sentence “If I were President, I would make the world a better place by…”  and they drew themselves as President.  I got this idea from my daughter’s art teacher, as they did it for President’s Day last year.  I started by reading them a book about what a president does.  This is one that I found that I really liked.  If I Were President by Catherine Stier (affiliate link provided.) After … Read more… →

Create a “Create” Banner

By | | , ,
3 Comments
A colorful mural with the word "CREATE" surrounded by various vibrant doodles, patterns, and abstract designs, showcasing an inspiring create design.

I’ve been busy this school year, but proud of myself that I feel like I’m keeping on top of things.  It is so easy to feel like you are drowning in artwork, messes and things on your to-do list.  Am I the only one sometimes that feels like I am swimming in a sea of student artwork trying to figure out what’s what, what’s finished and what still needs to be done? I wanted to share with you a fun … Read more… →

Googly Eyed Sticker Monsters

By | | , ,
Leave a comment
A child coloring monster drawings with markers on a wooden table, adding googly eyes for a fun touch.

With Halloween coming, this is an especially fun open-ended project for little kids.  I did this with kids up to grade 3 and they were super excited to come up with their own monsters. Supplies needed (Amazon affiliate links used): Peel and Stick Wiggle Eyes Wiggle Eyes Stickers On A Roll Multi-Color Markers, crayons or other coloring tools White or colored construction paper Handouts for inspiration:  Monster Dice Drawing and Examples of Monsters This is a real simple introduction and … Read more… →

  • Banner with colorful artwork promoting an art shop featuring kindness coloring pages, artist activities, and resources for teachers.