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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.

Watercolor Animals with 5th and 6th Grade

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Colorful watercolor painting of a green parrot with blue wings and an orange tail, set against a bright blue sky.

With all the fancy projects an art teacher can find on Pinterest, sometimes it’s good to go back to the basics.  Simple drawing and painting of familiar subjects.  This week my students drew art manekins.  You could see much more concentration in the students than while doing other projects.  I was looking through the folders on my computer and found these animal watercolor paintings my students had made last year. For more watercolor lessons, check out these old posts: How … Read more… →

Published Magazine Article!

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Published Magazine Article!

An article I wrote was published in the April issue of Arts and Activities magazine! If you want to read the digital version, here is the link: http://pubdev.ipaperus.com/ArtsandActivities/AAApril2016/?page=24 Big thanks to the editor, Maryellen, for publishing my article.  I really appreciate it!  Writing about art and teaching is a hobby of mine (as you might have guessed from reading my blog) and it’s exciting to hold an actual physical copy of my writing. I have subscribed to Arts and Activities … Read more… →

What Do Artists Do? Signs about ARTISTS and Artistic Behaviors

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Colorful poster with art supplies at the edges and the text "What Do ARTISTS DO?" in the center, highlighting various artistic behaviors.

I have something to share with you that I’ve been working on for a long time.  Well, a couple of months.  It takes forever for me to accomplish anything lately (I have a clingy toddler who doesn’t like to sleep) so I work in short spurts whenever I get a chance. Many of you probably know of Ian and Melissa from Apex High School.  They have developed a list of Artistic Behaviors for the high school level.  I have been … Read more… →

Stuffed Animal Still Life Drawings with 1st Grade

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1st Grade children drawing stuffed animals with crayons and markers. Text reads "Stuffed Animal Still Lifes.

Do you want to know what will really get first graders excited about drawing still lifes?  Have them bring in their own stuffed animals!  I invited the kids to bring in their favorite stuffed animals to draw.  I also had a garbage bag full of my own stuffed animals from home in case someone forgot to bring in one. I demonstrated how to observe the shapes and positioning of the stuffed animals and then I let the kids get to … Read more… →

Clay Projects for Kids

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Three clay dog sculptures, each painted differently: one black and white, one brown, and one yellow.

Hello!  Today I am going to catch up on some of the clay projects my students have been working on.  The last few weeks we have been busy learning clay techniques, building and glazing.  We weren’t able to use regular clay for the past year since the kiln was out of commission, so my students were itching to work with clay! The 5th/6th grade classes made Clay Castles. We connected a clay unit to their study of the Middle Ages.  … Read more… →

A World of Your Own: Creativity Drawings

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Children's book "A World of Your Own" features two creative drawings.

I have a fun creativity drawing project and excellent children’s book to share with you today. I came across this book called A World of Your Own by Laura Carlin and thought it looked intriguing, so I ordered it. I love the illustrations in the book and the story encourages children to think of how they would imagine a world of their own. On a day when I was out sick, I left this book for the substitute teacher to … Read more… →

Vassily Kandinsky and Abstract Art

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Abstract painting featuring geometric shapes, bright circles, and dynamic lines in various vivid hues.

Vassily Kandinsky was one of the first pioneers of abstract art.   Abstract art is art that does not attempt to show things realistically, but uses lines, shapes, colors and textures to show emotions and meaning.   Kandinsky was from Russia and initially went to law school.  He was always fascinated by color and in his thirties, he decided to go to art school.   Kandinsky thought showing the inner beauty was most important.  He believed that color could express … Read more… →

Large Group Weaving on a Garden Fence

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A fabric weaving activity displayed on a pink bulletin board with a decorative border.

Thank you to all who voted for my blog in the AOE Blog of the Year contest.  While I did not win, I am still happy to have been a finalist.  Congrats to all of the bloggers in the contest! Today I am going to show you a super fun project that my students worked on this week. This summer we planted a garden.  My husband diligently set up a plastic fence to keep out the rabbits.  We watered it … Read more… →

Why I Love Collage

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A collage of various objects and patterns, featuring watermelon slices, oranges, and the word "awesome" in the center.

Collage became a part of Modern art in the early 20th century. Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were credited with naming this type of art. The word collage comes from the French word coller, which means to glue. Collages can be made of many materials.  I have an assortment of student collages to show you. Collage art is unique because you take already existing materials and arrange them into a new art form. Collage is all about playing around with … Read more… →

Paul Klee Castle Collage

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Colorful abstract collage of a whimsical cityscape with geometric buildings, clouds, and a castle against a white background.

Paul Klee was an important painter in the history of modern art.  I have always been drawn to his colorful, abstract pictures.  Children can relate to the simple geometric shapes and bold colors.  His art has been related to Expressionism, Cubism and Surrealism. Swiss artist Paul Klee painted the Castle and Sun with simplified shapes, but viewers can easily see the way the shapes form a castle or city-like scene.  For this lesson, we are going to paint colorful swatches … Read more… →

Artist Trading Card Swap Received

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A collection of colorful, small Artist Trading Cards arranged on a white background, showcasing various designs and styles.

We have received our artist trading cards from Mini Matisse‘s MEGA HUGE ATC SWAP! My students were very excited to receive their cards.  I divided the cards up into bags for each class and then the kids randomly chose numbers to pick their order.  Then, they were able to come up to the front and make their selection.  They were very pleased to find out where the card came from!  Here are the cards that were mailed to us from … Read more… →

Flower Paintings by First Grade: Learn about Van Gogh and Hundertwasser

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First-grade children's artwork featuring abstract flower paintings with petals in various designs and bright colors on a blue background.

I’m proud of this lesson and how colorful and unique each of these pictures turned out!  I like to introduce a bit of art history to the younger kids, but I didn’t want the kids to copy a famous painting. Artistic Behaviors: Artists develop their own style. Artists create art that honors someone or something. Skills & Concepts: Discuss the differences and similarities between two artworks of a similar theme. Develop hand/eye coordination through painting and collage. Learn various techniques … Read more… →

Sand Painting with Kids

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Lively abstract painting featuring various shapes and patterns in red, blue, yellow, and green.

If you are looking for something to add a new dimension to regular painting, sand painting just might be the ticket!  The tactile experience is something exciting for children. I recently taught a unit on painting with sand to my third and fourth grade class.  You may remember my “how-to” blog post about this technique.  If you are wondering how we did our sand paintings, check out that post for all the details.  For a more advanced technique using adhesive … Read more… →

Pick and Draw Game

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Pick and Draw game cards and activity book on a white surface, featuring cartoon drawing elements and guide sheets.

Hello friends, I hope you’ve had a good holiday break so far and a happy new year.  You may have noticed one of my affiliate links on the side of my blog, which is Pick and Draw.  I only tell you about things I have used and trust myself.  I wrote about these cards a few years ago and I decided that since it’s been a few years, there are probably new teachers out there who haven’t heard of these … Read more… →

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