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Category Archives: all grades

Yayoi Kusama Children’s Book

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Yayoi Kusama Children’s Book

I am in love with this new children’s book about Yayoi Kusama.  The illustrations are gorgeous.  I love Yayoi’s style and her artwork.  Known for her polka dot installations, polka dot pumpkins and mirrored rooms, this artist is sure to captivate your students. From the inside cover: “Growing up in Japan, Yayoi Kusama dreamed of becoming an artist.  In the fields of her family’s nurseries she drew flowers and plants and stones, imagining the world around her as streams and … Read more… →

Interview with an Artist: Justin Bua

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Caricature of a female artist singing passionately into an old-fashioned microphone, wearing a white dress with red polka dots.

Today I have a special artist to introduce to you.  His name is Justin Bua.  I was able to get an exclusive interview with him, so keep reading to learn more about his art.. in his own words! From his website, “Justin BUA is an award winning urban artist. His DJ poster has sold more than any other print of our era. His celebratory paintings of hip hop imagery document turntable, b-boy, MC and graffiti culture. BUA is one of … Read more… →

Art Video: Doodling with Watercolor Pencils

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A colorful abstract drawing with various shapes and a set of watercolor pencils beside it.

  In this video, I give a demonstration of how to use Maped Watercolor Pencils to make a beautiful doodled painting.  If you are reading this through email or a blog reader, you may need to pop on over to my actual blog to see the video.  It should show up below. If you would like to purchase a set, click here: Maped Watercolor Pencils I was given a free set of watercolor pencils to review. (affiliate links have been used.)

Watercolor Pencil Review

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A colorful abstract drawing with various shapes and a set of watercolor pencils beside it.

Hi friends!  I was given a free set of Maped Watercolor Pencils to review.  I decided to practice my skills at making videos and I did a review of these pencils. Stay tuned!  In my next blog post, I will give a demonstration of how to use Maped Watercolor Pencils to make a beautiful doodled painting. If you would like to purchase a set, click here: Maped Watercolor Pencils (affiliate links have been used.)

Painted Rocks with Magazine Cut Outs

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Three painted rocks with positive messages: "DISCOVER," "make," and "BRAVE." The colorful rocks are decorated with magazine cut outs, adding a unique touch.

At the end of the school year, my students had fun painting rocks and using magazine words to decorate them. We used acrylic paints to paint the rocks. Then, we used Mod Podge to glue down the words and seal them. The metallic paint was from Target’s little acrylic paint jars.  I have some printable magazine word cut outs in my shop for easy use.  Just print, cut out and go!  These are perfect for collages, art journals and “About … Read more… →

“Wild About the Arts” Fine Arts Night

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Colorful poster with various animals and "Wild About the Arts" text in bold, vibrant letters, celebrating Fine Arts Night.

It has been several weeks since our Fine Arts Night and I have been waiting until things settled down here to write all about it. Many, many thanks to my co-worker Katie McEnaney for taking photographs of the event! “Wild About the Arts” Fine Arts Night We had our first ever Fine Arts Night.  The night combined musical performances, an art show and art activities to celebrate the arts!  We decided on an animal theme. We displayed one artwork from … Read more… →

A Few of My Favorite Posts from 2016

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A Few of My Favorite Posts from 2016

Another year has come and gone.  Here are some of my favorite posts from 2016.  Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year! My Top 6 Favorite Posts in 2016.. in no particular order. 1. Huge Printable List of “What Artists Do”  The list is two pages long and can be printed and hung in your classroom as a reminder of all the things that artists do!  Click on the image to find the downloadable pdfs. This goes along with a … Read more… →

How to Make a Christmas Tree Collage

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Colorful Christmas tree collage with stars, hearts, ornaments, and "JOY" written at the bottom.

Are you looking for a fun art project to try over winter break with your kids?  Here is one that is sure to be festive, fun and creative! What you will need: watercolor paints pencil watercolor paper paint brush cup of water markers.  For my own art, I prefer Micron markers, Sakura Koi markers, and Molotow White markers. stickers of your choice glue magazines assorted paper scraps of your choice 1.  Begin by drawing a Christmas tree shape on a piece of … Read more… →

Duncan Tonatiuh: Author/Illustrator Visit

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An illustrator depicts a woman pointing upward as four children sit around her, with corn stalks in the background.

On Friday, we had a visit to our school by author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh. See his artwork here.  He is both Mexican and American. He grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City. His artwork is inspired by Pre-Columbian art, particularly that of the Mixtec codex. His goal is to create images and stories that honor the past, but that are relevant to people, especially children, nowadays.  His books are beautiful … Read more… →

Huge Sale on Art Teacher Resources

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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… →

Letter Painting with Kwik Stix

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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… →

A Great Way to Communicate with Parents in Art Class

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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

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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… →

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