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Snowman Art Project, Dog Portrait, Smiley Art Faces and More! (5 Fabulous Things)

By Marcia Beckett | December 13, 2024 - 4:47 pm |December 13, 2024 5 Fabulous Things, art teacher tips, art teaching, artists, book review, books, freebie

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Three fabulous drawings of snowmen at night: left and right snowmen have hats and scarves, while the middle one sports a striped hat. Each stands in a snowy landscape adorned with trees and crescent moons.

Hello! A long time ago I used to do round-up posts of random things I am currently loving. Some have to do with art, some are just fun! I decided to bring that idea back. Hopefully some of my current favorite things will inspire you. 1. My Dad’s artwork My Dad has been making art for many years (mostly colored pencils and pastels) and recently I was reminded of how much I love this colored pencil drawing he did of … Read more… →

Character Creation Workshop with Tracy Subisak: A Fun and Creative Experience

By Marcia Beckett | July 7, 2024 - 2:59 pm |August 11, 2024 artists, drawing, fifth grade, fourth grade, third grade

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A child with dark hair and a blue snail face each other with the text "Sorry, Snail" above them.

Our school had an amazing visit from Tracy Subisak, a Taiwanese-American author and illustrator known for her children’s books. She shared her creative process, read “Sorry, Snail,” and demonstrated character creation techniques. Students then created their own characters. I got a signed copy for my collection. Have you hosted an author visit before? Read more… →

Art of the Brick: Nathan Sawaya Lego Exhibit

By Marcia Beckett | March 31, 2022 - 12:14 pm |July 5, 2024 all grades, artists, contemporary artists, Legos

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A sculpture by Nathan Sawaya features a human figure made of yellow LEGO bricks, ripping open its chest with bricks spilling out. This piece is part of the "Art of the Brick" Lego exhibit.

Happy Spring! It is Spring Break for us and we took a little trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. We saw an awesome Lego exhibit at the museum by artist Nathan Sawaya. If you are in the area, I definitely recommend visiting the museum to see this exhibit. My favorite pieces were the ones in which he recreated famous works of art throughout art history. There were some impressive animal sculptures as well as a fantastic … Read more… →

Peter H. Reynolds on Creativity

By Marcia Beckett | March 30, 2019 - 8:53 am |July 5, 2024 all grades, art teacher tips, art teaching, artists, book review, books, character education, NAEA conference, professional development

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At the 2019 NAEA Conference, a projector screen displays the colorful text "CREATE BRAVELY" with an audience in dark view. FableVision and Peter H. Reynolds' logos are visible.

One of the presentations I was most looking forward to going to at NAEA ’19 was the author Peter H. Reynolds. Most elementary art teachers are familiar with his books.. they are all so colorful and teach about those concepts we want our students to learn. The Dot The book called The Dot is the one that I think most people have heard of. I have done lots and lots of projects about dots using this book. You can see … Read more… →

Lego Capitol Building at Madison Children’s Museum

By Marcia Beckett | May 29, 2018 - 5:08 pm |July 5, 2024 artists, Legos, sculpture, STEAM

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Lego model of a government building with a larger, illuminated Capitol Building in the dark background.

This 12,000 brick model of the Wisconsin State Capitol building was built by my husband Andrew. It was commissioned by the Madison Children’s Museum to help celebrate the 100th birthday of the building. Hear about this project in his own words. 1. How did this opportunity come about? “I was contacted by the Children’s Museum after the staff found a picture online of a much smaller version of the Capitol that I had built. They were interested in commissioning a LEGO model … Read more… →

Artists That Inspire Us — Art Ed Blogger’s Network

By Marcia Beckett | February 13, 2018 - 1:36 am |July 5, 2024 all grades, Art Ed Blogger's Network, art history, art teacher tips, artists

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Artists That Inspire Us — Art Ed Blogger’s Network

Hi! Are you interested in learning about artists that inspire? Are you looking for new contemporary artists to teach your students? One of my favorite parts about blogging is connecting with other bloggers online. Some art education bloggers recently formed an Art Ed Blogger’s Network. We are planning to post once a month about the same topic. This month’s topic is Artists that Inspire Us. Most readers probably know about the most famous artists that are typically taught in an … Read more… →

In Case You Missed It: Frank Stella Inspired Children’s Art Project

By Marcia Beckett | January 28, 2018 - 7:56 pm |July 5, 2024 artists, contemporary artists, drawing, fifth grade, fourth grade

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Abstract artwork featuring intertwined red ribbons and geometric shapes on a dark background framed with a colorful border.

Two and a half years ago I posted this lesson about using Frank Stella’s artwork as inspiration for children’s drawings. I love Frank Stella’s work. After visiting an art museum and seeing an exhibit of the progression of his style, I was hooked. It is so fascinating and there is a lot to look at. The sheer size of these prints are stunning. In case you haven’t figure out by now, my favorite style of art is BUSY, abstract, super … Read more… →

Interview with MazeToons artist Joe Wos

By Marcia Beckett | January 21, 2018 - 7:18 pm |July 5, 2024 all grades, artists, contemporary artists, drawing, lines

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Cartoon maze by artist Joe Wos featuring characters navigating paths, starting with a boy in a yellow shirt and ending at "The Doctor is In" booth. This MazeToons creation invites you to embark on a whimsical adventure.

I have a treat for you today! While I was researching ideas for a maze art project, I came across some really intriguing and fun mazes by an artist name Joe Wos. I am totally in love with the creativity, fun and artistry of these mazes. Joe has made a career out of his illustrated comic mazes, which he calls MazeToons. Joe agreed to be interviewed for my blog. Here is the interview. 1. Tell us about yourself. How did … Read more… →

Heart Art Projects for Kids

By Marcia Beckett | January 10, 2018 - 4:50 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, abstract, all grades, artists, drawing, first grade, hearts, holiday, pattern, Teachers Pay Teachers, Valentines Day

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Now is the time to start planning for Valentine’s Day art projects. I am going to share with you a few heart art projects I have taught in my school. First is the Map of My Heart. It is one of my favorites. I found the heart map idea in this book, Playful Learning. Start by drawing a heart in pencil on your paper. Think of all the things that you love or that are important to you. What is … Read more… →

Free Printable: Faith Ringgold Inspired Quilt Template

By Marcia Beckett | July 2, 2017 - 8:55 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, art history, artists, books, collage, drawing, fabric, first days of school, kindergarten, pattern, second grade, self portrait, Teachers Pay Teachers

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A child's drawing of a family surrounded by a colorful mosaic frame, with a hand resting at the bottom, inspired by Faith Ringgold.

Hi! I’m here today to share with you a meaningful art project for your younger students. This would be good as as a “getting to know you” activity. The following examples were all made by kindergartners near the end of the year, but I would think this lesson would be suitable for kids through grades 2. Many art teachers have taught about the artist Faith Ringgold and had their students create paper quilts. I have a free printable for you … Read more… →

Mixed Media Collages by Kids – Inspired by Sabrina Ward Harrison

By Marcia Beckett | March 22, 2017 - 10:33 am |July 5, 2024 abstract, artists, collage, fabric, fifth grade, fourth grade, mixed media, third grade

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A pile of colorful tissue papers with a group of people seated at tables in the background.

In my last post, I showed you some of Sabrina Ward Harrison’s artwork and talked about what she shared with us at her artist visit. Her artwork is very inspiring, messy and beautiful. Please check out the other post to learn all about this artist. After the presentation, smaller groups of kids in grades 3-6 had a collage workshop with Sabrina. She demonstrated how to use Mod-Podge to paste down pieces of her pinwheel shape. While she demonstrated the pinwheel … Read more… →

Article in Arts & Activities Magazine

By Marcia Beckett | September 17, 2016 - 6:50 pm |July 5, 2024 artists, book review, books, contemporary artists, interview, published, third grade

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Magazine open to an article titled "Anthropomorphic Animal Collages" in Arts & Activities Magazine, featuring colorful animal artwork and text.

I’m pretty excited my article in the October issue of Arts & Activities is on the cover! I wrote about an art project my students did after learning about the artist William Wegman. I had the awesome opportunity to interview Wegman on the phone and include the interview as a large part of the article. I’m very glad that they included a bunch of my students’ artwork (3rd grade). You can read the whole article here: http://pubdev.ipaperus.com/ArtsandActivities/AAOctober2016/?page=20 If you would … Read more… →

3-D Bedroom Constructions and Perspective

By Marcia Beckett | August 23, 2016 - 8:00 pm |July 5, 2024 art history, artists, drawing, fifth grade, fourth grade, recycled art, sculpture

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3-D Bedroom Constructions and Perspective

Student-directed vs. teacher-directed and choice vs. “cookie cutter projects” (I hate that phrase, it’s so annoying) are big discussions with art teachers online lately. This is an example of how teacher-directed projects (perspective and interior models) can include lot of student choice and opportunities for creativity. When I went to the Art Institute of Chicago this Spring, I was lucky to be able to see the traveling van Gogh bedroom paintings exhibit. My friend Dawn told me that she used … Read more… →

Huge Printable Art Advocacy List! What Do Artists Do?

By Marcia Beckett | April 15, 2016 - 6:58 pm |July 5, 2024 all grades, art history, art teacher tips, art teaching, artists, bulletin board

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Huge Printable Art Advocacy List! What Do Artists Do?

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 following along and seeing how they teach their students. Seeing their list gave me the idea to create posters that shows kids what artists do and what exactly is an artist. I decided to simplify the behaviors for elementary school students and start from the basics. Start from the ground and … Read more… →

Jesse Reno: ambition over direction

By Marcia Beckett | March 25, 2016 - 10:42 am |July 5, 2024 abstract, all grades, artists, contemporary artists

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A colorful abstract face with various patterns and textures, featuring two horns and closed eyes.

When I found out that Jesse Reno was going to be at the National Art Education Conference this year, I was stoked. I’ve been following his artwork and blog for several years and I love how layered and complex his paintings are. You have to watch his process of transforming one thing into another while painting. He has several videos on his blog where you can watch him paint. I was excited to hear him talk, but it would have … Read more… →