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Category Archives: artists

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… →

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… →

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… →

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… →

Fun Puns about Art and Artists

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Fun Puns about Art and Artists

Are you looking to add some humor to your class? We had a “Funday Punday Monday” at our school where kids and teachers brought in puns to share.  I rounded up some fun art-related puns you could use in your class.  Sidenote:  When I read these in class and I asked “Why did the artist go to the bathroom?”  One of my second graders called out (without missing a beat) “because he was consti-painted!”  That was a new answer and … Read more… →

Huge List of Contemporary Artists

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Collage with text "Contemporary Artists" and images of various contemporary artworks in different styles.

Are you looking for some new contemporary artists to teach your students about?  On the Facebook Art Teachers group, members suggested LOTS of contemporary artists that they teach their students.  These are now all compiled into ONE HUGE LIST on Google Docs!  I added websites and short descriptions to most of the artists so it is easier to use.  Thanks to all the teachers who collaborated to share their ideas and add artists.  This huge list has about 130 artists … Read more… →

Alphabet Art Project for 1st Grade

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Alphabet Art Project for 1st Grade

  This is a great project to try at the beginning of the year or as your students are reviewing the alphabet and beginning to learn to write words and phrases. I got this idea from the book Dynamic Art Projects for Children.  Ours are not exactly as the ones in this book, but very similar. We started by looking at the art of Stuart Davis and reading the phrases, words and numbers that we saw in his artwork.  The … Read more… →

Art History Sketchbook Prompts: Set #2

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Art History Sketchbook Prompts: Set #2

My first set of Art History Sketchbook Prompts have been popular and I recently made a second set with all different artists and prompts. This new set has 16 NEW art history prompts!   16 DIFFERENT artists. These art history cards feature a selection of inspiring artworks with a prompt that can be used to spark drawing and writing. Print off the cards on cardstock, cut in half and laminate to protect them. You can print off as many copies … Read more… →

Starry Night Kindergarten Art Project

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Starry Night Kindergarten Art Project

Here is an easy Starry Night inspired project that I like to teach to my kindergarten art classes. There is a great Van Gogh book for kids called “Getting to Know the Greatest Artists”, by Mike Venezia (my favorite series of art books for kids.) After viewing the swirling lines, dots and dashes that Van Gogh used, the students create a wild and swirly night sky scene with markers.  A silhouettte landscape or city scene is added on the bottom … Read more… →

5 Fabulous Things an Art Teacher is Loving Right Now

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The image has text "5 Fabulous Things I am loving right now" with a vibrant background featuring stars and paint strokes.

Before I start with 5 Fabulous Things let me just tell you how jealous I am of any of you who went to Texas this week for the National Art Education Association conference.  I love love love going to these conferences.  Unfortunately it’s not possible for me to go every year, but I’m living vicariously through blog posts and facebook posts of other art teachers… like Mr. E  and the Art of Ed. 5 Fabulous Things– a round up of … Read more… →

Inspired by Henri Matisse- Kindergarten

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Abstract collage with colorful shapes and cut-outs on a green background. Inspired by Henri Matisse, it includes the word "MOM" on a pink shape.

Henri Matisse is a popular artist to teach about in the elementary art classroom.  I’ve seen a lot of Matisse-inspired artwork from other art teachers.  His artwork is bright and colorful and lends itself well to teaching about shapes.  We read the book Oooh! Matisse and watched the video Dropping in on Matisse The students learned about organic shapes and geometric shapes. They also used their fine motor skills to use shape punchers. 

Featuring Magazine

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Magazine cover with the title "Featuring: Art Journaling, Mixed Media & More" and vibrant artwork in the background.

Have you heard about Featuring Magazine?In the Spring of 2012, an inspiring magazine will see the light: FEATURING.FEATURING is a printed magazine that can be ordered online only.FEATURING will appear as a quarterly publication. I am pleased to tell you that I have been working on writing some articles for the magazine, and I have been accepted as a contributing editor for the magazine.  Writing for magazines has always been a dream of mine.  In fact, when I was a … Read more… →

Piet Mondrian– Kindergarten

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Abstract artwork with colorful crayon scribbles and black paper cutouts, creating a geometric and fragmented design.

What are the Primary Colors?  Who was Piet Mondrian? The Nest will be looking at artwork by the artist named Piet Mondrian.  Some of his artwork was characterized by use of a very simple color scheme (usually the primary colors and black and white). His art had strong, straight lines and repeated use of squares and rectangles.  The students will be able to name the primary colors and recognize Mondrian’s artwork.  They created their own artwork using the primary colors … Read more… →

Oil Pastel Landscapes– 2nd grade

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Oil pastel landscape drawing with red mountains, a blue river, green grass, trees, and a small brown hut. Ideal for 2nd grade art projects.

@font-face { font-family: “Times”; }@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }@font-face { font-family: “Adobe Caslon Pro SmBd Italic”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Oil Pastel Landscapes By the Upper Primaries This project focused on learning about foreground, middle ground, background, shadows, and color mixing.  The students learned simple depth techniques.  The Upper Primaries used oil pastels to draw a tropical landscape.  They learned how to mix and blend … Read more… →

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