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…
I have an interesting and quirky book to show to you today. The book is called Ice Cream Work by Naoshi and the cool thing is that the pictures are made entirely of colored sand! I was given a copy of this book to review and a copy to giveaway. To enter the giveaway for a copy of this book, simply leave a comment on this blog post. The book is very Japanese in style and reminds me of other … Read more…
Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you an interview with Margaret Peot, author of the new book Stencil Craft. Earlier this week I wrote a book review, with the chance to win copies of this book (there is still time to enter). You can see that blog post here: Stencil Craft Book Review and Giveaway. Since I am an elementary art teacher, Margaret is also going to share a fun project to do with little children. 1. What … Read more…
I am excited to share with you the book A World of Artist Journal Pages. It just arrived in the mail yesterday and it is thick.. just full of inspiring art pages. And I am super excited because five of my art journal pages have been published in the book! I put together a video flip-through to show you some of the pages of the book. I have really low voice and my voice is even scratchier with a sore … Read more…
Our school librarian introduced this book to me and I think it is such a sweet story. This book is called Emily’s Blue Period by Cathleen Daly. The illustrations are lovely. This is a story about Emily, whose parents are divorcing and now she has two homes. She goes through her own “blue period” of sadness. Emily was learning about Pablo Picasso, his Blue Period and his collages in her art class. Her art teacher asks the class to … Read more…
I’m back with another list of 25 more of my favorite art books! Be forewarned, this is a long post. I have given you extra details about the books and some ideas to spark your lesson planning. It is no secret that I love children’s books. Previously, I wrote a list of 25 amazing art books which I like to use in my art classroom. This has been one of my most viewed posts. Since then, I have discovered some … Read more…
Did you Celebrate Oops!? My kindergarten and first graders started this open-ended project by reading the book Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg. We were inspired by the page in the book that said, “A smudge and a smear can make magic appear.” Each student received a piece of paper with a smear of paint on it. They were challenged to turn that piece of paper into a “beautiful oops” and create a wonderful work of art incorporating the smear. What … Read more…
I have a rare moment of quiet. My 4 year old is out to lunch with her cousins and my 4 month old is taking a nap. You know you’re a teacher when the first thing you think is.. “ooh! I can make some signs for my classroom.” Then, the second thing you think is “I could write a blog post!” Maybe I will have time to do both. It’s really amazing how much you can get done in a … Read more…
** This giveaway is now closed. ** I received a copy of a great new art history book to share with you! The book is A Child’s Introduction to Art: The World’s Greatest Paintings and Sculptures, written by Heather Alexander. The publishers are also giving away ONE free copy to a lucky winner. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on the blog telling one way you introduce art history to your kids. I will pick one winner on Friday … Read more…
Fruit and Flowers: I colored in the sketch that I showed you here. I mostly used colored pencils, watercolor pencils and watercolor paints. A Mouse: My 5th/6th graders are painting animals and my go-to demo is always a mouse or hamster. I love cute rodents. The kids are always astounded when I show them how to make furry texture with a fan brush! So fun. Do you have go-to images you use when demonstrating techniques? Me: Here I am at … Read more…
Did you join the Artsy Book Club on Facebook? It was started by Cassie Stephens. You should come join us! We are starting to work through the book One Drawing A Day: A 6-Week Course Exploring Creativity with Illustration and Mixed Media. The first assignment was a pen drawing of a still life set up of stuff you find around you. Drawing immediately with pen is harder than it seems. I was so worried about drawing a line wrong … Read more…
I was happy to receive a review copy of I Heard You Can Draw: A Story for Class Artists Everywhere, written by M. D. Savran, who is an art teacher and author/illustrator in the Tampa Bay area. I’m always happy to support other art teachers! The description reads: “Sarah loves to draw. When Mrs. Earl catches her drawing a picture in math class, the entire second grade discovers her talent! Suddenly, everyone asks her to draw pictures for them (strange … Read more…
I was given a review copy of this new book See a Heart Share a Heart. The author takes photographs of hearts he comes across in daily life, from a leaf to a sidewalk crack to a moth. After reading this book to my 3rd grade students, we worked as a team to find hearts or create heart artworks indoors and outdoors. When I say we worked as a team, the kids collaborated and talked about how they could find … Read more…
Missy left on comment on a previous post: ” LOVE that you’ve included some of your favorite kids books! Any other books you’d recommend to the mom for reference for trying to teach her kids basic art principles?” I use children’s books all the time in the art classroom. It is a great way to tie in literature and inspire the kids through stories and illustrations. Here is MY list of favorite books for teaching about art. I highly recommend … Read more…
I was sent a free copy of this new children’s book to review and share with you. It is called Too Much Glue, written by Jason Lefebvre and illustrated by Zac Retz. It is a very cute story of a boy who uses TOO MUCH GLUE on his artwork in art class, does a flying jump into the puddle and gets stuck there. What I love about the book: It’s a unique story, I have not seen a story like … Read more…
