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…
First of all, thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Art Ed Blog of the Year contest. While I didn’t place in the top 10 it was still exciting to be nominated! Our 100th day of school was this past Friday and I thought I would participate with a 100th day art project for the first time ever. If your 100th day of school has already passed, this might be a project you want to “pin” and save … Read more…
Hey readers! I’m happy to announce I’m in the running for the top 10 art ed blogs of the year over at The Art of Ed. I would be so honored to have your vote for Art is Basic. You can vote for multiple blogs and I think you can vote every day this week.. Thanks for your support! If you don’t follow the other blogs listed, definitely check them out. They are ones I follow regularly. http://www.theartofed.com/2014/02/03/finalists-announced-and-voting-open-2013-art-ed-blog-of-the-year/ … Read more…
What did I do on our two “cold” days off school this week? Well, besides snuggling under the warm covers and working on some school work, my 4 year old and I made some canvas collages for her bedroom. While I would not necessarily recommend this for a project in an art class, I see no problem introducing appropriation in the context of Pop Art. After all, Andy Warhol used cartoons in his famous art. I observed a really awesome … Read more…
In the “better late than never” category, last Spring we made these super fun faux stained glass paintings in the 5th/6th grade class. For this project, you will need clear transparency sheets, Sharpie markers, Gallery Glass Paint (the kind used to paint suncatchers), regular acrylic paints (optional) and cardstock picture frames (also optional). I had a bunch of transparency sheets in my classroom already and I got the glass paint FREE from an art re-swap, so I knew I wanted … Read more…
We are coming up with lots of good ideas for Spirit Days at our school. The first post on Spirit Day ideas was popular with Google searches, so I must not be the only one who is always on the look out for new and fresh ideas for fun days at school. Many art teachers wear multiple hats and end up leading groups like Student Council or plan school wide events. Here are more Spirit Day ideas we came up … Read more…
Maybe you are thinking about becoming a teacher or more specifically, an art teacher. Maybe you are already in a teaching program or perhaps you have just started thinking about your future career plans. Do you know what it’s like to be a teacher? What are the best ways to prepare yourself for the job? I was invited to write a blog post about my story of becoming a teacher and to give advice to someone transitioning into a teaching career. … Read more…
Over the weekend, our school had a book fair at Barnes & Noble. There were musical performances by the students, story book read-alouds and an author visit. A percentage of the sales went to our school to buy books for our library. It was great fun and I think we will get a significant amount of books for our school! I was asked to have a craft table with a holiday theme. I decided we would make ornaments and pins. … Read more…
I’m pregnant! I’m due at the end of April and we are having a boy. Holy cow! I still can’t believe it.
Are you looking for a last-minute Thanksgiving craft to keep the kids occupied after your turkey dinner? How about a “thankful wreath”? 1. Cut out the inside of a paper plate, so only the rim is left. 2. Cut out construction paper leaves and write one thing that you are thankful for on each leaf. 3. Glue these to the paper plate.4. Gather an assortment of fun “additions”: cut out felt leaves, artificial or real fall leaves, foam stickers and … Read more…
A self portrait is one of those art projects that is always fun to do with kids. Kids often struggle to portray an accurate likeness of themselves (at least in their opinion), but their personality always shines through. I did not come up with this lesson all on my own. I saw something similar in an art ed. magazine years ago and adapted it and reused this one many times. In my opinion, that’s a great way to collect a … Read more…
I haven’t done one of these for awhile and I’ve been coming across all kinds of fabulous things to share with you. I was reviewing this Youtube video again for planning projects and I just LOVE this “note to self” by Chuck Close. If you teach about Chuck Close, this is great to show your students. CBS This Morning: Artist Chuck Close Writes Note to Younger Self Great money & future planning advice for high schoolers from the Simple Dollar, … Read more…
If you are looking for some new art center ideas for your classroom, look no further! Today I’m going to share with you 5 art centers my students have been enjoying lately. After visiting two choice-based art classrooms, I’ve decided to incorporate some free choice days into my class schedule. I think it is important to let students try out different art materials and ideas at their own pace. However, I am still continuing my art curriculum and will teach … Read more…
Monday, November 11 is Veteran’s Day in America. My 5th and 6th graders had the privilege of a visit from a lady from our local senior center whose husband is a veteran. She talked to the students about the symbolism of the poppy and read to the students the poem “In Flanders Fields.” The students were invited to create a small artwork that honors all of the veterans. They also had the opportunity to write a poem in response to … Read more…
