I recently took a workshop at a local gallery with artist Kinga Johnson. I learned a lot of great tips and techniques for working with alcohol inks. I bought some of my own alcohol inks and experimented at home and I wanted to share with you some easy ways to get started using alcohol inks. It is a really fun process and you can use the resulting papers for fun backgrounds or to cut out and make collages. You can … Read more…
Neurographic art is an art form that was designed in 2014 by a Russian psychologist named Pavel Piskarov. It is an intuitive form of art that involves mindfulness and intentionality. We have over 100 billion neurons that transmit information from the brain to the rest of the body. These neurographic artworks kind of look like neurons and cells. Piskarev’s Definition: Neurographic art is a creative method of world transformation. It helps evolve our reality by engaging our emotional and aesthetic … Read more…
Hi! I know I haven’t written in awhile. I hope you are doing well and had a great school year. It’s been a challenging time and I haven’t made blogging a priority. I’m still here though and making art! Now that summer is here I have a bit more free time, so maybe I’ll catch up on sharing some things with you. I wanted to share with you a couple places to get free or cheap materials– but you have … Read more…
Here is a fun project to do for the element of art texture. It is great for the little kids in grades K and 1, but I have found that the older kids in grades 3 and 4 enjoyed it too. It is also good as an early finisher activity for the older kids because it doesn’t require a lot of instruction. The supplies are simple. You will need a marker to draw the shapes, peeled crayons and texture rubbing … Read more…
I was contacted by a representative at Grabie online marketplace, which I had never heard of before. Since I love trying out new supplies, I decided to go ahead with a product review. I also love to find and share different art supplies with other art teachers. They sent me two art supplies to try out. I was not compensated for my review, other than the free supplies. I told them I would be completely honest in my review and … Read more…
Hi! This is a project I repeat in some form every year with my 3rd/4th grade class. Often I do it to teach about shading and values. Here’s an example from 12 years ago (wow, I can’t believe my blog is that old) of a black and white non-objective lesson. This year, I wanted to add pops of color to the hallway and I wanted the kids to explore color and blending. We first learned about non-objective art- art that … Read more…
Here is a welcoming art project you can do with your students. Read the book All Are Welcome (Amazon affiliate link at no extra cost to you.) This is a great book about including everyone at school. Have each child draw a self-portrait from head to toe. Display with the heading You Are Welcome Here! We used these handouts for reference.
I created a slideshow of 5 artists that use hearts in their artwork! My plan is to show my distance learners this slideshow which features a range of heart artworks and then have them create their own heart-inspired artwork using their own choice of media and creativity. Feel free to use the slideshow with your students to show them some heart themed artwork. Perfect for Valentine’s Day! The five artists that I used in this slideshow maybe are already known … Read more…
I have a whole slideshow that I will show my students about Claude Monet and his Impressionist artwork. This is a project I have adapted for distance learning. All of my kids have watercolor paints as part of their art supplies at home. I used this lesson as an idea to adapt my lesson. Usually I have the kids paint on cardboard circles, then attach lilypads using construction paper and tissue paper, but I figured most would not have tissue … Read more…
Here is my lesson on patterned circles for distance learning. I used this with 3rd-5th grade. A pattern is a design, line, shape or color that is repeated.
After the death of George Floyd, protests happened here in Madison, WI (as well as all over the country). Some businesses had windows broken. Artists covered the boarded-up windows with beautiful murals calling for justice and equality. I will have two posts of photos of some of these murals, because there were so many amazing artworks.
I wanted to point you to this great place to start your journey on becoming a more inclusive, anti-racist art teacher. The new Anti-Racist Art Teachers website has loads of resources to get you started with reading, listening, learning and reflecting on how to remove stereotypes and false narratives in your art curriculum. They even are starting a collection of lesson plans specifically designed for the art classroom. You can now download these posters for FREE at these three TpT … Read more…
I found two new collage books that I thought were pretty cool! If you know me, you might know that I love stickers! The first book I found is called the Antiquarian Sticker Book: Over 1000 Exquisite Victorian Stickers. (Amazon affiliate links have been used at no extra cost to you.) I made a video flip through of this book so you can see all the cool stickers inside. The next book I discovered is brand-new, just published. It is … Read more…
Like most of you, our in-person classes have been changed to distance learning and we need to come up with challenges and projects the kids can do on their own at home. The first week I had my students create stuffed animal still lifes or still lifes with objects that were meaningful to them (depending on the grade level). The following week we made found object color wheels, like this one below. This week it is all about going outside … Read more…
I was very excited to give a presentation on art journaling at the National Art Ed Conference, which had gotten cancelled due to reasons you can guess. I am presenting a similar presentation at the Call to Art Un-Conference, which is a virtual professional development un-conference going on now. You can watch the presentations for a week for free. Each day 9-10 new presentations are released. I wanted to give a big SHOUT OUT to the Blick Art, Nasco and … Read more…
