contemporary artist Archives - Art is Basic

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Collaborative Mural Inspired by Tula Pink

By Marcia Beckett | November 20, 2022 - 4:48 pm |July 5, 2024 all grades, bulletin board, collaborative artwork, contemporary artists

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A colorful geometric art display featuring various patterned and brightly hued triangles on a green background, inspired by Tula Pink's designs.

I wanted to share our wonderful results of this collaborative mural project inspired by the artist Tula Pink‘s Tridazzler Quilt. This idea was created by Don Masse, of Shine Brite Zamorano. Check out his blog here to see the directions for this project. Here is the Tridazzler Quilt the project was inspired by. We precut squares and triangles for the kids. First, they glued the triangle to the square. Then they used a ruler to draw the lines and then … Read more… →

Cube Mural Inspired by Street Artist Thank YouX

By Marcia Beckett | April 8, 2018 - 4:46 pm |July 5, 2024 all grades, collaborative artwork, contemporary artists, group artwork, mural

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Two colorful, decorated cubes with drawings and patterns. One side features a goose, resembling the style of street artist Thank YouX.

Earlier this year, my co-worker Jayne found the idea to make a collaborative school-wide paper mural based on the artwork of Thank YouX. The idea for a student mural originally came from Jenell Novello and you can see the lesson plan write-up on Artsonia. She also so generously provided the lesson plan and templates on Google docs. Thank You X got his name by accident. In 2009 Andy Warhol’s spray painted portrait was spotted on a city street in L.A.. … 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… →

Yayoi Kusama Children’s Book

By Marcia Beckett | October 21, 2017 - 8:56 pm |July 5, 2024 all grades, book review, books, contemporary artists

2 Comments

I am in love with this new children’s book about Yayoi Kusama. The illustrations are gorgeous. I love Yayoi’s style and her artwork. Known for her polka dot installations, polka dot pumpkins and mirrored rooms, this artist is sure to captivate your students. From the inside cover: “Growing up in Japan, Yayoi Kusama dreamed of becoming an artist. In the fields of her family’s nurseries she drew flowers and plants and stones, imagining the world around her as streams and … 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… →

Mixed Media Artist: Sabrina Ward Harrison

By Marcia Beckett | March 19, 2017 - 10:35 am |July 5, 2024 art journaling, collage, contemporary artists, fifth grade, fourth grade, third grade

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Three abstract paintings with text, colorful circular designs, and expressive brushstrokes in various shades by mixed media artist Sabrina Ward Harrison.

We recently had artist Sabrina Ward Harrison visit our school to give an artist talk and workshop with the kids. Today I am going to introduce you to her artwork and life as an artist. In Part Two of this post, I will share with you some of the amazingly diverse mixed media collages that the students made in response to learning about her artwork. All of the artwork on this page was made by Sabrina. Her message to the … Read more… →

Duncan Tonatiuh: Author/Illustrator Visit

By Marcia Beckett | December 12, 2016 - 6:10 pm |July 5, 2024 all grades, art history, book review, books, contemporary artists

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An illustrator depicts a woman pointing upward as four children sit around her, with corn stalks in the background.

On Friday, we had a visit to our school by author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh. See his artwork here. He is both Mexican and American. He grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City. His artwork is inspired by Pre-Columbian art, particularly that of the Mixtec codex. His goal is to create images and stories that honor the past, but that are relevant to people, especially children, nowadays. His books are beautiful … Read more… →

Abstract Shape Collages and Artist Reggie Laurent

By Marcia Beckett | November 26, 2016 - 8:58 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, abstract, collage, first grade, kindergarten, pattern, second grade, shapes

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Abstract painting with colorful, irregular shapes and patterns. Artist Reggie Laurent's influence is evident in the vibrant abstract shape collages.

Reggie Laurent: Contemporary Artist Reggie Laurent is a self-taught artist living in Georgia. He creates very intricate abstract shape paintings. I saw his paintings online and I was immediately drawn to all of the fun patterns and colors. My first graders learned about his abstract pictures. They are filled with lots of different shapes, fitted together like a puzzle. His artworks are highly detailed and very colorful. Student Shape Collages The students learned about and used organic (freeform) and geometric shapes … Read more… →

Published Article

By Marcia Beckett | May 28, 2016 - 10:52 am |July 5, 2024 all grades, contemporary artists, published

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Great news! I have been published in the Summer issue of School Arts magazine. I wrote an article about artwork my students made after learning about the art of contemporary artist Justin Vining. You can read the article here. I wrote a blog post last year all about this project: Inspired by Artist Justin Vining. I love Justin’s artwork and you can see pictures of his artwork on his website.

Jesse Reno: ambition over direction

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

1 Comment

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… →