I was given the book How to Survive as a Firefly from Innovation Press to share with you on my blog. This is a pretty cool book, with nice illustrations and good scientific information throughout the book. I wrote a FREE art project tutorial with drawing guides, available at my TPT shop to accompany this book. The directions are also here in this blog post, but to get the drawing guides you’ll have visit my TPT shop. Here is a … Read more…
Hi friends!  I was given a free set of Maped Watercolor Pencils to review.  I decided to practice my skills at making videos and I did a review of these pencils. Stay tuned!  In my next blog post, I will give a demonstration of how to use Maped Watercolor Pencils to make a beautiful doodled painting. If you would like to purchase a set, click here: Maped Watercolor Pencils (affiliate links have been used.)
My creative and wonderful blogging friend, Phyl, has posted several times about her toothpaste batik process.  I have admired the results for years and decided to try it last year for our Wild about the Arts Fine Arts Night.  I was hesitant to try because of the logistics.  It was not a quick and easy project, but I loved the process and I loved that it was so “different” than other things my students have experienced. These were made with 4th … Read more…
At the end of the school year, my students had fun painting rocks and using magazine words to decorate them. We used acrylic paints to paint the rocks. Then, we used Mod Podge to glue down the words and seal them. The metallic paint was from Target’s little acrylic paint jars.  I have some printable magazine word cut outs in my shop for easy use.  Just print, cut out and go!  These are perfect for collages, art journals and “About … Read more…
This is a simple challenge that leads to a variety of creative artworks!  Choose one shape to repeat throughout your artwork.  Use markers, watercolor paints or any art media of your choice.  The challenge is to arrange the shapes in a unique and interesting composition. Include a variety of colors and sizes.  Overlap some shapes to add interest.  Add patterns or designs inside the shapes. Limitations encourage students to think in new ways.. to be creative within the constraints. Repetition is … Read more…
I forgot to share these pictures of our display when I wrote the blog post about Talking Sticks. Â My co-worker Jayne taught the lesson behind these talking sticks which were Tree of Life acrylic paintings on canvas boards. Â They were done by middle school kids. Â Aren’t they gorgeous?
Are you looking for a fun art project to try over winter break with your kids?  Here is one that is sure to be festive, fun and creative! What you will need: watercolor paints pencil watercolor paper paint brush cup of water markers.  For my own art, I prefer Micron markers, Sakura Koi markers, and Molotow White markers. stickers of your choice glue magazines assorted paper scraps of your choice 1.  Begin by drawing a Christmas tree shape on a piece of … Read more…
My 3rd grade classes learned about African Korhogo Cloth paintings. They had been studying Africa in their Social Studies class.  Here are some of the resources we used:  information about the cloth paintings and a couple of YouTube videos– Take a Look at African Korhogo Cloth and Senufo Art (although I do caution you that there is some tribal nudity at the beginning of this documentary in the intro, so start it after 20 seconds in).  There is a really cool tribal dance portion … Read more…
I love Kwik Stix and so do my students.  “It’s like drawing with lipstick!”  I posted a video review of the product because I liked them so much.  Then, the Kwik Stix company saw it and contacted me about trying out their metallic and neon colors.  I tried them out to share with you and I also came up with a fun project you could try using them.  (Disclosure: I received these as a gift from the company.  I am … Read more…
I feel like I have stumbled upon my newest art series for my own art.  Earlier I wrote a blog post about how to make watercolor doodled flowers. Using a similar technique, I made watercolor mandalas. I have a new painting to show you with watercolor and doodled stars.   These were all made by starting with watercolor paints and then doodling on top with thin markers. Products I Use (Amazon Affiliate links are used) Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections: Tropicals Prima Marketing … Read more…
With all the fancy projects an art teacher can find on Pinterest, sometimes it’s good to go back to the basics. Simple drawing and painting of familiar subjects. This week my students drew art manekins. You could see much more concentration in the students than while doing other projects. I was looking through the folders on my computer and found these animal watercolor paintings my students had made last year. For more watercolor lessons, check out these old posts: How … Read more…
An article I wrote was published in the April issue of Arts and Activities magazine! If you want to read the digital version, here is the link: http://pubdev.ipaperus.com/ArtsandActivities/AAApril2016/?page=24 Big thanks to the editor, Maryellen, for publishing my article. I really appreciate it! Writing about art and teaching is a hobby of mine (as you might have guessed from reading my blog) and it’s exciting to hold an actual physical copy of my writing. I have subscribed to Arts and Activities … Read more…
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 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…
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…
