This year my school adopted a new schedule. Now, instead of seeing my classes daily for 47 minutes, each day we drop one period. In addition, each class has one weekly “long block” that is 68 minut…
I was introduced to this lesson by Claire Kirk & Katie Flowers. Both amazing artists and art educators I have had the honor of knowing and working with over the years. From observational drawin…
Taking Neurographic Art to another level! If you are new to this fun and mindful method of drawing illustration, please check out my other posts first: and This trimester, I decided to change up my…
Dot Day is coming and I'm here to show you 3 Dot Day Art Projects, Ideas, and Activities that you can use in your Classroom with you students to pair with the book "The Dot" by Peter. H. Reynolds! Lesson ideas to use with Primary, Elementary, & Middle School! Use them in a general classroom or Art Classroom. Grab art making mediums & let's make some Dot Day Art!
Neurographic Art has been a hit the past couple of years in middle school art rooms across the country! This mindful, intentional mark-making drawing method provides students with lots of freedom, …
One of my favorite art movements is Pop Art and I love it! I love the artists, I love what came out of it! As well, I think teaching art lessons that are inspired by the Pop Art Movement is a great way to engage the learners in your classroom. Let's look at 5 Pop Art Lesson ideas for Kids in your classroom!
Middle School Students enjoy doing creative interpretations of their name, and exploring the art of graffiti lettering is always a hit. When I saw a lesson in one of my art teacher Facebook groups …
I must say, it's hard to avoid the Yayoi Kusama dot pumpkin around the fall time. Searching for pumpkin-inspired art project ideas inevitably reveals this contemporary Japanese artist's dimensional, plump and somewhat psychodelic pumpkins. It's been done, again and again, but I felt it was now my turn... despite the hype. Kusama pumpkins White board instructions and guides, with teacher samples I love the graphic quality, and I particularly love the challenge of drawing contours without lines, by using only dots of various thickness. My kids classes (8-14 year olds) have varying degrees of experience with pen techniques since we did a few projects last year and in the last weeks involving stippling, hatching, and adding texture with pen. This no-lines drawing is not too far off, but definitely in a new direction, and I saw it as an extension of our previous illustration and pen work. Win win. Medium choice: I wanted the results to be super neat and crisp, like Kusama's own work. I knew painting dots with brushes would not give us that crisp quality, and I felt similarly about painting or drawing in the background pattern. So I opted for drawing in the dots with permanent black markers in various thickness, on colored paper. Pumpkins would be cut out and pasted on a background which was painted with a foam roller and stencil with black acrylic paint over top a vibrantly colored paper. With this approach we get the bright color of the pumpkins and the background, the neatly controlled lines of dots with the makers (that's the objective, after all), and the clean patterned background with the stencils. Process Day 1 1. Drawing pumpkins Student had visuals of Kusama's pumpkins as well as photos and illustrations of pumpkins to observe the variety of their form and shape. Simple step-by-step pumpkin drawing guides were also at their desk, so they could see how to break down and simply the drawing steps. I also demonstrated how to draw a pumpkin on the white board, and showed them several different options for shapes. Pumpkins are most easily drawn starting with the central 'section shape', them the section shape to the left and the right, and so on. The stem is drawn slightly tucked down into the top, so is doesn't look like it's sitting on the top contour edge, but rather growing out the pumpkin. Students were encourage to try a few different shapes - tilted, plump, oblong and even with wavy sections.... like Kusama's. We practiced a few rounds of pumpkins on scratch paper. Then we chose our colored paper, and began drawing our favorite version in pencil. 2. Dots Each pumpkin section must be filled with dots in a crisp, systematic fashion. Our dots must create the illusion of form. We analyzed Kusama's work and noted how she uses a row of larger dots at the center of her central section, with increasingly smaller rows of dots on both sides. This gives our section a 3-D shape. The tricky part is addressing the next sections to the left and the right. We noted that Kusama uses large semi-circle, or half-dots, along the outer edge of the first section (where we drew our section line with pencil). From there, the lines of dots get increasingly smaller again toward the other edge. This is repeated for each section. The darker intensity of the large half-dots serves the purpose of creating a strong visual line which separates the sections (thereby replacing our 'line' with 'dots'). *Super important for an effective gradient of dot sizes is using differently sized markers. We used permanent markers with hefty fat tips, medium tips (or a sharpie with a good point) and fine liners in various tops. 3. Stem We observed that Kusama did her stem in the same manner, but in the inverse. So dots are white, and the negative space is black. To achieve this effect, we simply drew open circles with our black pen, and colored the space around our white circles. Pencil lines were erased and pumpkins were cut out. We managed all this in a 90 minutes class. Drawing dots Drawing dots Day 1 results Day 1 results Day 2 Background: Student chose a colored paper that complemented or contrasted with their pumpkin color. Then they chose the stencil of their choice. My stencils are from Marabu. We chose stencils that contrast the dot pattern, so those with a different angular of liner quality. We did not, for examaple, use the stencils with hearts, small stars, circles, etc. because they are visually too similar to our dots. We used black acrylic paint and foam rollers to stencil on our colored paper. In many cases, our stencils were not as large as our paper, so we had to carefully reposition the stencil, lining up the stencil with the printed edge, and rolling again to fill the page. Pumpkins were finally pasted on the printed background, for a visually exciting result. My students were quite wowed by their vibrant, dimensional results, and proud of their hard work and dedication to neatness and precision. Hard work pays off. Ages 8-14 Ages 8-10
Hooray for Hispanic Heritage Month! :) Once again this year I was asked to create an art display celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 - Oct 15)... and man was I excited to get started! The majority of the students at my school are Hispanic... so getting to dive a bit further into the culture and it's art is especially exciting for our kids! This year I had a ridiculous amount of ideas for projects celebrating the culture (thank you Pinterest)... but had to narrow it down.. so I went with Aztec Suns, Zapotec Weaving, and Guitars of Paracho (inspired by this pin from Painted Paper Art). To begin the project I started with my usual PowerPoint presentation (posted on slideshare) giving the students some background information before the art-making began. We talked a bit about the economy of Mexico and attempted to figure out how Mexico could be ranked as the 2nd richest country in Latin America... and at the same time be the Latin American country with the 2nd greatest amount of poverty. The kids came up with some interesting answers... but eventually we landed on the explanation that a small group of people in Mexico own the majority of the country's wealth (making it a "rich" country) while a greater amount of the population lives in poverty (estimated at 44% of Mexicans). We looked at a map visually illustrating the poverty levels in Mexico and found that closer to the United States border less people lived in poverty than in Southern Mexico. Then we focused in on Paracho, Mexico; a city located just 2 hours south of Guadalajara. The interesting thing about the city of Paracho is that it is said to have more guitar-making artisans within it's population of approximately 17,000 people, than in the entire United States! Guitar making is a tradition passed down from generation to generation and is a source of income for the people of Paracho. The guitar-making also attracts a bit of tourism for the city as it hosts a Guitar Festival each year. Next I showed my kids two clips I found on youtube which highlights the guitar-making in Paracho. The videos are in Spanish with English subtitles... but that just got my kids even more excited (since most of them speak Spanish)!! Below is one of the videos (I claim no ownership). To see the ViewPure version to show in school: http://viewpure.com/57Gc1Iy9O8g So inspired by the fine artisans of Paracho and the bright colors and patterns of Mexican art, we got started with our project! I reviewed warm and cool color schemes with my students, then had each table select one or the other to use for their sheet of 12"x18" painted paper. Instead of just painting it though (which is still super awesome)... I wanted to do something different with the kids... so we sponge painted it! Was it a giant mess? Yes. Was it a pain to try to scrub like 30 tempera-paint soaked sponges clean? YES. Was it crazy enjoyable for the kids? Absolutely. The next day I had the kids create the body and headstock for their guitars with their painted paper by tracing a stencil I made. I normally DESPISE using any kind of stencil/tracer... but for this project I thought it would be necessary (especially since I knew they were going to be displayed for Hispanic Heritage Month and time was of the essence). Next I had the kids swap paper scraps so that they had paper of the opposite color scheme (to create a bright contrast) to create the sound hole, bridge, and any other details they wanted to cut and paste. Once the shape of the guitar was fully assembled, students had construction paper crayons and color stix to add any additional color or pattern they wanted. The next day I let students choose what color "strings" (pieces of gift-wrapping ribbon) they wanted to use, gave them sequins and buttons, and then let them go to town! I love how they turned out - so bright and colorful! I've been getting compliments about them on the daily from other teachers and students! :)
Art Teachers, in this episode I’m going to give you 10 fresh and new art projects, activities, and ideas for Back to School in your Art Classroom! These are all ready-to-go ideas that you can use in your classroom that have a lovely Back-to-School vibe and will have your students in your art classroom exploring art mediums, experimenting, and being creative! I got you my lovely friends! Alright, let’s get into it!
Pop Art Self Portraits- Roy Lichtenstein Inspired olivia I originally found this lesson on Pinterest through https://www.flickr.com/photos/22303677@N06/5760279901/in/photostream website. You can pretty much do this project with any grade level. We used acrylic on bristol board and used projectors to blow up images taken of each student. emma Jason willa Alana Melanie Amadou Molly kassandra nilan sam p silvia clea loren Samantha P Melissa Kiana
In this Aquarium Perspective Lesson, Middle School students will dive right into learning about the principle of perspective while designing an aquarium.
This year my school adopted a new schedule. Now, instead of seeing my classes daily for 47 minutes, each day we drop one period. In addition, each class has one weekly “long block” that is 68 minut…
Here is the Elementary Art Curriculum Map that all K-4 art teachers in Chelmsford follow. You can click on the picture for an enlarged view National Visual Art Standards BY grade 4 1.1 Use a variety of materials and media, for example, crayons, chalk, paint, clay, various kinds of papers, textiles, and yarns, and understand how to use them to produce different visual effects 1.2 Create artwork in a variety of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) media, for example: 2D – drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, weaving; 3D – plastic (malleable) materials such as clay and paper, wood, or found objects for assemblage and construction 1.3 Learn and use appropriate vocabulary related to methods, materials, and techniques 1.4 Learn to take care of materials and tools and to use them safely 2.1 For color, explore and experiment with the use of color in dry and wet media Identify primary and secondary colors and gradations of black, white and gray in the environment and artwork Explore how color can convey mood and emotion For example, students mix light and dark values of colors or predict the results of overlapping and blending primary colors. 2.2 For line, explore the use of line in 2D and 3D works Identify a wide variety of types of lines in the environment and in artwork For example, students take a walk around the school and note jagged, straight, curved, thick, and thin lines. 2.3 For texture, explore the use of textures in 2D and 3D works Identify a wide variety of types of textures, for example, smooth, rough, and bumpy, in the environment and in artwork Create representations of textures in drawings, paintings, rubbings, or relief 2.4 For shape and form, explore the use of shapes and forms in 2D and 3D works Identify simple shapes of different sizes, for example, circles, squares, triangles, and forms, for example, spheres, cones, cubes, in the environment and in artwork 2.5 For pattern and symmetry, explore the use of patterns and symmetrical shapes in 2D and 3D works Identify patterns and symmetrical forms and shapes in the environment and artwork. Explain and demonstrate ways in which patterns and symmetrical shapes 3.1 Create 2D and 3D artwork from direct observation For example, students draw a still life of flowers or fruit, action studies of their classmates in sports poses, or sketches of the class pet having a snack or a nap. 3.2 Create 2D and 3D expressive artwork that explores abstraction For example, a student simplifies an image by making decisions about essential colors, lines, or textures. 3.3 Create 2D and 3D artwork from memory or imagination to tell a story or embody an idea or fantasy For example, students draw members of a family from memory; illustrate a character in a folktale or play; build a clay model of an ideal place to play; or make images that convey ideas such as friendship. 4.1 Select a work or works created during the year and discuss them with a parent, classmate, or teacher, explaining how the work was made, and why it was chosen for discussion For example, a first grader chooses a painting and tells how she mixed the colors, and talks about the decisions she made. 4.2 Select works for exhibition and work as a group to create a display 4.3 As a class, develop and use criteria for informal classroom discussions about art 5.1 In the course of making and viewing art, learn ways of discussing it, such as by making a list of all of the images seen in an artwork (visual inventory); and identifying kinds of color, line, texture, shapes, and forms in the work 5.2 Classify artworks into general categories, such as painting, printmaking, collage, sculpture, pottery, textiles, architecture, photography, and film 5.3 Describe similarities and differences in works, and present personal responses to the subject matter, materials, techniques, and use of design elements in artworks 5.4 (Grades 3 and 4) Explain strengths and weaknesses in their own work, and share comments constructively and supportively within the group 6.1 When viewing or listening to examples of visual arts, architecture, music, dance, storytelling, and theatre, ask and answer questions such as, “What is the artist trying to say?” “Who made this, and why?” “How does this work make me feel?” 6.2 Investigate uses and meanings of examples of the arts in children’s daily lives, homes, and communities For example, children learn and teach other children songs in languages other than English; interview parents and community members about dances, songs, images, and stories that are part of their family and cultural heritage. 7.1 Investigate how artists create their work; read about, view films about, or interview artists such as choreographers, dancers, composers, singers, instrumentalists, actors, storytellers, playwrights, illustrators, painters, sculptors, craftspeople, or architects For example, teachers invite an illustrator of children’s books to school to show how she creates her illustrations. 8.1 Identify characteristic features of the performing and visual arts of native populations and immigrant groups to America, such as • styles of North American native cultures of the East Coast, Plains, Southwest, and Northwest; • styles of folk and fine arts of immigrant groups from European, African, Latin American, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries For example, students look at examples of Native American clay containers from the Southwest, and wooden containers from the Northwest and compare the similarities and differences in form and decoration. 8.2 Identify characteristic features of the visual arts of world civilizations such as styles of ancient Egypt and Africa, China, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and the Medieval period in Europe 8.3 Perform or create works inspired by historical or cultural styles 9.1 When using art materials or handling and viewing artifacts or musical instruments, ask and answer questions such as • “What is this made of?” • “How does this instrument produce sound?” • “Would I design this differently?” • “Who first thought of making something like this?” For example, students examine a variety of percussion instruments, experiment with the different sounds they make, and learn about the cultures in which they were made. 10.1 Integrate knowledge of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts and apply the arts to learning other disciplines Examples of this include: • using visual arts skills to illustrate understanding of a story read in English language arts or foreign languages; • memorizing and singing American folk songs to enhance understanding of history and geography; • using short dance sequences to clarify concepts in mathematics.
A blog about art making and art education explorations in a humble art room for adults and kids of all ages.
An art education blog full of lessons, classroom management ideas, and classroom decor resources.
“Chromatic Cascade” by Jen Stark, Los Angeles Jen Stark herself! Parking Garage Mural by Jen Stark, Los Angeles Jen Stark is a Los Angeles based artist known for h…
Art Teachers, in your Art Classroom you’re always going to have students finish before the rest, fast finishers, so let’s take a look at some ideas or routines that you can build into your classroom so that students know what to do when they’re done so they don’t have to ask you and so that you don’t have to instruct them on what to do EVERY time.
An expressive, easy and impressive penguin art project, these adorable penguins are quite easy to complete in two, 40 minute sessions using basic art
Collaborative art is easy, right!? Put a beret on, give some kids some paint brushes, let them have at it, voilà! Wrong! Dead, wrong! Organising a group of adults or children to create a cohesive a…
Ready, set, POSE! I use my iPhone to take photos of my students. I usually do this on a day during which they are intently engaged with another lesson, and pull one or two students at a time into t…
Teacher Sample We had such fun with our graffiti pieces! And what a perfect way to start off the new Art Room semester. So many art elements and design element were involved, so it was a great way to review and exercise our skills for the new term. We developed our words from a graffiti 'tag' to a shapely graffiti 'throw' and finally to a graffiti 'piece'. Our overlapping, highlights and shadows required careful thinking of shape, space, line and form. We practiced coloring techniques (gradation, value) and reviewed color schemes before choosing our colors. We created a brick wall using pencil and shading. Lastly, we 'tagged' our walls with a symbol or word to accompany our piece. These beauties were done by all ages and represent our favorite things, ideas or people. Kids 7-12 Kids 5-7 Kids 7-9 Practicing 'tags', 'throws' with shape, shadows and highlights
This project produced “out of this world” results! (OK, Bad pun, I know!) We began this lesson with 3 days of Galaxy Painting using watercolors. The techniques I taught the kids were loosely titled…
From his perseverance and overcoming physical obstacles to his range as an artist and innovative spirit, student also, I love teaching young artists about the life and art of Henri Matisse. This ye…
One of my favorite art movements is Pop Art and I love it! I love the artists, I love what came out of it! As well, I think teaching art lessons that are inspired by the Pop Art Movement is a great way to engage the learners in your classroom. Let's look at 5 Pop Art Lesson ideas for Kids in your classroom!
7th Grade Graffiti Unit- "From 'Tags' to 'Pieces': Creating a Personal Identity" For the next couple weeks we will be working on creating a personal identity and showcasing it through our artwork. We will be learning about the history and art form of graffiti. The term graffiti is writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and it has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire. In modern times, paint, particularly spray paint, and marker pens have become the most commonly used graffiti materials. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner's consent is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime. We will be using the website https://graffitiknowhow.com/ for a lot of info. Graffiti History DAY 1-3 During our first week you will decide on a tag, or nickname, to use for the graffiti unit; practice creating graffiti letters and brainstorm ideas for your first piece. 1. We will work together and discuss some characteristics that are showcased in graffiti fonts, such as layout, letter structure, overlapping, add ons/break offs, and shading techniques. 2. Practice creating different lettering ideas. You should use your initials for this step. You can take a look at one of the links below for help and inspiration. You can also use sites like 1001fonts.com to find graffiti inspired fonts. 3. Create a nickname for yourself that is at least four letters long. Fold a piece of paer in half and practice your nickname using two different graffiti fonts. Choose a color scheme and practice blending some of your colors together to make interesting color combinations. Think about how you will create contrast between your background shape and your name. KEEP YOUR SKETCHES FROM THESE TWO DAYS. YOU WILL NEED TO SUBMIT THEM FOR CREDIT. https://cooltourspain.com/graffiti-letters/ Here is a link to a site that discusses creating graffiti letters. It could also be helpful as you work on creating your different design ideas. Here is another website with a good tutorial on word placement and blending colors. Here is a wikihow with two font design tutorials with step by step instructions. Here is a Youtube site, DK Drawing that has a ton of graffiti tutorial videos. DAY 3-8 Our final project will be creating a small fence sculpture with your graffiti painted on its side. We will be using paint and posca pens to paint your graffiti design on the side of your fence. Take a look at the link below for a bunch of step by step pictures of the entire process. https://amslerartroom.wordpress.com/student-work/graffiti-fence-name-designs/ Remember to make your piece bold and colorful. This is a personal art piece that represents you. Use colors that you like and choose a style of letters that you enjoy. 7th AR Standards: CR1.7.1 CR 2.7.1 CR2.7.2 CR3.7.1 P5.7.1 R7.7.2 CN10.7.1 CN11.7.1
Here's a great idea I spotted on Pinterest.... I tried this lesson with my middle school students and they had so much fun with it! I originally used a copy machine to enlarge students' fingerprints. It was cumbersome and time-consuming. But then I figured out a faster, easier, and better way! For detailed instructions with photos, tips, writing prompts, a student gallery, and fascinating fingerprint facts, check out my fun resource on TPT! My pdf also comes with 3 ready-to-use fingerprint enlargements in case you don't have time to take students' actual fingerprints. This can also be helpful for students who arrive late or miss the first day when you work on these. Optional... use colored pencils to lightly add some designs in the background before tracing over your writing with Sharpie. This will personalize your self-portrait even more!
Students are expected to come to every art class with a PENCIL & ERASER. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OUR ART PROGRAM Even though we do not have an art studio this claymation…
Why did Edvard Munch paint 'The Scream'? Find out this and more about the artist with the help of these Edgy Edvard Munch Art Projects for Kids.
Using 8” by 10” photographs, each student traced a simplified contour drawing of their face. They transferred the drawings onto colored paper and “fractured” them by dividing the picture into smal…
Dive into 50 engaging 6th-grade art projects to inspire creativity and teach vital art skills in middle school students.
Teaching students rules and procedures is a skill in itself. You have to learn to teach it and then reinforce them while doing it in an engaging way. In this article, I'll give you some ideas of how to teach your students your classroom routines and expectations in a fun and engaging way.
Covid-19 didn’t stop us from celebrating St. Martin’s day, so we had to make lanterns! In art class I wanted to work following the example of a famous artist with my fifth graders . The…
Matisse Cut-Outs Creating Lines and Patterns through Collage Artist Focus: Henri Matisse Medium: Collage Special E...
I'm going to give you 5 Frida Kahlo art lesson ideas that you can use to create art projects with your students in your classroom. No matter if your kids are primary or elementary, middle school, or in high school, I have some amazing Frida Kahlo art project ideas that you can use and I will even give you links to Frida Kahlo art resource is that you can use this year in your classroom.
