Wildflower 9

A blog about art making and art education explorations in a humble art room for adults and kids of all ages.

To introducte color mixing, I assigned this project to my high school Drawing and Painting 1 students. I was inspired by this image below th...

A list of all the highlights and must-see places in Dresden. One day or a week, Saxon’s capital offers baroque castles, churches, and lovely day trips.

Completed kindergarten masterpieces. That's right, I said kindergarten. The under-6 set is knockin' it outta the park, er, art room so far this year and I couldn't be more thrilled. What I'm about to present to you right here is one Big Fat Hairy kindergarten unit on line. And color. Oh, and shape, sculpture and good craftsmanship, i.e. how-not-to-drive-the-art-teacher-crazy(-er)-by-not-grinding-your-paintbrush-into-the-paper. Because she no like-y. And, in my art room, keeping me sane-ish is at the top of my Learning Targets. Which is way harder than you could ever imagine. Just ask the kids. Do you recall those wild and wacky paintings created on the first days of school in this post? Those large paintings have come in very handy as backdrops for our displays as you can see here. Without getting into all of that, let's chat about the aforementioned Line Unit, shall we? I'm not gonna lie, I do this same ole project with kindergarten at the beginning of every year. Which is unusual for me because with all the other grade levels, I love to change things up. Not so with kinder'town for a coupla reasons: A. they love it; B. it covers a whole batch o' skills/techniques/vocabulary/routines and C. let's be honest, coming up with projects that the little ones can master is not my forte. So when I find something that works, I stick with it. So on our very first day of art, after introducing ourselves to one another and an abbreviated discussion of rules and consequences (because, after all, these kids are five. They still have baby fluff, suck their thumbs and wet their pants routinely. Rules and consequences mean nada. A wicked stare and a "we don't do that in kindergarten" usually does the trick), I like to dive head first into the art-making swimmin' hole. Which means we create our very first sculpture. Now if you're an old warhorse at this art teacher game, this lesson is nothing new to you. You might wanna skip on down to the bottom where I discuss such things as pinwheel portrait painting and bottomless basket weaving (don't worry newbies, they'll be gone a while. I don't even know what that stuff is!). For the rest of ya, lemme tell you how I go about teaching this line sculpture lesson: First of all, we have a little chat about the difference between flat two-dimensional artwork and sculptures. After looking at some images of sculptures, we chat about the ones we are familiar with (ole Lady Liberty almost always comes up) and discuss how a sculpture is something we can see (rotating body at waist for emphasis) all...the way...around. I then tell 'em that we are going to create a sculpture with a bunch of straight lines (strips of paper cut 1" X 9" but sizes can vary). I ask them how to make a flat piece of paper pop out of their sculpture base (aka the bottom paper) to which they usually answer "glue!" It's at this point that I tell 'em that if they want their sculpture to stand, just like us, it must have feet. I demonstrate creating a small fold at the ends of the strip of paper thus creating feet. It's there that glue is applied (to which the strip of paper always responds, "oohh, that tickles my feet! Ohhh, that glue is soo cold!" Yes, the paper talks to us. It's kindergarten, people. They eat this stuff up). Once the glue is applied, I show the kids how to hold the paper in place on the base for about 10 seconds. From there, I demonstrate adding more paper strips to the sculpture base on top, below, behind or beside the first strip. Then I turn the kids loose on their on sculptures. The following art class, I introduce more lines. I demonstrate folding a zigzag line, wrapping a strip of paper around my pencil to create a spiral and creating a loop de loop. I also chat about how lines create shapes and demonstrate creating a circle by gluing one end of the strip to the other. With that circle, so many other shapes can be created with a pinch. Pinch the circle once and you have a teardrop! Pinch it again and you have an ellipse! One more time, it's a triangle! Anther pinch and you have a square. From there, the kids go nuts on their sculptures creating lines, shapes and whatever else they can dream up. Here! Lemme walk you through it. On the third day of art class, I get real serious about the whole line thing. We look at each of these snake-y lines on the poster I created way back in first-year-art-teacher-land and then locate them on works of art. Any ole Kandinsky works great for this. It's at this point I introduce to the kids a lil poem I wrote some years ago about a snake named Larry that can morph his body into any line he likes. It goes a lil sumpin like this (complete with hand motions, you better believe it!): Larry the Line Is a friend of mine (creating a snake by opening the fingers of your hand, puppet style and there's your snake!) He can make three (hold up a three with your fingers) Straight lines for me! Ver-tickle (create a vertical line with your forearm) Diagonal and horizontal! (pantomime each) Any curve, he can learn With a twist and a turn. When he's out of his tangle he makes a great...angle. (created by placing your hand on your hip and pointing to your elbow) Any line, he can make After all, he's a snake! After learning the Larry the Line poem, I bust out this huge cheesey carnival snake I got years ago that happens to have a little rattle in his tail. I convince the kids that he's real (they're kindergarten so they totally buy it) and maneuver him around to create a variety of lines. If the kids guess the name of the line correctly, I let them "rattle" Larry's tail. They eat it up and learn the names of lines to boot. After that, I give a little demo on painting. If you've read this blog for five minutes, you know that when painting, I liken the bristles of the paint brush to a ballerina: It always dances on it's toes, it never scoots around on it's bottom. After I demonstrate painting each of Larry's lines, the kids go to their seats and we do a little guided painting. Meaning, I paint and they follow along. This school year, I have my kindergarten for 45 minutes every six days (which is different than my usual 30 minute classes, twice every six days...confused yet? That makes two of us). That slightly longer block of time makes a world of a difference in that we can accomplish so much! On the fourth day of this unit, we examine Kandinsky again and this time chat about how influenced he was by music. The kids were told that they were going to be painting a nonobjective picture of lines while listening to Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. If you're not familiar, this piece of music introduces each character of Peter and the Wolf with a different instrument. Each character really comes to life with the music and makes for great line paintings. On that day, the children were only given black paint. As they painted to the music, you could see them trying to capture each character in line. Once a painting was finished, I'd take it from them and hand them a new sheet of white paper. By the end of art class, each child had painted about three black and white line pictures. The following art class, I introduced the kids to tempra cakes which you can see best a coupla photos ago. My focus was on using the art materials properly and exploration of color. I wrote about this particular painting lesson pretty extensively last year in this blog post. In that lesson, we didn't paint to music and we focused some on pattern in a follow up lesson. Here's a collection of their finished pieces. I love how wild, bright and unique each one is, just like the artists themselves. On the sixth and final day of this unit, the kids were introduced to Roy G. Biv and watercolor paint. Since the last lesson had just been about exploring with color and proper use of painting supplies, I really wanted to focus on the order of the colors in the rainbow. My hat helped them remember the order (even if it is missing the "B" in Roy G. Biv) as did the large rainbow I have mounted on my easel. And in case you're dying to get a rainbow hat of your own, mine is from amazon. Yes, really. Have you read this book? I picked it up years ago at the thrift store and it's pretty cute. As you turn each page, an additional color of ribbon is added to the ribbon rainbow in the book, hence the "Magic Ribbon Book" label at the bottom. After that chat, I demonstrate to the children how to use watercolor paints. This is an easy transition from the tempra cakes as the cleaning-your-brush-before-getting-another-color is exactly the same. We do chat about the differences between the two mediums (you know, watercolor being more translucent) and also discuss painting in Roy G. Biv order. After that demo, the kids returned to their seats with their paintings created on that third day of art class and rainbow-ize the thing. This is the first year I've added this portion to the line unit and I love the result. And there you have it. One Big Fat Hairy line/shape/color/RoyG.Biv/sculpture/abstract Unit for the wee ones. I know these lessons are nothing new...so I'd love to hear how you approach teaching line. Also, for the sake of space, I may have not answered all of your how-you-teach-that questions, so feel free to email me or leave a comment. I may or may not get back to you. Just sayin'.

It's that time of year, when the art show is complete, and each class has about 1 more visit to the art room! What do you do for one class for 45 minutes?? Here's what we're doing! I found this neat little project on Instagram, from @Mrs_lynes_artists & @artwithmrs.e, and I wanted to try it out with my students as well! I'm going to try this with every grade except K & 5th. 5th could totally do this, but they have rocks to paint! As of now, 1st is going to do aliens, 2nd is going to do fish, 3rd can choose a trickier animal or person, and same goes for 4th. Here are some little short videos, showing how we created ours! Materials: 9x12 piece of thin paper pencils Sharpie Markers Something to color with! Here's how you fold your paper and complete the initial drawing. They'll be drawing theirs with pencil, and tracing with Sharpie markers. Here's a time lapse video of me completing one Here's a Boomerang of Mrs. Fitch's 2nd grade class Here's one of her awesome artists, Tristen, showing off her Surprise Fish You can do just about anything that has a mouth! People, dogs, cats, fish, aliens, bugs...whatever! Here's Mrs. Torres' Class working on theirs! in case you were wondering....this is a snake with mice in its mouth! The green cloud is a mouse toot! Grrrosss!!! haha Mrs. Fambrough's class did an UH-Mazing job making their surprise creatures!! I don't think they've ever been so quiet! So much thought and creativity going in to these, and I couldn't be prouder! Hope you all have a fabulous summer!!

Third graders just learned completed a project that combined Math and Art! We began by looking at the art of Pop artist, Romero Britto, an...

Need a fun lesson for your first graders tomorrow? I think I might have something for you: these adorable penguins! This lesson teaches so stinkin' much: warm colors, brush control, using watercolors, painting spirals, a review of lines and shapes and much more. The kids loved creating these. I made a video just for you to share with your students to walk them through this lesson. Here I'll break it down for you day by day. If this image looks familiar, that's because my kindergarten did a slightly similar lesson. You can check that out here. I see both my kindergarten and my first graders for 30 minutes twice a week. So here's how we spent Day 1 and 2: Painting spirals! Midway through day 2, most kids were finished painting their 12" X 18" papers with spirals. Once complete, the kids placed their work on the drying rack and worked on the following... With my shorter art classes, we don't have sketchbooks. Instead, we sketch on dry erase boards. This cuts down on paper waste...and, added bonus, kids LOVE drawing on dry erase boards. I got mine at the Dollar Tree. I created a step by step penguin so my students could practice independently while their classmates finished their paintings. This is something new I've been doing this year and I love it. Not a moment of instructional/practice/work time wasted...and no wasted paper either! Day 3: guided penguin drawing. These guys are huge, measuring in at 12" X 18". We used bingo daubers and drew on the floor. Yes, crazy...but it is the method that I found works best for me and my students. I had each place a messy mat under their penguin so we wouldn't get ink on the floor. Of course we did! It mopped up. Day 4: The following art class, we added the chalk to create form and painted. Some classes moved quickly enough that we were also able to cut them out! If you are looking for a fun winter collaborative project, that could be it! Skip the background painting and just create these. Add them to a backdrop and, ta da! Instant winter mural! We hung these up with the kindergarten snowman for a fun and frosty display. Have fun, y'all!

What can we make with 10 Black Dots? QUIZLET GRADE 1 QUIZLET BASIC ART VOCAB QUIZLET ELEMENTARY ART FLASHCARDS COLOR SONGS!!! We will be discovering the Art El…

Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin. English ( b.1870 - d.1935 ). Trotting Horses Harnessed to a Lightweight Four Wheel Cart Trap. Chalk on Paper. Signed Lower Right. Image size 19.3 inches x 27.8 inches ( 49cm x 70.5cm ). Frame size 30.1 inches x 38.4 inches ( 76.5cm x 97.5cm). Available for sale from Big Sky Fine Art in the English county of Dorset, this original drawing in chalks is by Cecil Aldin and dates from the early part of the 20th century. The artwork is presented and supplied in a walnut veneered pine frame from the mid-late 1970s (which is shown in these photographs). The mount and backing board have been replaced with conservation materials in 2019. The glass has been replaced at the same time with non-reflective glass (Tru Vue UltraVue® UV70). The previous gallery and framing labels have been retained and mounted on the rear of the backboard. This antique drawing is in excellent condition, commensurate with its age. It wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display. The drawing is signed lower right. Formerly with the Hampton Hill Gallery, Middlesex, London. Cecil Aldin was a British artist and illustrator who was a household name with a substantial public following from the later 1880s to the 1930s. Today he is regarded as being one of the most original and very best sporting artists of the twentieth century and his works is highly collectable. As an artist Aldin preferred to work in pencil or watercolor, but also produced pastels and many fine etchings. His works show great humour and precision and he was a master of caricature in the drawing of both people and animals. Aldin was a man of great charm and led a full, industrious and interesting life. He illustrated some of the most famous literature of his day, associated with Lance Thackery and Alfred Munnings, made significant contributions to national sporting and community life and produced one of the defining images of the Great War. Today his works are held by the National War Museum and notable collections world-wide. © Big Sky Fine Art This is an original chalk drawing dating from around the beginning of the twentieth century. It depicts two brown horses, one darker than the other, each with white fetlocks and white blaze. They are harnessed to a lightweight trap or simple cart and are trotting. The driver, a middle-aged gentleman, is seated in the trap, and wearing a brown coat, trousers and a grey bowler hat. He has a white moustache and an expression of concentration and contentment. He is leaning forward and holding the reigns in his hands. The overall impression is one of grace and ease, created with a masterly touch and the minimum of fuss. A really classy piece. We provide a professional shipping and delivery service on this particular drawing which is free to customers in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada. We can also provide other worldwide delivery on any purchase. Please contact us for further information. less

This week 4th grade is starting their Robin Mead inspired landscapes! She's a contemporary artist from Georgia, and you can check out her work on her website here! I was also inspired by the awesome art teacher, Lauralee Chambers, from her beautiful student examples on Instagram! Here's Robin Mead's Instagram too :) She has a Youtube channel too! Here's how we created ours! Materials: Sax 90 lb paper pencils Sharpies Crayola artista II watercolor Big Kid's Choice Paintbrushes Robin Mead examples Day 1: Show examples of Robin Mead's work, and show examples of other 4th grade work from Lauralee Chamber's art room. Then I demonstrated how to add the water, ground, mountains, and sun. After I drew it out, I traced it with Sharpie, and let them get to work. When enough had drawn and traced, I demonstrated how to blend their watercolors in a way similar to Mead's work. They did a great job, and enjoyed creating their own landscapes! Here's some examples of Robin's work! It's so beautiful and colorful!! Here's a video, showing how to draw a Robin Mead inspired landscape! Here's some great student examples on day 1 of instruction! here's Mrs. Braswell's class, working hard on theirs! Here's Mrs. Torres' class, finishing up! Just beautiful!! DISCLOSURE: LINKS TO PRODUCTS ARE AFFILIATE LINKS, WHICH MEANS I GET A SMALL COMPENSATION FOR SALES. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR BLOG!

I'm finally back from maternity leave and ready to teach (kinda)! Can I bring my baby with me? Can he be my assistant? No? Awe. :( Towards the end of the last school year, I came back from my maternity leave early so that I could work the two days of post-planning. I decided it would be best if I were the one to clean up and put away my classroom, so I’d know where everything was when I officially returned. Last school year, we had to take EVERYTHING off of the walls so that our custodial staff could clean them during the summer. And while it was a pain to take everything down, it did give me a blank slate for the new school year! Fun Fact: My classroom looks HUGGGGEEEE when it’s empty! This post contains some relevant affiliate links. SET OF DRAWERS Before I went back for pre-planning this year, I started work on a colorful new set of drawers for my classroom. The idea was that I would use each drawer to store all of my prepped paper for each of my grade-level projects (that way it wouldn’t end up all over my desk and every other flat surface in my room like usual). So I got online and found the perfect set of drawers from Target. As you can imagine I was overjoyed when I saw that the drawers could hold 12″x18″ paper – an art teacher’s dream! Unfortunately in all my excitement, I neglected to thoroughly read the product description and ended up buying a unit whose overall dimensions were 12″ deep by 18″ long; the drawers themselves were much smaller. And of course I didn’t realize all of this until after I had already primed and repainted all the drawer covers and assembled the whole thing. Upset with this realization, I took to Instagram where a fellow art teacher gave me the amazingly awesome idea to use the drawers to organize my scrap paper by color instead. TABLES AND STOOLS Once pre-planning started it was all about getting my classroom put together. My first project was to paint the edges of my tables and stools to color-code them! For the past several years I used colored masking tape to color-code my tables, but as I’m sure many of you already know – kids LOVE picking at tape! I was constantly having to replace it as it got worn and torn in order to save my sanity. The sanity that was slowly being picked away with every scratch of the fingernail. Yeah… I’m a bit of a perfectionist. 🙂 So I was more than relieved when my administration gave me the green light to use paint in my room instead! The tables in my classroom have a laminate surface on them, so the first step was to lightly sand the sides of my tables. My husband (who is not a carpenter, mind you) suggested that I use 220 grit sandpaper. In retrospect however, I wish I would’ve gone with something a little lower so that it would’ve scratched up the sides a bit more. Butttttttttt you live and you learn. After sanding, I cleaned off the laminate shrapnel, then taped off the table edges and started painting using a small roller and Behr Marquee paint (this paint already has the primer mixed into it). Each table took about 3 coats to fully cover the sides (I wasn’t using the 1-coat guarantee colors). After the paint was dry, I removed the painters tape and then used an oil-based sharpie paint marker to write my table numbers (I use these for classroom jobs). Once that had a chance to dry, I painted overtop of everything with coat of glossy mod-podge. When painting my stools, I just went straight in with the paint and then covered with mod-podge as well (in retrospect I could have done without the mod-podge on the chairs). **UPDATE: This particular type of paint didn't stay very well (still very pickable). So I took it off and repainted with Martha Stewart multi-surface acrylic and sealed it with Delta Creative polyurethane varnish. It is working INSANELY better. TABLE BUCKETS This year I used the same type of bins I've used in past years.. but got some nice new ones that weren't colored all over (who doesn't love shiny and new?). To color-code the bins I once again used ribbon. Click here to see how to attach it! I also created some new labels and then added those on as well to help my students know where to put things away. CENTERS Once again, I will be using art centers as part of my classroom management plan! In my classroom I do a table point system using Class Dojo. When students are doing what they are supposed to be doing (coming in quietly, being on task, helping each other, cleaning up on time, etc), they receive table points. When they aren’t following directions (being too loud, being super off task, not cleaning up, etc), they lose them. The way I record all of this in Class Dojo is by having 6 “classes” set up (one for each grade-level). Then in each class I have 8 “students” (one for each of my table colors). Since I see my students multiple days in a row before they rotate to their next special, I use only one class for each grade-level, then reset their points once their rotation is over so it’s back to zero for the next group. So what is the motivation to earn points? Great question! The number of points each table has determines which art centers they can participate in during free time (once a project is finished). Each center has a point value assigned to it. Once a table has that many points or more, they can use that center. If the table does not have that many points, they cannot. The way I determine how many points each center is depends on the interests of my students. If I know they’ll really enjoy something (like jewelry center), I give it a higher point value. In the past few years that I’ve been using this system, I’ve found a lot of success with it. It keeps my students motivated to make the right choices and rewards them with experiences instead of tangible items (like candy). The centers I currently have in my classroom are: Weaving/Lacing Cards - 1 pt White Boards - 1 pt *This is the one bone that I throw my students. They LOVE white boards! How to Draw Books and Free Draw - 2 pts Pattern Blocks - 3 pts Texture Rubbing - 4 pts Puzzles- 5 pts Origami - 6 pts Spirograph - 7 pts KEVA Contraptions -7 pts. K'NEX - 8 pts Play Doh - 10 pts Jewelry Center - 14 pts ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES POSTERS Now this isn't something new.. but the way that I'm displaying it is. I used to have just the elements posters hanging up on my bulletin board, but now I've hung them along with my principles posters to just above my centers (near my classroom door). I also printed them out larger this year. Instead of being 8.5"x11", I printed them out at 13"x18". If you like the look of these posters, be sure to check them out in my store! VISUAL ART WORD WALL CARDS My word wall is probably the single most popular thing in my classroom with my administrators. My thought when I created them and first hung them up was "Cool! Now my kids can see art words and pictures that help those words make sense." My administrators think "Wow! She's incorporating literacy into her art program!" At the end of last year I took down all my word wall cards and tossed them, so this year I had to print them all out again (which was fine with me because I'm made a million updates to them over the past few years). Once I had them all printed out I knew I needed to laminate them. Trying to get stuff laminated through the school in the beginning of the school year can be a bit challenging however, so I decided it was time to invest in my very own home laminator! Guys... I WANT TO LAMINATE EVERYTHING NOW! I mean.. the process of laminating itself is fun AND cutting out things that are laminated is fun. There's just something very rewarding about cutting through laminated paper. Either you know exactly what I'm talking about, or you think I'm crazy. That's okay. I probably am. ;) I personally bought my laminator at Wal-Mart for about $20... but you can also order the same Scotch Thermal Laminator from Amazon (theirs comes with 20 laminating pouches). Once I had all my cards laminated it was time to cut them out. Lucky for me I recently purchased an X-ACTO Commercial Grade 12" x 12" Paper Cutter (off of Amazon) which made cutting them out at home WAY easier. Seriously Amazon gets all of my money. Their 2-day Prime shipping is dangerously convenient. I decided that this year I was going to hang up my word wall cards on my bulletin board instead of the wall so I wouldn't have to cut like 30,000,000 pieces of tape to stick them up. Yay for staples! The only thing I didn't consider before starting was how to keep the cards straight on my bulletin board. 😔 By the time I got to the letter "D" I noticed that my cards were gradually moving upwards. Soooo I took them all down and started again. I'm going to be real with you guys.. I did this a few times. Then FINALLY I figured out an easy way to keep things on track; I measured how far down from my border I wanted the word wall cards to start, and then put a staple at that height along the length of the bulletin board. Helpful tip: Hang your word wall cards BEFORE you hang your bulletin board letters. The letters "C" and "S" have like a gazillion cards, while the letter "U" only has one. If you like my word wall cards, check out my store! If you like the bulletin board letters, you can find them here! *I warn you to not use them on a black background however. Hah! I wish I would've thought that one through! PROJECT ORGANIZATION/STORAGE Like I mentioned before, I see my students a few days in a row before getting my new rotation, so the way I organize and store artwork may not be applicable to your situation. When students are working on dry artwork at their tables, I have them put their work into their table folder at the end of class. The table folder consists of a sheet of 12"x18" construction paper folded in half with the grade-level written on the front. These folders are then stored in my labeled grade-level drawers. So the next time students come to class, I can just put their folder on their table so they can pull out their work and get started (no time wasted calling out names). If their work is wet and needs to be put into the drying rack, I have them place their work on a 1/4 size sheet of posterboard and then slide it into the drying rack within the their table color band (added with colored masking tape). That way work is easily accessible for students to get from the rack or if I want to put stuff up into their table folders once it's dry, I'll know which folder they go into. To help me tell my grade-levels apart (in case they're doing similar projects) I have clothespins with grade-level tags on them that I just clip onto the top of each drying rack. MATERIALS STORAGE Aside from my table buckets (which contain pencils, erasers, colored pencils, color, sticks, and crayons) I have a couple of other ways of storing ready-to-go materials. First are the color-coded baskets I have. If I'm doing a project with a class that has a LOT of materials, I will often use these buckets to pass out supplies for each table. Otherwise I would just call table numbers (how I distribute jobs) and have them come pick up various things. Last year I also started taking advantage of the cabinet storage I have under my countertops and started prepping paints for different classes and storing them under there in copy box lids. At one point I had all this stuff spread out all over my countertop and knew there HAD to be a better way. Using the copy box lids allows me to quickly take out and put away supplies without the giant mess. Last year I also started storing my paintbrushes in labeled drink pitchers. Why? Because it is WAY easier to walk around to distribute them when the container has a handle! And finally - paper storage. I used to have a cardboard holder like this when I was at my old school, but then neglected to bring it with me when I changed schools. This one isn't a revolutionary storage tip - unless you've never used one before. In which case - BOOM! Just blew your mind with its awesomeness! I'm so glad I got one again. :) HALL PASSES Over the past few years, the teachers at my school had been using laminated paper hall passes for our students. The main problem with those though were that they would come back from the bathroom with wet spots on them (is that water or something else?). Eww. So this year our principal had us make our own instead. As she was telling us about this during our staff meeting, she happened to have an example picture of a hall pass on a paintbrush on the PowerPoint slide. Obviously I immediately fell in love! To see my how-to on these paint brushes click here. Now they hang on the back of my door! GENERAL CLASSROOM DECOR These are a few of the other things I have hanging up on my walls. I made these color posters to complement the bulletin board letters I made for my word wall. :) You can get a copy of them here! I moved my shape and form posters from last year onto my large metal storage cabinets so they wouldn't just be wasted space. I also repainted these color mixing posters that I had originally created a few years ago. My old ones were looking pretty worn down. If you don't want to paint your own, consider checking out my TPT store for some smaller printables. CLASSROOM PICTURES If you have questions about anything else you see, please feel free to leave me a comment and I'd be happy to talk to you about it! :) Hope you all have a great school year! Simple Elements/Principles Posters | Art Genre Posters

First grade artists spent the first art classes this year learning about different kinds of lines. We looked around the art room and found ...

Next week my super awesome second grade students are going to be involved in a street painting event! Chalk artist Lee Jones will be coming to our school and working with the second grade to create street paintings. Because the kids are learning about the Monarch butterfly in their classroom (they'll be getting their very own caterpillar this spring), I thought they could chalk butterfly designs. To practice for next week's event, the kids busted out these butterfly beauties this week. I popped a photo of 'em up on my instagram yesterday and it blew up with questions. So I thought I'd try to answer 'em today. Let's hope it makes a smidge of sense. This lesson was short and sweet. It took us a grand total of two 30 minute art classes to complete. Here is a list of supplies we used: * 12" X 18" paper folded in half * watered down black tempera paint (I love Sax's Versa Temp) * paint brushes * KOSS chalk pastels During the intro to this lesson, we chatted briefly about our upcoming visit from Lee Jones. I then introduced the Monarch butterfly to the kids with this prezi. Feel free to borrow away! After that chat, each student collected the paper and paint brushes. They jotted their names down on their papers and immediately turned their attention to me. At this point, we only had a short 15 minutes to get this bad boy painted so there was no time to lose. This painting process was great because I could introduce all sorts of groovy math terms like symmetrical and parallel. I made a short clip for y'all to explain the process. I do hope it helps! You can find more of my lesson video clips here. Like, Holy Cats, how simple is that, right?! And I love how each one turned out. I got the idea this weekend when I googled butterfly artists. Of course, my homeboy Andy popped up. This summer when I taught a workshop based on an Andy Warhol exhibit, the docent revealed just how Andy accomplished that blotted look which he is so known for in his early work. Apparently he would paint with ink then blot his work with a paper. This would give the effect of an uneven line. I thought this would be a great way for the kids to create their butterflies as well. In the video clip, I mention how I tell the kids that something is "practice". I often tell the children that to have them relax a bit. If they think that it's just a fun creative experience (cuz, duh, it is), I've found that they loosen up a bit and let go of the notion of perfection. 9 times outta 10, they grow to love their "practice" piece so much that they never ask to start again. Some kids were bothered that the line didn't appear as clearly once printed. In which case, some repainted those lines on the other side. Now let's talk chalk, shall we? I purchased this KOSS chalk just for our sidewalk painting event. And, I gotta tell ya, we've been using it nonstop since I got it! My third graders are currently chalking these lovely desert landscapes. This chalk is loaded with pigment and it's just so stinkin' rich. Check it out, y'all! On the second day of art, I told the kids that there were just a coupla tips for chalking: they shouldn't use more than three colors and the colors should be analogous. Notice all the warm colors at the top? Those colors look great together! Pick three from that side. Love all the colors at the bottom? Perfect, they love being with each other, feel free to pick three from there. But mixing the two sets of colors may result in dull colors. And who wants a dull butterfly y'all? That's what moths are for! A kid after my own heart: mixing the chalk with her fingers. Some used tissues but I found that often wiped the color away. Many kids went the Monarch route... While some wanted theirs to be "camo-greens". Sargent Flappy Wings. You got it! Each one of 'em was an absolute stunner. I cannot wait to see just what these kids chalk outside! By the way, I think I'm in love with the white background. The kids and I chatted about cutting them out ("Let's hang them up! From the ceiling!" Oh, yeah, kids. The Fire Marshall would LOVE that!). For now, I think they'll stay this way. But if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear 'em! Until next time, y'all!

This project was done almost at the end of our second quarter. Oh how they have improved since the beginning of the year! We viewed many photos of different kinds of trees and discussed the texture and patterns. We drew a horizon line and then I instructed them on how to draw trees and branches. We drew in pencil first and then they traced over the trees with a permanent marker. Next they drew with a permanent marker patterns on the trees. They used construction paper crayons to color in the patterns. I had to remind them to only color the patterns. They would be painting the trees, sky and ground with watercolors. This took them about four, fifty minute class periods to complete. They really enjoyed the lesson.

This full inclusive lesson pack is an easy way to teach the concepts behind Cubism. It leaves room for the teacher to facilitate a class discussion about the subject matter. This lesson will guide the teacher step-by-step through the duration of the project, and it even includes a grading rubric. Th...

This week 4th grade is starting their Robin Mead inspired landscapes! She's a contemporary artist from Georgia, and you can check out her work on her website here! I was also inspired by the awesome art teacher, Lauralee Chambers, from her beautiful student examples on Instagram! Here's Robin Mead's Instagram too :) She has a Youtube channel too! Here's how we created ours! Materials: Sax 90 lb paper pencils Sharpies Crayola artista II watercolor Big Kid's Choice Paintbrushes Robin Mead examples Day 1: Show examples of Robin Mead's work, and show examples of other 4th grade work from Lauralee Chamber's art room. Then I demonstrated how to add the water, ground, mountains, and sun. After I drew it out, I traced it with Sharpie, and let them get to work. When enough had drawn and traced, I demonstrated how to blend their watercolors in a way similar to Mead's work. They did a great job, and enjoyed creating their own landscapes! Here's some examples of Robin's work! It's so beautiful and colorful!! Here's a video, showing how to draw a Robin Mead inspired landscape! Here's some great student examples on day 1 of instruction! here's Mrs. Braswell's class, working hard on theirs! Here's Mrs. Torres' class, finishing up! Just beautiful!! DISCLOSURE: LINKS TO PRODUCTS ARE AFFILIATE LINKS, WHICH MEANS I GET A SMALL COMPENSATION FOR SALES. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR BLOG!

We are so excited to kick off another great year of art and creativity here in Hudsonville and have been having a blast welcoming back all o...

This week, 4th will be starting their background for the Collagraph printmaking project! This was inspired by the fabulous @Mrsdow_Artroom! Give her a follow on Instagram! After they finish their background, they'll start gluing the foam shapes onto their square printing plate. Videos and how to below! Materials: Speedball ink Brayer 90 lb paper Wonderfoam shapes school smart fluorescent paint Big Kid's Choice paintbrushes Elmer's Glue-all This background was done with School Smart Washable Fluorescent Paint Here's a short time lapse video on how to paint your background! These backgrounds were done with Sax Liquid Watercolors (SIDE NOTE: REGULAR FOAM DOESN'T WORK FOR THIS PROJECT! IT FALLS OFF!) ALSO: Make sure you start in the corner of your square and work your way out! Make both sides match or be symmetrical! Like this one! Here's a little time lapse of me creating another printing plate MAKE SURE YOU USE A DIFFERENT KIND OF FOAM, LIKE THESE WONDERFOAM SHAPES!! or these Darice sticky foam sheets would work well too! & no glue needed! Here's a time lapse of me gluing the shapes on. Start in one corner and work your way out, making sure both sides match, or are symmetrical! Then, you're ready to ink up and start printing! Make sure you keep your corner design in the middle of your paper as you're rotating! Make a mark on the corner that you want to put in the middle, so you can see it when you're printing! Here's Dr Fambrough's class doing a great job! Here are some awesome artists from Mrs. McAllister's class!! I was literally shrieking for joy at the way these turned out! Mrs. Stacey is so proud of y'all!!! <3 Here are some prints from Mrs. Fambrough's class!

I have seen variations of this project many times but have never tried it with my students. I am pleased with how our assemblages turned out! This was a great opportunity to clean out the junk in the classroom and teach about using found objects. My Primaries (or first grade) learned a little about American sculptor Louise Nevelson. There is a short clip on YouTube that explains about her artwork. I put a call out to families to donate … Read more... →

You can grab these geometric art printable...and let your kids imaginations run wild! A perfect free printable to let the creativity flow.

I got this idea from another art teacher Katie Morris after stumbling upon it on pinterest! I wanted to start the year in a creative way instead of just rules and procedures. I made a short video (…

Ian Felton is one of that rare breed who seem to emerge from design school ready to take on the world, so assured and sophisticated was his debut.

I have wanted curtians for a whole year, I even bought the fabric! But I knew curtians would block too much sunlight so next best, stain glass look. What you need: Tissue paper Scissors or paper cutte Electrical tape -1 small roll side note husband said this tape will eventually leave a residue :-( because of the baking by the sun Glue stick Step 1: cut your tissue paper and put a glue line on the window and stick your tissue paper on. This will hold and is easily removable and the window cleans easy with soap and water. Step 2: outline with electrical tape. So far no residue is building but it time!!! Meaning , you know when you pull masking tape off and the your like...where's my goo gone!!! Yeah, I'll probably have to do that

This is a challenging 5th grade Pop Art project for art teachers wanting to infuse literacy into their art lessons. Reinforce onomatopoeia words by studying Andy Warhol's prints and Roy Lichtenstein's comic strip artwork with benday dots. Combine collage, printmaking, and hand lettering techniques into one art lesson!

Take your lighting up several notches with the Clear and Chrome Tiered Crystal Glass Plug-in and Hardwire Hanging Chandelier from River of Goods. This beautiful chandelier has a striking throwback look, with an antique-finished chrome base covered with glass jewels and dangling with strands of more glass jewels for a piece reminiscent of the early 20th century — perfect for setting up in an antique-inspired room. The glass detailing reflects and refracts light, creating a dazzling display on the wall that's equally as eye-catching as the chandelier itself. In addition to its gorgeous look, you'll love the easy function of this hanging ceiling light. Simply use the included hooks and wall mount — on or your or with a professional installer — to adjust and hold the hanging chain as desired, then plug into an outlet for easy on.

tips & tricks Who says that posters have to be 2-dimensional? These warm and cool color posters made a big impression with my...

Lily H. Last week, 4th grade started their backgrounds that we will use in our value cityscapes! These were inspired by Painted Paper Art, and are turning out lovely! Here's how we created ours! Materials: Big Kid's Choice Brushes Crayola tempera paint pencils rulers Sharpies Crayola Oil Pastels Sax 90lb paper Sax 80lb paper Day 1: Talk about value, and paint their background. I demonstrated how they need to slowly add the white to each section. (we did this with a separate white and a q-tip). I did the last section with mostly white and a little color. I made a video of me demonstrating this. (I need to work on my video skills, i know! Haha) Only a few finished this in time to start on their buildings. Day 2: Work on buildings! I continually stress that they need to use a ruler! I tell them, even I need to use a ruler, and I draw every day! Painted Paper has a great handout, that I printed out and put on their tables for inspiration. After they traced their buildings with Sharpie, they could use the same color oil pastel, as their background, and add a shadow to one side of the buildings. Here's Mrs. Moss' class, doing a great job! DISCLOSURE: LINKS TO PRODUCTS ARE AFFILIATE LINKS, WHICH MEANS I GET A SMALL COMPENSATION FOR SALES. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR BLOG!

Faced with the dilemma of needing my Vintage Linens Quilt #1 (VLQ#1) for a presentation to the Alamo Heritage Quilt Guild earlier this month and knowing it wouldn’t be back in my possession until t…

Art projects that are fun for kids and bring in big bucks for your school auction!

con gli alunni di prima B abbiamo realizzato dei paesaggi fantastici colorati con texture di tutti i tipi. ogni ragazzo ha inventato superfi...

The past couple of weeks, 1st grade has been working on their Solomons, which are inspired by the author and illustrator, Catherine Rayner, and her book, Solomon the Crocodile. I originally found this idea on Art Room Britt's blog! Here's how we created our own! Materials: Sax 90lb paper Crayola Artista II watercolors Big Kid's Choice paintbrushes pencils Sharpies Solomon the Crocodile Day 1: We read the book, Solomon the Crocodile, and then we created our own! We started with the eye, did the zig zag back next, drew the upper half of the mouth, then the teeth, lower jaw, and then the neck! Then, we drew a few dragonflies! Their drawings are so great! Then we traced them with sharpie, and added watercolor. We painted Solomon with water first, and then added the paint for a wet on wet technique. Here's some great 1st grade examples! Here's a video, showing how to draw Solomon the Crocodile DISCLOSURE: LINKS TO PRODUCTS ARE AFFILIATE LINKS, WHICH MEANS I GET A SMALL COMPENSATION FOR SALES. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR BLOG!

Last year, my third grade students worked with their table groups of four friends to come up with positive four letter words that describe our school. Guess which lame-o and lazy art teacher JUST HUNG THEM UP THIS WEEK! That's right...this gal right here. This collaborative is one that I think would be a wonderful back to school activity. It really inspired conversations on just who we are as a school and who we strive to be. As a class, we sat on the floor, looked at the work of both Jasper Johns and Robert Indiana. After a discussion of their work, I asked the kids to help me brainstorm a list of four letter positive words. Once the list was complete, the kids were to go to their seats and work as a team. Their assignment: settle on their word and who was going to paint what letter. I had purchased 8" X 10" canvas boards for each student. However, matte board works just as well or even cardboard primed with some gesso! Then my students used carbon paper and a printed copy of enlarged letters. I had laid out every letter of the alphabet on a table for them to find. They would then lay the carbon paper on their canvas with the shiny side down, place their letter on top and trace. What this did was insure that all of our letters were the same size and font style. Once their letter was traced, every child was tasked with deciding how to paint their letter. They could either use all of the cool colors for their letter or all of the warm. Then they were to use the reverse of that color scheme for the background. Like this: Having looked at the work of Jasper Johns and admiring his brush strokes, we used that as our inspiration...but really I left it open to the kids how they would paint their letters and background. I love the variety of these letters by my fourth graders. They did these as initial paintings: It was a fun way to introduce two artists, color theory, discuss our school culture and get them painting and exploring pattern and brush stroke. And now they are finally up in our halls (I am a bit of a procrastinator!). I framed them with 16" X 20" frames. The artwork fit PERFECTLY! I chose frames that were lightweight and had plexiglass so if they frames fell, there would not be broken glass. Each is hung with 2 Velcro Command strips. The small frames were thrift store finds! I chose small black frames with each being between 50 cents to a dollar. I then removed the glass and cut plexiglass for the inside. In the small frame, I wrote "A Johnson Elementary, we are...COOL" and then I wrote who painted the four letters and the year. I love to do legacy projects and collaboratives with my students every year. There are plenty here on my blog...and this one is my new favorite. Such a wonderful way to start the new school year!