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Art Naturally
Famed French artist Marc Chagall once said, “Great art picks up where nature ends.” We couldn’t agree more. Incorporating natural materials into art projects results in some seriously amazing...
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An Emotional Portrait
As the art teacher and the school counselor, we try to join efforts each year to create a lesson that will cover both of the curriculums and connect with our students in a different way. This year we...
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What to Tell Parents Who Say Art Doesn’t Matter
Have you ever come across a parent who tries to belittle art? Perhaps it’s in the middle of a parent-teacher conference or during a back-to-school night conversation. The typical commentary of the...
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As Seen Through Their Eyes
Detail, value, and artisanship are all qualities in art that I set as standards for myself. It was no wonder that once I discovered the world of M. C. Escher, I fell in love with his graphic works....
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Student Artist Spotlight: David Tiburcio
The colorful ferries of the famed New York harbors shuttle locals, tourists, and everyone in between to and from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and beyond, providing unparalleled views of the city...
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Artist Trading Cards
Like baseball and hockey cards, Artist Trading Cards are a real thing. Introduced by Swiss artist M. Vanci Stiremann in the late 1990s, artists around the world, professional and amateur, are creating...
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Large-Scale Food Studies
This is always a super fun, super motivating lesson with delicious results! Students have often told me that this is the one lesson they are most excited to do. It’s a challenge, but one that they are...
View ArticleA Community of Artists: Art Lesson Plan
From Laguna Beach, CA to Provincetown, MA, and here and there in between, you’ll find thriving artists colonies boasting countless galleries. Dedicated artists have come together to share their love of...
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Murals 101
Art, by nature, is generally a solitary endeavor. Luckily, there are several projects that can bring students together, working collaboratively. Requiring teamwork, compromise, and mutual respect,...
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3 Simple Exit Tickets to Boost Student Comprehension
What kind of formative assessments do you use in your classes? One simple, yet powerful type I love to use is the exit ticket. An exit ticket can be done in two or three minutes at the end of class....
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Tried & True Tips – April 2017
April showers bring May flowers … and April Fool’s Day, World Autism Day, Day of Pink and, of course, Earth Day. This month we focus on painting and composition, and we have some great tips to help you...
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How to Run the Color Matching Challenge
Are you looking for a fun and engaging way to build your students’ color mixing skills? Try implementing the “Color Matching Challenge” in your classes! This activity has students trying to match paint...
View ArticleStill Life Composition 101
When you’re painting or drawing a still life scene, composition is everything. While technique and expertise are crucial, it’s the subject of a piece that draws the viewer in and makes them want to...
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Abstract Painting: Be Your Own Captain of Creativity
Despite all the hoopla about which country has the highest-scoring students, which college majors are most marketable, or which education model is the most effective, art educators have remained...
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Should Art Rooms Be the Makerspace Hub?
You’re probably aware of the makerspace trend sweeping across schools around the country. Partially, it’s an effort to engage students through exploration. Partially, it’s an effort to prepare students...
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A Story Unfolds
Everyone has a story to tell, and art is tied to literature through illustration. If you need to tie language arts into your lessons, this project offers an engaging solution. This was a new project...
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5 Reasons Cardboard Should Be an Essential Art Room Material
Are you taking advantage of cardboard in your art classes? Cardboard is one of my secrets to art teaching success. In these times of diminishing art supply budgets and overwhelming class sizes,...
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A New Approach To O’Keeffe
I have taught lessons about Georgia O’Keeffe in my second grade classes over the years and used many different media in the process. This year, however, I tried something different, and in doing so...
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Tried & True Tips – May 2017
It is May and we are starting to wind down for the year. Every year at this time I start to reflect on what projects were great, which didn’t work so well, and how I did, teaching my students what they...
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Artesania: Celebrating Cinco de Mayo
Officially, Cinco de Mayo, or May 5, 1862, is the date the Mexican army unexpectedly defeated the French in the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. Although not a turning point in the war,...
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