Art Making from Kindergarten to Graduation
Step 1: Understanding Hand Proportions Before we draw a hand holding something, it's important to understand the basic proportions of the hand. I found that drawing guide lines on my own hands is very helpful with proportions. When I position my hands a certain way, the guide lines show me the correct way to draw… Continue reading Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing Hands
With Hispanic Heritage month starting in September, I wanted my classes to complete activities for Dia de los Muertos. I frequently travel to Mexico to visit family. I always try to do one lesson a year focusing on Hispanic heritage. This year, I decided to create Nicho boxes. Years ago I did a lesson with… Continue reading Celebrate Día de los Muertos with Nicho Boxes
This year I had the opportunity to teach special education students in my art class. At first, it was a struggle to find art lessons that were beneficial, substantial, or helped develop motor skills and creativity. Many of the resources I found focused more on the process, which being also valuable, I really wanted projects… Continue reading Abstract Art Lesson: Motor Skills Development
Introduction I love teaching the students about Mary Blair whenever we are learning about the element of arts. Specifically when it comes to shape. Even if you have not heard her name before, you have most certainly seen her work if you have watched a Disney movie or gone on It’s a Small World. A… Continue reading Mary Blair Inspired Shape Lesson: Building Art Activity
Starting a printmaking program can be rather expensive so it is important to find creative ways to complete projects. One tip and trick I discovered was using fruit containers for these drypoint prints. When you think about it, it is also somewhat expensive considering the price of fruit. However, I fortunately had 3 berry fiends… Continue reading Drypoint Printmaking Tutorial: Utilizing Fruit Containers
This was one of my favorite lessons I completed during my first year teaching printmaking. The process was rather easy for the students to complete and the results were overall successful. After a few difficult activities and “failures” with project executions, it was great to have a project that came out well. The best part… Continue reading Embossing Prints
Pointillism is an art style from the Impressionist art movement from the late 1800's. Created by George Seurat, the painting is created with only dots where the artist aims for the viewers eyes to mix the colors rather than mixing themselves. The most famous piece in this style is George Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on… Continue reading Pointillism Paintings
One of my favorite art styles to teach is surrealism because it pushes a lot of students out of their comfort zones. Surrealism, an art period in the early 20th century, focuses on combining art literature, dreams, and the unconscious in interesting ways. One of the most familiar surrealist artists and artwork is Salvador Dali and… Continue reading Surrealist Eyes Drawings
My high school printmaking class continued making printing pates with common art room materials as we introduced different print methods and techniques. Glue was an obvious choice to use for our printing plates since most classrooms have an abundance of it. Materials Glue (white, tacky, or hot glue) Cardboard or card stock Brayer Brush Block… Continue reading Printmaking with Glue
After a break from school, I like to get the students back in the swing of things with a fun project to jump start their creativity and get their artistic juices flowing. I have done this project before with elementary school, but I was really excited to introduce it to my high school students to… Continue reading Chris Piascik Inspired Doodle Drawings
In the Art Room with Mrs. D 