Teenagers' bedrooms are reflections of their personalities. Their bedrooms showcase their individuality and define the world as they see it. Their bedrooms are private and public--shared with some and off limits to others. Each day students wake up and begin the rituals of the day, and in the evening they return to their sanctuaries and close the…

Photography students spend a considerable amount of time working on technical issues in shooting, composing, editing, and processing prints. Another aspect of their learning should include the conception and communication of their ideas. A student's memories and dreams can serve as motivation to create images in visual art. Some artists claim that…

A powerful thing happens when one object is placed next to another: A relationship is suggested and a visual dialogue of sorts is created. Sculptors and architects are especially sensitive to the fact that harmonious relationships between elements can sometimes be more interesting than the elements themselves. Two-dimensional visual interaction…

In this article, the author describes how students can create a stunning as well as economical mosaic utilizing fall's brilliantly colored leaves, preserved at their peak in color. Start by choosing a beautiful fall day to take students on a nature walk to collect a variety of leaves in different shapes, sizes, and colors. Focus on collecting a…

In this article, the author describes how her studio art students created their Pop art-style self-portraits. Students were each given a printout of a black-and-white picture of themselves that the author had taken with her digital camera. With this picture, students took tracing paper and traced a basic outline of their face, hair, and neck. They…

The history of the photomontage spans artistic movements and political history. In the early twentieth century, Dada artists used the new media of mass-produced photographs to assemble collages that reflected their expression of the absurd. Russian Constructivists utilized their access to photographs and ability to quickly distribute completed…

For many artists, visual representation begins with the creative exploration of real and personal experiences. The primary challenge in creating such introspective works is maintaining the ability to connect with a broader audience. For high school students specifically, tremendous pride manifests in the creation of artistic works that represent…

In this article, the author describes an art project intended for high-school students to create a three-dimensional design using a Styrofoam. The students were asked to find and take photos of architectural details, such as decorative columns, and use the photograph as inspiration in their drawings. The drawings served as a "blueprint" to help…

The last two sections (EJ1039315 and EJ1039319) presented stories about specific moments or lessons. Also, situations infused with complexity where the writers had to toggle back and forth between providing the larger context and the details that support readers' understanding of that big picture were presented. In this section each story is…

The article is a personal account of my engagement with some recent neuroscientific theory put forth by Mary Helen Immordino-Yang (University of Southern California) about the integral relationship between emotion and cognition. Specifically, the research suggests the necessity of engaging students on an emotional level in order to thoroughly…

Louisville, Kentucky is an eclectic town of architectural styles from Greek revival to Renaissance Revival to Post modernism, not to mention an entire street dedicated to artsy mom and pop stores. Louisville is second only to the New York City Soho district in terms of the number of its cast-iron facades. Many of these building's fronts have…

A variety of subject matter, including foliage, tree roots, branches, and flowering plants, provides opportunities to study spaces and shapes and offers connections to interdisciplinary study and environmental concerns in the artroom. This article presents a lesson that encourages students to investigate their local environment and take photos for…

This article describes how to make a clay camera. This idea of creating functional cameras from clay allows students to experience ceramics, photography, and painting all in one unit. (Contains 1 resource and 3 online resources.)

Asking students to manipulate digital photos on the computer is one of the easiest ways the author knows to engage their attention. It's fabulous fun for them and a great teaching tool for educators. In this article, the author presents 10 ways to impress students with image-editing software. These are: (1) filters are fascinating; (2) get a move…

In this article, the authors describe how they incorporated environmental awareness into their art curriculum. Here, they describe a digital photography project in which their students used flatbed scanners as cameras. Their students composed their objects directly on the scanner. The lesson enabled students to realize that artists have voices…