Out-of-school-time programs, especially arts-based programs, can be critical players in a community's efforts to prevent school dropout. This research review suggests the following approaches for arts-based programs: (1) recruitment and retention of target populations with multiple risk factors; (2) long-term skill development that engages youth…

There is no denying that human hands throughout art history have been alluring subjects for artists. Think of Michelangelo's portrayal of God and Adam's graceful hands on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, reaching out longingly to each other. In German Expressionist artist Egon Schiele's portraits, the long, bony fingers of his models' hands seem to…

Interactive art activities can empower children and adults to experience art as active participants rather than passive spectators. Fayetteville State University's Art Education program in North Carolina has established Panorama Kids, mural projects designed by kids and painted by community volunteers. As art students can attest, art is very much…

In this article, the author describes a class project based on the work of contemporary American artist Red Grooms. Grooms is best known for his "sculpto-pictoramas," which are a combination of both painting and sculpture that literally pop off the page or out of the background.

Because people's vision of themselves and others is always changing, students wondered how pictures might show the effect of time and history on identity. They wondered how they might show two self-portraits in the same picture. This article describes a lesson on reconstructive self-portrait using a contrapuntal format. (Contains 5 resources and 3…

Art instructors are ever mindful of the need to introduce and encourage the possibilities of careers in the art field. The longer the author has been teaching art, the more aware she has become of the many wonderful art-related jobs and careers that exist. Fashion design, marketing and retail are three areas in which many students--male and…

Music has always been an important aspect of teenage life, but with the portability of the newest technological devices, it is harder and harder to separate students from their musical influences. In this article, the author describes a lesson wherein she incorporated their love of song into an engaging art project. In this lesson, she had…

In this article, the author describes how to make soup bowls as a class project. The slab method is used to construct the soup bowls, but bowls could just as easily be made on the potter's wheel for advanced students, using the pinch method with beginners, or with the coil method for intermediate students. Found objects from around a garage or…

A fairly common understanding among teachers is that the study of the arts opens up the study of cultures. Appreciating the artistic expressions of a culture enhances student understanding of that culture and its people. Beyond appreciation, when students make artworks, they create meaning and explore their perceptions of various cultural roles.…

The RocCity Scholars Program was developed to establish the efficacy of replicating the Rosen Scholars Program (ERIC #ED451789). Both programs were offered in inner-city environments, (New York City and Rochester) and both targeted the same under-served populations: college-bound academic achievers who were culturally, socially and financially…

From flower arranging to negotiating with a willful cow, an educator stumbles across the threshold into a performative space of learning that invites her to pay attention to what matters when a teacher encounters her students. Performative inquiry in the classroom brings to the curriculum a spirit and practice of inquiry, critical and creative…

The world of fine arts can seem a bit intimidating to a student, and it is part of the teacher's role to help ease students into that world. One of this author's goals as an art and design educator is to bring the world of his students into classroom projects, providing a sense of comfort and familiarity in the context of learning something new.…

This article introduces a new "perspective" on the typical landscape painting. It is an opportunity for art students to study the local ecosystem and native trees in their community. Other aspects of this assignment are the study of Symbolism and a new focus on the natural designs created by exposed tree roots. (Contains 1 web link.)

Teens have issues! They talk about suicide and war. They experiment with drugs, drinking and smoking. Their lives may have been touched by abuse, gangs, or guns. Young people worry about these issues and many others as they work out their emerging identities and race toward their futures. This article discusses how the teachers in Voyager House…

Art teachers are renowned for their claims that the creative properties of their senior secondary pupils' artworks occur as a result of the realisation of a creative process. Drawing on my recent ethnographic studies in senior art classrooms in Sydney, Australia, and Illinois, USA, I uncover a sociological, rather than a psychological explanation…