This article describes a clay project for students studying Greece and Rome. It provides a wonderful way to learn slab construction techniques by making small clay column capitols. With this lesson, students learn architectural vocabulary and history, understand the importance of classical architectural forms and their influence on today's…

The author and her colleagues had picked an "Alice in Wonderland" theme for their Open House night, and decided it might be nice to have a large sculptural figure of Alice and the Queen of Hearts made out of papier-mache. They were a big hit and the students loved making figures that were larger than some of their students. The next year, they…

A shiny human figure turned into a car or a jet--what kid (or kid at heart) wouldn't enjoy these images? The author found that showing his students these shiny human sculptures by artist Ernest Trova (1927-2009) was a great place to start an exciting sculpture project with his fourth-grade students. In the 1960s, Ernest Trova created a painting of…

Thinking how inspired her middle-school students are by color, the author turned to a book about the life and art of Peter Max as inspiration for this lesson. Though Max's first recollection of creating art was coloring his family's steamer trunks with a crayon, he would later pick up a paintbrush to create bold and exciting designs. He went on to…

The author has always liked the look of stained-glass windows. Usually the designs are simplified and the shapes are easier for younger students to draw. This technique seemed to be the perfect place for her fifth-graders to try their hand at color mixing. The smaller spaces and simple shapes were just what she needed for this group. Her students…

Building upon lessons learned is relevant to art and life. As an art teacher dealing with teens, the author tries to give her students an understanding of art as a window to the "big picture" as well as a practical, relevant skill. She developed this lesson plan, "Celtic Roads," with that objective in mind. The success rate is high, the product is…

In this article, the author discusses the importance of the placement of action lines to show the direction of movement. The author shows some visuals of angels and discusses in details the texture of the wings, the hair and the clothing.

Virginia Lee Burton was one of the first author-artists to fully integrate text with images on the printed page, captivating generations of children. She was the founder of the Folly Cove Designers, which is an artist collective known for block printed textiles and design, an artist and a writer, entwining the visual image and written word into a…

Gustav Klimt was born in Vienna in 1862. At age 14, he received a scholarship to the Vienna Public Art School. After graduating, he painted realistic portraits and later began to paint landscapes. Klimt was best known for creating a style known as Art Nouveau, in answer to the Industrial Revolution of the early 20th century. Art Nouveau was a…

Mexican printer Jose Guadalupe Posada's (1851-1913) numerous prints of "calaveras" gave vast popularity to skeleton figures through his satirical and politically critical renditions of skeletons engaged in daily activities. They are oftentimes represented in festive and playful posturing. Calaveras have now become the most original trait…

In the San Fernando Valley of Southern California, the entire community participates in Youth Art Month through the Annual Valley Wide Student Art Show. The mission of the show is to provide students with an opportunity to exhibit their work publicly and to promote school arts programs during Youth Art Month. Apart from promoting arts education…

This article presents a lesson that uses stitching and applique techniques to create a fiber collage in which every child is successful with high-quality work. This lesson was inspired by Tomie dePaola's "The Legend of the Bluebonnet." The back cover had a lovely illustration of the bluebonnet flower the author thought would translate easily to a…

Texture is how things feel or how they look as though they might feel if one touches them. Some surfaces are rough and some are smooth to the touch. There are many other words, such as bumpy, used to describe texture when one feels or sees it. This article presents an art project in which elementary students explain how texture is used in art,…

"Shells and Patterns" was a project the author felt would easily put smiles on the faces of her fifth-graders, and teach them about unity and the use of watercolor pencils as well. It was thrilling to see the excitement in her students as they made their line drawings of shells come to life. For the most part, they quickly got the hang of…

This printmaking unit will get students excited about geography and history. In this article, the author describes how her eighth-grade students created a report and a linoleum print of a famous "landmark."