All teachers are leaders, and each person can define what leadership looks like to them. Teachers must take a leadership stance to grow professionally. Leadership does not have to mean late-night meetings or hours on a tedious committee. This article provides a list that will help teachers brainstorm ways to take themselves to the next level in…

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has created and will tour an exhibition on a most unusual but extremely popular art form--"The Art of Video Games." As one of the largest and first of its type, this exhibition will document and explore a 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the…

More and more, teachers are finding creative ways to document student learning. One of the great benefits of being art teachers is that they are sometimes afforded some flexibility in how they show and celebrate student learning. Documentation is not limited to complicated data and percentages, there are many other ways to shout to the rooftops…

When the author embarked on a journey to start a blog, she had no idea it would save her teaching career. After several years of teaching, she was already burned out. She was caving to the negativity that can often surround education and was just plain tired. She wasn't excited about teaching like she should be. She needed something more. She…

During the author's second year of teaching seventh- through 12th-grade art, she read a brief article by Elliot Eisner on the NAEA website, "10 Lessons the Arts Teach." Eisner is a noted proponent on the development of the arts as an integral part of an overall curriculum. It is his advocacy that has made modern art education a content-oriented…

The art room can become a canvas, covered in white paper from floor to ceiling. Doors, windows--even the sink--can play a role as a canvas. One may begin by dressing everything in white. When students get dressed in white paper clothing, watch out--they have become walking canvases ready for painting. Beyond the art room, one imagines draping…

"Growing Up as a Young Artist" is an illustrated book assignment that involves researching family scrapbooks, photo albums and films, and inquiring about family anecdotes for clues to one's artistic roots. Students creatively reflect on their early memories of imaginative events, as each page is filled with memories of creative activities they…

Creativity is a huge buzzword in art education today. The employers of tomorrow will be looking for employees who can think creativity, are quick on their feet and are able to work collaboratively with others. In order to ensure they are preparing their students for the challenging world ahead, art educators must know what creativity truly is and…

Pure visual art is a silent communicator. The people who make it have something to say, yet they don't always say it out loud. They count on others to look at their art, and to gather meaning from materials and forms arranged to pluck familiar and unfamiliar chords. Some artists have the gift of gab. They are sociable and outspoken. Those artists…

In this article, the author presents an ideal question that can take an art teacher and his or her students through all the levels of thought in Bloom's taxonomy--perfect for modeling the think-aloud process: "How many people is the artist inviting into this picture?" This great question always helps the students look beyond the obvious and dig…

Teachers can help students become more fluent and confident in creating their own art, as well as being consciously aware of the art elements--line, color, shape/form, texture, space and value--when they view the art of others. In this article, the author reviews and defines the characteristics of each element separately, basic elements that are…

Children's portraits begin as a search for faces in objects, later in drawings, photos and videos. From a child's first line, trekking across a page to the circle representing a round head, young artistic life begins as a search for a portrait. Picturing oneself and the face of others is a lifelong journey. As with other creative ideas in…

This article describes an art lesson that allows students to set up and collect sphere canvases. Spheres move art away from a rectangular canvas into a dimension that requires new planning and painting. From balls to many other spherical canvases that bounce, roll, float and fly, art experiences are envisioned by students. Even if adults recognize…

Tired of hearing grumbling and moaning when it is time for critiques? It has been the author's experience that students do not do well in critiques because of two main things: (1) being shy about displaying their work; and (2) not knowing the right vocabulary to use to support their like (or dislike) of others' work. In this article, the author…

Children can be motivated to transform their thoughts, feelings and perceptions into visual expressions for drawing and painting. A variety of means are available to help them produce diverse and creative artworks. This article offers a few challenging ideas to get one's class whizzing along.