Today several contemporary artists are using their artistic talents to help bring attention to the immigration debate. Westover School, the independent school where author Sara Poskas teaches, decided to address these issues by inviting one such artist--award-winning artist and architect Mohamad Hafez, a native-born Syrian, raised in the Kingdom…

During a recent research project, it became apparent that the conventional taxonomic, textual and linguistic devices used to develop the narrative of a manuscript would not allow me to make sense, or tell the complex story, of my inquiry. I needed to employ multimodal approaches to grapple with the project related to artists who work in…

The purpose of this article is to present a few of the innovative techniques used in the execution of Morgan Chivers' sculptural work, not on the content of the work itself. The author's interest has been in merging the methodologies and precise output control of 3D printing with finished objects in nonprintable materials as required by the…

Nature is all around, and can be the inspiration for some excellent creations in the classroom. How can a teacher bring these rich natural elements into the art class? As the author was exploring a hiking trail, he came across a large piece of bark from an old oak tree. A strong wind began to blow through the trees, the leaves began to rustle and…

Artists have used a variety of materials over the years for sculpting. They have been quick to use unusual pieces of technology to make a vibrant and unique statement, just as painters have created and used a wide variety of colors and derived pigments for their canvases. In this article, the author discusses a design challenge that gives students…

Seizing ideas from chance encounters and combining them in new ways produces innovative and exciting art experiences for students and teachers alike. Such was the case when the author received a book of postcards with photographs of original art made from discarded computer mice by San Francisco artists. In this article, the author describes an…

In this article, the author discusses how she combines science lesson with a hands-on art project. She used the wonderfully creative suns shown on the Sunday edition of "The CBS Morning Show" to give the students fodder for thought. She describes how to create an assemblage. An assemblage is like a collage, but it moves past the two-dimensional…

This is a collaborative lesson written by the authors. The lesson pairs two unlikely grade levels together to complete a touching and unique collaborative project. The collaboration aspect of this unit opened up endless possibilities for future collaborations.

In this article, the author describes a metal-tooling project for his fourth-graders. Giving the students a specific subject with specific features and textures enabled him to guide them step-by-step in the metal-tooling process. This project would be a great practice project for even high-school students before doing other relief work. After…

Two fourth-grade teachers presented the idea of using the author's art class to inspire the students to write creatively. The theme of scary stories needed an art project to match. The author immediately had a favorite lesson in mind. By putting a small twist on one of her standard "Frank Lloyd Wright House" projects, scary plans began to take…

The author of this article describes how her eighth grade art students heighten their awareness of differences between their public self and their inner self by: manipulating water bottles to create sculptural self-portraits; constructing armatures of the generic person in "The Scream" by Edward Munch; finding and collecting examples of images and…

Most parents and educators are not as familiar or comfortable with the developmental stages that may also occur in three-dimensional work, yet no doubt a similar progression exists. Is there a scribble stage in sculpture? Do children need to master one set of skills before they are able to move on to the next? Do students have opportunity and…

In Kathleen Loomis's preschool classroom at the Bennington College Early Childhood Center, the goal for children is not to produce beautiful and expressive artworks or to learn specific methods of working with art media--although those things do happen. Here, the curriculum is built around the philosophy that learning to think and create with art…

In this article, the author describes how her art class students were able to create, in just four class periods, clay relief plaques depicting nature. A lesson on texture speeds up the completion of such a project. Seeing that clay is a natural material with its own unique texture, it seemed fitting that the final product should depict a variety…

Discussed the Hawaiian Rinacita, or "rebirth", which is the modern continuation of the ancient Hawaiian artistic tradition and presented pictures of sculptures and other art objects of ancient Hawaii. (Author/RK)