Mehndi, a traditional art form that dates back to before the twelfth century A.D., are temporary works of art created by painting with henna plant extract. Henna stain found on the fingers and toes of mummified pharaohs has led some people to believe that mehndi can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Indian weddings are not complete without a mehndi…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a behavioral art program in improving social skills for two children with autism in group settings. A multiple probe design across behaviors was used. The results indicated that for both children, the program increased the percentages of spontaneous verbal communications,…

A humid summer haze covers the River Seine and the grassy bank where young men and boys go swimming on Sunday. Everything seems so quiet, still, and very hot. They wear hats to protect them from the hot sun. The artist Georges Seurat used warm tones to give viewers the feeling of the hot sun. Seurat was trying to catch the dazzle of hot sunlight…

Artists often paint the different seasonal activities people engage in and the way the world looks as changes take place. The weather for each of the four seasons is different. Farmers plant crops and gardens in the spring and harvest their crops in the fall, just like "The Harvesters" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. To begin, children will observe…

In science class, fourth graders investigate the structure of plants and leaves from trees and how the process of photosynthesis turns sunlight into sugar proteins. In this article, the author fuses art and science for a creative and successful clay slab project in her elementary art classroom. (Contains 1 online resource.)

When the author traveled to the city of Barcelona, Spain to see the still-unfinished La Sagrada Familia in person, she marveled at the magical genius of Antoni Gaudi's masterpiece. Inspired by Gaudi's whimsical tile work and cathedral towers, the author developed an art project that engages students in a creative experience, which combined art…

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.

In this article, the author describes how her second-graders created their cool polar bears. The students used the elements of shape and texture to create the bears. They used Monet's technique of dabbing paint so as to give the bear some texture on his fur.

Everyone likes a good story and different cultures have their unique ways of telling stories. Japan has a history of picture folktales called "kamishibai." Kamishibai (kah-mee-shee-bye), or "paper theater," began to appear on the streets of Japan in the 1920s. A kamishibai performer would ride a bicycle from town to town with…

When an unlimited amount of free 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm) canvas was offered to all of the schools in their community to participate in the city's the Color of Friendship art competition, the author saw a wonderful opportunity for her students at Cedarcreek Elementary. After some thought, the idea of combining poetry with the contest's rich theme…

In this article, the author discusses how to publicize the art program while integrating art history, technology, art concepts, painting, drawing, and performance opportunities into one project. She suggests that hosting a living artist exhibition might be the answer. Each year, the author and the school librarian conduct a collaborative study of…

This article utilizes the story of an art studio project involving 2nd-grade students in a new urban elementary school as they explored and engaged with architectural spaces in their community during their yearlong study of the theme of "Community." The purpose of this writing is to theorize and codify some major tenets of a narrative…

Fauvism is a style of painting based on the use of intensely vivid colors that were not natural to the faces, landscapes and objects being painted. It was how artists expressed themselves during the first decade of the 20th century, and lasted only a short time. The artists were called "les Fauves," which means "the wild beasts." In this article,…

In this article, the author describes a self-portrait project that encouraged students, boosted their self-confidence, and got them excited about their artistic abilities--while producing amazing results. This lesson effectively develops artistic ability by compelling students to see that drawing is quite simply breaking down objects into the…

Every day, all around the country, art teachers are contending with large class sizes, shorter class periods, and varied student abilities. While the obvious solution might be to standardize, how can an art teacher meet the needs of the entire learning spectrum? How can an art teacher challenge the students who need challenging, while providing an…