Long before children enter school, it is their imagination that informs their play. Their drawing, too, relies heavily on their natural, unfettered ability to portray both the world around them and their own experiences within that world, without the conventional boundaries between "real" and "imaginary." Surrealism then, is an art movement and…

Discovering identity can be a lifelong challenge for some people, while others seem to figure it out right away. During the middle school years, finding one's identity can be a daunting task. Most students will spend a considerable amount of time during these middle years looking for it. This lesson on cut-paper self-portraits lets students delve…

In this article, the author describes how second-grade students created animal rattles. For finishing touches, students can add faux fur, cords, beads, feathers, and other objects with glue or hot glue. (Contains 1 online resource.)

Many educators would say that pencils, paint, and paper are the most important tools in the artroom, but are they really? If they look deeply at how students create art, it is their beginning ideas and concepts that gauge the success of a work of art. Without proper planning and guidance, even the most talented students will struggle through their…

Artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) created wonderful environments inside boxes using mostly found objects. They were often Surrealistic in nature. Some boxes were designed with glass fronts, and others were meant to be interactive with the viewer, wherein the objects could be handled. With Joseph Cornell in mind, the author introduces an art…

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…

What if we hosted a banquet for famous artists and they came dressed in their own work? With this idea in mind, the author gathered materials on different artists from books, magazines, and the Internet. To simplify things somewhat, she only used artists from the mid-1800s to the present. The sixth graders made the artists' masks, placemats, and…

Art has a way of helping students better understand and appreciate the world around them, particularly the things that are most important to them. Hip hop is one of those generational genres that capture the attention of young students like few other things do. Drawing on this genre to get students to create art is an excellent way to demonstrate…

In this article, the author describes a project designed for fourth-graders that involves making clay relief sculptures of houses. Knowing the clay houses will become a family heirloom makes this lesson even more worth the time. It takes three classes to plan and form the clay, and another two to underglaze and glaze the final products.

For this author, one of the most enjoyable aspects of teaching elementary art is the willingness of students to embrace the different styles of art introduced to them. In this article, she describes a project that allows upper-elementary students to learn about abstract art and the lives of some of the master abstract artists, implement the idea…

What began as a review lesson in clay construction quickly became a fun learning experience filled with inspiring conversations and creatively painted birds. This lesson was successful from beginning to end, with a final reward when the artwork was displayed. The author describes the process of working on this project and shares how the students…

In the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York City there is a woodcarving called a "Yipwon". It is from the remote north-east region of Papua New Guinea and was created by the Yiman people of the Korewori River Region. The Yipwon carvings look like a human skeleton in profile, showing evidence of ribs, heart, and head. The Yipwon…

Cows have been a favorite subject for many artists, including Canadian artist Joe Fafard. In this article, grade 11 graphic-design students do a series of exercises in their sketchbooks using the cow motif. Each exercise was designed to have students move from traditional pictures of the dairy cow to more eclectic visual solutions. Eight…

Cameos are low-relief portraits that are traditionally carved out of large conch seashells, although other materials, such as stone or metal, may be used. Thus, Lincoln's head carved on a penny is considered a cameo. Cameos are typically worn as jewelry in the form of a pendant, brooch, or ring. The process dates back to the 500s A.D. In this…

In this article, the author discusses an art project that allows students to use clocks in creating functional artwork and replicating famous works of art. This project is a huge hit with students, parents and staff. After completing this project, students enjoyed duplicating famous artworks in a circular format, and loved turning their art into…