The drab, cold days of winter were not helping to motivate the author's painting students. Still-life work appeared forced, tight, and overworked. A downed white birch in her front yard provided the author a resource and inspiration. In this article, students do some timed gestural drawings of still life using sticks as paintbrushes. (Contains 1…

For the past twenty years, a major project for the author's eighth-grade art classes has been a group diorama with plaster figures. The group has to include two to four people participating in a sport or an occupation while showing some kind of action and interaction. Not too long ago, a couple of girls asked to depict the signing of the…

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…

Part of the fourth-grade curriculum in the author's district is the creation of a self-portrait. This is always a challenge for both the students and the author, because it is so difficult for beginners to draw a satisfying drawing of a face, whether it is their own or someone else's. In the past the author tried many formats and materials to…

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.

For centuries people from around the world have celebrated storytelling and puppetry for their educational and social functions. In the comprehensive curriculum, storytelling combined with puppet performances enriches the classroom experience by providing students with opportunities to engage in open dialogue, creativity, and structured play.…

Even middle school students can have memories of their childhoods, of an earlier time. The art of Romare Bearden and the writings of Paul Auster can be used to introduce ideas about time and memory to students and inspire works of their own. Bearden is an exceptional role model for young artists, not only because of his astounding art, but also…

This article describes a miniature painting project that allows students to research a master painter and then replicate the work on a smaller scale. This lesson focuses on the students' ability to learn to identify style, subject matter, themes, and content in painting through the study of historical paintings, and the application of various…

Transformation is nothing new for artists. From taking a piece of mud and molding it into a sculpture, to drawing a moustache on the "Mona Lisa," artists have the power and the inclination to reinvent things time and again. In this article, the author describes how her middle school students explored the aesthetics of the past by applying…

A very successful preschool project the author did at Ohio State University's Schoenbaum Family Center combined students' interest in storytelling, drama, and multiple literacies. For this particular project, a classic children's fairy tale was used, though the project is easily adaptable for other stories, texts, content, and age levels. In this…

In this postmodern era, artists have gone far beyond traditional and technical skills. In her own teaching practices, the author looks to implement practice of a twenty-first-century art educator that inspire students to develop creative and innovative thought processes while relating to the world around them. In this article, she encourages…

Empowering Women is a traveling exhibition of folk art that focuses on ten cooperatives from four continents and ten countries. The exhibition is a window into the ways that cooperatives empower women to: (1) preserve and reinvigorate their country's traditional arts; (2) generate steady livelihoods for their families; (3) send their children to…

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…