The research purpose was to investigate kindergarten parents' selection of after-school art education settings in Taiwan. A review of the literature and interviews with parents were conducted to identify several possible factors that would impact on parents' selection of after-school art education settings for their children. Then, the researcher…

Want to teach printmaking on a tight budget? Try using erasers! The size and shape does not matter--they are easy to cut and print beautifully. Have students place the eraser on white paper and trace around it. They should select a design and draw it in the traced space to fit the dimensions of the eraser. It is important that the design hits at…

The author teaches techniques to focus students on shape and value, but wanted to challenge advanced art students with an activity that would be difficult yet equally rewarding. In this article, the author describes an art project wherein students made photorealistic self-portraits using newspaper.

Printmaking has always been one of the author's favorite units to teach. The beauty of the subject is that a process exists for every grade level from kindergarten through 12, and in the lower grades, much of what is used can be inexpensive or donated discards. This article describes how fifth-grade students made polyfoam printing.

Last spring, students from several North Carolina middle schools were invited to participate in the annual Celebrate the Arts festival in Columbus Country. Larry Hewett, a local art teacher, had been selected to instruct the middle-school students. Larry's River Rock Circles project was made as the starting point for the Celebrate the Arts…

In this article, the author examines the use of transitional objects in a case study of a 12-year-old boy, documenting the role of art therapy in helping the boy cope with the trauma of his parents' recent separation and divorce. Transitional objects emerged spontaneously as the boy integrated the transition that the divorce of his parents…

A major construction project at a school necessitated the reorganization of nearly the entire building at the end of the school year, a time when teachers are already busy with final exams, grading, and cleaning. To ease the burden for teachers moving to their new rooms and to provide a bit of fun, a school-wide garage sale was held. Unneeded…

In this article, the author describes the design for her advanced oil-painting class. In this class, high-school students created a self-portrait painting and learned a glazing technique. The author also describes the students' evaluation of the class.

Andy Goldsworthy has always been one of the author's favorite artists. He admires the way Goldsworthy works with natural material and how his work distills the elements of art and principles of design so that one can easily recognize them. In this article, the author describes how he exposed his students to the natural beauty that fall has to…

Art teachers know that budget limitations are one of the obstacles that affect creativity in art class. However, teachers can now pour creative juices into their curriculum by using aluminum cans to give their high-school students a project that conceptualizes their sense of environment. This project allows students the freedom to experiment with…

Packing materials such as polystyrene take thousands of years to decompose, whereas packing peanuts made from cornstarch, which some companies are now using, can serve the same purpose, but dissolve in water. The author illustrates this point to her class one rainy day using the sculptures students made from polystyrene and with the cornstarch…

Marbling paper is a favorite in many elementary classrooms. The marbling project described in this article, using a sunset and silhouette concept, is foolproof, inexpensive, and engaging. After looking at images of incredible sunsets for inspiration, each student uses marbling paper, black construction paper, three colors of chalk, and a tub of…

Glass slumping is one of those projects that gives students a feeling of success and accomplishment. Glass slumping looks difficult to produce, and it often leaves others wondering how it is created. Slumping glass can provide dramatic results. Slumping refers to glass that, when heated, softens and conforms to the shape of a mold. Elementary…

In this technological age, where mind and body are increasingly disconnected in the classroom, object-based learning--along with strong museum-school partnerships--provide many benefits for student learning. In this article, the author first outlines some of the special mind-body connections that object-based learning in museums affords learners…

Art libraries face similar issues to other types of libraries during the digital transition but have unique twists driven by the needs of their collections. Art library information seekers may possess a sense of what an art library is: a library, set apart, to support the study of art and art history. For art libraries, it is the collection,…