Back in the Saddle!

I'm back in the saddle teaching "lots" of art lessons to "lots" of kids in a public school again, and it's feeling good!

One of the local elementary schools in my area was in need of a substitute art teacher for an undefined amount of time.  The current art teacher had to take a leave to care for her injured son.  My prayers are with her, I can only imagine the stressful situation she is living.

The school where I'm teaching is K-2nd grade, with 2 transitional kinder classes and there's a total of about 525 kids!  Are there any art teachers out there in a similar situation?  ALL primary grades at one school.   I still walk on the campus marveling at the notion that the "Big Kids" are only 2nd graders.  It makes me giggle.

Normally the smaller children are my biggest challenge, but this school has a designated art room, and it has made a huge difference.  In the past I taught art in the kids' regular classrooms, I would go to them.  I sure like having an art room better.  If you're teaching in a state where most of the elementary schools have "Art Rooms", you may not realize how lucky you are.  And for those of you who teach in a state where the elementary art teacher is on the same pay scale and benefit scale as the other classroom teachers, then you are especially lucky!!  I don't know of a single elementary school in my state of California where such is the case?  ------uh, oh, I may be boring you now with my soapbox banter.

What's your favorite art lesson for kindergartners?  A comment from you would be much more fun that scrolling through the bazillion ideas on Pinterest ;)

Iditarod Art!

Does your class celebrate the Iditarod race in Alaska?  The race starts in TWO days, March 7.
Many years ago I was substitute teaching in a middle school classroom and the teacher left plans for the class to do an Iditarod Unit.  The kids really enjoyed it!  Who doesn't love Husky's?
One of my most popular art lessons I do with kids is painting a Siberian Husky.....I love the way that each dog ends up with its own personality when the kids finish their paintings!
If you'd like to do this project with your students, I have a Step-by-Step drawing and painting lesson in my store.  Here's a PDF version and a Power Point version.  Each are just $2.99.
Hope your students love it!

Kids make their own "Seasons" accordion booklet!

If you are looking for a fun resource to help you teach the seasons to your students, check out my latest accordion booklet lesson, available here.  It includes "Weather Words" handouts, a "Seasons- Before and After" worksheet, and more.  Cost $4.99.
Kids seem to always enjoy their own accordion booklets.  The accordion style folding is such a soothing activity, sometimes I think I should try to incorporate it into every lesson I teach;)

  Teachers can choose to use the blackline masters where students create their own seasonal art in the frames, or simply color the already drawn art in the frames.

Super Moons?

I wish I could say I've been more in tune with what's going on outside my little world, but I haven't....hence the reason I'm excited to see this latest "feedback post" submitted regarding one of the art lessons for sale in my store.  Now I'm going to google "Super Moons" - Thanks Mr. Murray for cluing me in!


Dear Art with Mrs Smith,

User Robert Murray has written the following comment regarding "Moon Art: "Moon Phases Booklet & Moon Cookie Sculpture"":

I bought this last spring and we just used it again when school started because of the super moons. It is a wonderful packet and I am using it with my special Needs, so anyone can benefit from this. 

You can find the lesson here.

Happy Super Mooning!!!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist;)

HAVE YOU SEEN WIKIPAINTINGS?

Wow, I can't believe I didn't know this website existed??????????
Have you already found it?
What a resource - Yipes, I know I'll be getting lost in it every time I go to look up one painting……You know, the way you go to the grocery store for milk, and end up going down other aisles getting lost in shopping for other things you weren't planning on buying:)

Here it is:  http://www.wikipaintings.org

I've always loved this painting by Matisse, and I've used it for lessons where the kids did one similar in crayons, and when possible, I've had kids do it in paint too.

Monochromatic Color Scheme Paintings

Another lesson I've been wanting to teach forever!  So pleased with the results.  Students used one color and black and white acrylic paint for this assignment.  After they chose their subjects from a magazine (they were instructed to choose a living subject that was photographed), I made black and white copies of their photos to help them better see the different values.

Fall Giveaway!!!

Who doesn't love a giveaway? 

Well, Krystal from Lessons From The Middle and Kate from Kate's Classroom Cafe have teamed up to create giveaway just for middle school teachers, as a little thank you for all you do! 

I'm excited to have my Shop be apart of this middle school giveaway. 

There are lots of fantastic prizes to be won, including my "Great Wave" PDF Art Lesson!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Taste Testing Art Brands?

Fall has arrived and I think that I like fall art ideas the best out of all the other seasons.  Every year I have such a hard time deciding which projects to do with my students.  Too many good ones to choose from thanks to all of you who keep on posting fabulous lessons!

Even though it's fall, it felt like Christmas a while back when I received a package from Dixon Ticonderoga/ Prang.  With pleasure some of my art students tested the art supplies in the package and they found that some were definitely better than others.  It was fun recording their comments.

 Prang watercolors on the left were voted brighter and better than Crayola watercolors .  The other plus was that the Prang watercolors came in a palette were each color could be popped out and you could put in refills of the color needed.
Although the paint was voted better, the brush that came with Prang set lost bristles in the water when swished around the first time.  But, even with the loss of bristles, the brush was a soft and a bigger than the Crayola brush.

Prang colored pencils were extremely better than Rose Art colored pencils.  It was noted that with the RoseArt pencils, "You have to push down really hard to draw with them and the colors still are not bright."

The Prang colored pencils laid down a "thick layer of color", "even the black colored pencil shows up on the black construction paper".  These colored pencils will be the ones that the student fight over..........

Prang markers were voted brighter and prettier, but one of the testers felt that the Prang markers seeped through the paper too much.  The Crayola markers were lighter and even though they were new, the red lost some color after using it for not too long.  When one student opened the Prang Marker box. she exclaimed, "These are fancy!"

Thanks Dixon Ticonderoga/Prang!  

Glad to share that your art products are superior to others on the market.

August ALREADY????!!!!!!!

Hey Mr. Calendar, I didn't give you permission to flip the page to August already!

My brain is starting to think about school stuff everyday now.  All the exciting changes and tweaks to projects that I think will make them better.  (Is your brain doing this too?)

I've been having fun in my teaching Studio this summer.  Been really busy teaching acrylic painting on canvas for fun.  It's going to be interesting to see how I'll manage both my teaching Studio and my regular classroom at school.  (My boy is now a licensed driver so that means I have more time to devote to my crazy world of artsy happenings.)

I've been having fun w/ Bleach Pens on t-shirts lately.  Thank You - Thank You to I am Momma Hear me Roar for posting this bleach pen project years ago.  And big congrats on your new baby girl.  I knew I had to try it when I first saw it & it was really fun.  Now years later, I'm doing it again and selling shirts at my teaching Studio:)

If you try a bleach pen project, don't be surprised if you end up w/ big blobs of white spots all over your shirt the first time, or even the 3rd time.  

I've found that every shirt absorbs the bleach in its own unique way & there's no way of telling until you try it.  

FYI- I've found that one pen will last approx. 3 shirt designs.  When the pen starts to get empty, it's best to quit using it b/c that's when the air bubbles starting popping out of the pen and giving you big drops of bleach in places you don't want them.

Lastly, 2 more observations - When you shake the bleach pen, there will be more air bubbles in it and it's harder to get nice clean lines from it.  But, if you don't shake the bleach pen, in the beginning you will have watery fluid running out of it as you start your design.  Because of these two problems, I squeeze the watery fluid onto a paper towel first, before using the pen, and I don't shake the pen.

Here's some of the fun I've been having.

If you want to see others, you can look here too:)

Inky People/Creatures

I've posted before about Stefan G. Bucher's "Daily Monsters"  Be careful if you watch one video, you'll want to keep watching more, and more, and more.....

Materials:
straws
different sizes of construction paper (I used 6x8" & 8x10" because I wanted students to finish in one class)
Markers

Here are the FUN results from some of my high school students this year:

Here are more examples from 2011-12 students.

Inspired by Famous Paintings

The above image is from an art magazine.....

And below are projects my high school students recently completed based on famous paintings.  Isn't it the best feeling to see young creative minds at work?!

Van Gogh "Almond Blossoms"

Vincent van Gogh "Bedroom at Arles"

George Bellows, "Dempsey and Firpo"

Michaelangelo, "Sistine Chapel"

Vincent van Gogh, "Paris Cafe"

Vermeer, "Girl with Pearl Earring"

Raphael, "School of Athens"

Salvador Dali, "Persistence of Time"

William Beard, "Dancing Bears"

Hokusai,The Great Wave

Leonardo da Vinci, Horse Study

Thanks North County Christian High School art students, 2012-13.