Little Visitor

Today I was journaling outside and enjoying the summer weather before it gets too hot. I love sitting on the back deck before the children get up! 

I looked up and saw this little visitor. Thankfully he was gracious enough to wait while I darted inside to grab my binoculars for a closer look. His ears were the most beautiful shade of seashell pink--I had seen this little guy before, but had never noticed that. He was enjoying the clover in the yard and looked adorable with a piece hanging from his mouth!

Supplies: Micron pen (PN) and Prismacolor colored pencils (Scholar quality)

Break out the sketchbooks!

My team teacher and I decided to have the students use sketchbooks this year and we are really excited about them. We ordered basic two pocket paper folders with tabs (1 for each 7th and 8th grader) because we felt this was a good option. Using folders is inexpensive and flexible--we were able to use the stacks of newsprint, copy paper, lined paper and graph paper that were in the room already and the folders also have a place for handouts to be three-hole punched and inserted.

We started the first day having students hand letter their names and draw at least three things into the design that told us something about them. I showed them illuminated manuscripts and graffiti for inspiration. I had them use 4x6 index cards and ink and colored pencil. They worked on these for a couple of days and then affixed them to their sketchbooks with glue stick.

We also gave them handouts to keep in their sketchbooks. So far, they have the copy of the art contract we have the students bring home for the parents to sign as well as the "What Will I Learn in 7th (or 8th) Grade?" handout inspired by the Art of Education. See their version here.

We also wanted to have them jump right into drawing in these sketchbooks, so I thought this would be a great time to do Danny Gregory's AWESOME sketchbook activity I learned about during the Art of Education's Summer 2016 Online Conference. Basically, students grab a Sharpie (I know! How permanent!!) and move about the room drawing different things for two minutes a drawing. It was awesome and a very good way to get them to loosen up! Here are some of their pages from the day:

Students were asked to star their most successful piece and explain
in the margin why they thought it was the best.

This was a great activity to break in the sketchbooks. This week students are working on a graphic design piece, so they are adding notes to their sketchbooks, but more sketchbook activities will be coming soon! ENJOY!

Still Life Self Portraits With 7th Grade

Self portraits can be daunting, but students can express themselves without painting a traditional portrait. This project is based on one that the art teacher at Amherst Middle School, Rachel Rouillard, does with her 7th grade students. Students learn about self-portraits (traditional and non-traditional) and then bring in three objects from home to arrange into a composition and paint. Rachel has the students use acrylic and paint a mini composition (I think 4" square on canvas board, if I remember correctly). With the group of 7th graders I had at the time, I thought I'd try having them use ink, watercolor and colored pencil--I think that combination offers students more control and they can still explore value and color-mixing using paint.

These photos don't seem to do justice to these pieces.
They are really beautiful in person!

We spent a good amount of time sketching and working on composition for these pieces so that they were dynamic. I did not specify the size for the final pieces and there was a nice variety of little compositions and larger ones. The only trouble I ran into with this project was having the students bring in items from home--that just didn't work well for some. I'm not sure how I would work that in the future (perhaps give them the chance to bring objects in, but if they don't they use objects from the classroom?).

Anyway, I was SUPER-impressed by the work the students did. I think some of them were too! Once these were on display, they generated lots of discussion and comments from the middle school students and teachers in the hallway outside of class. ENJOY!

I like the inclusion of body spray in this one. ;-)

Some students preferred to focus on one object at a time.
I like how this student worked the background as well
adding color around each object and a shadow below.

This student also wanted to have the objects separate because he felt they were easier
to read with some space between them. He did a nice job with the details
and these objects have a great deal of personal significance to him.

And here are more of the students' work from the display...

And even more! Finished pieces were mounted onto mat board.
I feel this elevates the work from ho-hum to a finished piece worthy of display
(and preparing work for presentation is one of the National Core Art Standards).

Artsonia Ornament Picture How-To

I saw this project on Artsonia and thought my students would love to make this, and guess what? I did too! I made this along side one of my private art students and it was fun and easy and I love the contrast and graphic look of the piece.

Ornaments and Evergreen Picture

Supplies Needed:

• Scraps of watercolor paper 
• A circular object to trace--I used a glass (our circles are about 2 1/2" in diameter)
• Pencil
• Watercolor paints and brushes
• White watercolor pencil or crayon
• Water bucket and paper towels
• Black mat board
• Oil Pastels
• Tacky glue
• Gold and silver Prismacolor colored pencils

Directions:

1. Use the pencil to trace the circular object onto your watercolor paper about four to five times. Trace lightly. It is better to have a couple more circles than you'll use, just in case.

2. Use the watercolor crayon to add the highlights to each of the ornaments.

3. Wet the entire circle of an ornament. Use the watercolors to create juicy, saturated colors on the ornaments, letting the water blend the colors (wet on wet technique). Use your brush to blend the colors into the highlight a bit to soften the edges. Try to use three colors per ornament--choosing colors that are next to each other on the color wheel (analogous) so that they blend nicely. Repeat with all of the ornaments. Let dry.

4. Use the oil pastels to create the branches of the evergreens. I had my student start with the brown part of the branches. Use a chocolate brown first and rough in the branch. Then go over the branch with a lighter brown (like a yellow ochre) for the highlights. 

5. Use the oil pastels to create the needles of the evergreen. Start with a dark emerald green and rough in some of the needles. Then layer on the medium kelly green color for the bulk of the needles. Finally, use a light moss green for the highlights. Remember to make the needles start at the branch and curve toward the tip of the branch, the way real evergreen needles do.

6. Glue the ornaments onto the background. you may need to place a book on top of them to keep them from curling.

7. Use the gold colored pencil to add the top of the ornament (the finial?) and the hook. Use the silver to create a bit of highlight on the gold.

Merry Christmas!

Kandinsky Media Study

For my after school Modern Art class I wanted to try something a bit different. I usually do a Kandinsky project inspired by Art Projects For Kids using watercolor and crayon resist, but I thought I'd mix it up a bit and try not only experimenting with color, but also with media. I had each child create two 3" squares using the following media:

• watercolor and crayon resist
• collage
• colored pencils
• collage (using magazine pages)

This piece was created by a 13-year-old student I teach private lessons to.
Feel free to vary the amount of squares depending on the
age and ability of your students. This project looks great with
four, six, eight, nine, twelve squares, or more!

The lesson is perfect as an introductory project when getting to know students or as an assessment project. Originally, Kandinsky created his circle compositions as color studies, so we can too!

I set up four stations in the room, explained how to use the media at each station properly and then let them go. I timed about 10-15 minutes per station (they created 2 squares at each station). About two-thirds of the students were able to create the necessary squares in the allotted time. I think I would break this into two class sessions in the future and have them do watercolor and marker the first week and collage and colored pencil the next. Or, maybe have students just do one square each (for a total of 4 squares).

The finished pieces were glued to black construction paper. Lovely color and media studies! Thanks, Mr. Kandinsky!

Kandinsky Media Study

This project is designed to be worked in four stations. I'll describe each individually...

Station 1: Markers

Supplies Needed:

• 3" squares of marker paper (marker doesn't bleed)
• Pencil with eraser
• Markers (We used Sharpies)
• Newspaper to protect workspace

Directions:

1. Use pencil to write your name on the back of two squares. 

2. Draw concentric circles on the paper using pencil. The circle can stay within the box or go beyond the box slightly.

3. Color the rings in with various colors of markers. 

Marker Example (Using Sharpies)

Station 2: Colored Pencils

Supplies Needed:

• 3" squares of drawing paper
• Pencil with eraser
• Colored Pencils

Directions:

1. Use pencil to write your name on the back of two squares. 

2. Draw concentric circles on the paper using pencil. The circle can stay within the box or go beyond the box slightly.

3. Color the rings in with various colors of colored pencils. You can use light or heavy pressure to vary the intensity of the colors.

Colored Pencil Example

Station 3: Collage

Supplies Needed:

• 3" squares of drawing paper
• Pencil with eraser
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Magazines or paper scraps

Directions:

1. Use pencil to write your name on the back of two squares. 

2. Cut a 3" square from a solid-color section of a magazine picture. Adhere to the 3" square of drawing paper.

3. Cut rings of various colors of magazine paper and glue to your squares.

Collage Example
(Using Magazine Paper)

Station 4: Watercolor Resist

Supplies Needed:

• 4" squares of watercolor paper (note the larger size)
• Masking tape
• Piece of cardboard
• Pencil with eraser
• Crayons
• Watercolor paints & brush
• Water bucket, paper towels

Directions:

1. Use pencil to write your name on the back of two squares. 

2. Tape the two squares to the cardboard or to the table. Tape a 1/4" border all around the squares--this will keep the paper from buckling as it dries.

3. Draw concentric circles on the paper using pencil. The circle can stay within the box or go beyond the box slightly.

4. Using a crayon, trace the pencil lines, pressing hard enough to leave a nice, thick pencil line.

5. Color the rings in with various colors of paint. You may not want to paint the rings in order since painting two sections that touch could cause the paint to bleed.

6. Let dry thoroughly. Trim squares to 3 inches.

Watercolor Example

To finish:

Mount all squares, touching, in a pleasing arrangement, onto black construction paper. Most squares will adhere nicely using a glue stick, but the watercolor paper may need tacky glue to stay glued down properly. Enjoy!

Story Totem Poles

The last time I taught an art class about totem poles I had the children create family totem poles. They could bring in pictures of their family members or draw them. They came out great and the children were very happy with them. While looking online for totem pole images, I came across an idea that got me thinking a bit: Story Totem Poles from Art Smarts 4 Kids. She used a simple story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and had the children illustrate the characters and plot on a totem pole.

In this piece, the student shows the Old Man with his cloak, and then attached the Old Man and Rock with the same fastener so that he could show 1. the rock on top of the fallen Old Man and 2. the rock cracking in two. The Night Hawk is on a tab so that it moves down the Totem pole and can touch the rock (and crack it in two) as in the story.
So clever!

I decided to have the children illustrate a Native American tale and I found a few great ones at Apples 4 The Teacher. I chose "Why The Night Hawk Has Beautiful Wings." Besides having a couple of moral lessons, it is also a funny story and has great visuals for the children to explore. Here's the tale.


Supplies Needed:

• Paper towel roll
• Construction paper (I used green, brown and white)
• Markers/Colored Pencils/Crayons
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Clear tape
• Wing template, optional
• Brass fasteners, optional
• Images of totem pole figures and a picture of a Night Hawk for reference, optional

Directions:

1. Read the story to the students. Once I was finished, we discussed characters and plot. I then gave a brief discussion on totem pole art, highlighting some of the features they may want to include in their totem pole designs (3D wings, etc).

2. I gave each student a 6 1/2" x 12" piece of construction paper (green) to use as a base for their artwork. The children then divided it into about 5 horizontal sections (change this based on how many characters and plot points you want to show). I instructed the students to work directly on or attach their work on this piece of paper--flat on the table--and then when it was done, they could glue it to the tube.

The children could draw right on the background paper, or could illustrate their characters on a half sheet of white construction paper, cut them out and glue them to the background paper. I also gave them a half sheet of brown to use for the Night Hawk and/or the stone from the story, if they wanted. 

I also showed them how they could add motion to their totem poles (not really traditional, but fun!), by attaching characters to the background paper with brass fasteners (you know, the ones that allow things to spin. See the pictures for reference). I showed them how they could attach a picture of a stone with a brass fastener to make it roll, a key point in the "Night Hawk" story. They loved that idea and many of them took the mechanical aspect of the project even further (see photos).

3. Once the characters and images of plot points are completely colored in, cut them out and attach them to the background paper with glue. Work the story from the bottom of the totem pole up (that is more traditional). Attach any pieces that require the brass fasteners to the background NOW (before you glue the paper to the background). Wings and other 3D elements are added later, in step 5.

4. Once all of the pieces are on the background, turn the entire thing over and spread glue on the back (we used a glue stick, but white school glue would work). Roll it around the paper towel roll and secure with a couple pieces of clear tape, if needed.

5. Add any 3D elements such as wings or a beak using the glue stick.

Done! Enjoy watching your child retell the story using his or her Story Totem Pole!

Drawing With Leonardo

Last week we made sketchbooks in my art class & this week--we filled them up! Nah, we didn't fill them, but I certainly gave them a bunch of stuff to draw this week! This week's class was all about Leonardo da Vinci and his magnificent sketchbooks!

The man of the hour--Mr. da Vinci! (There on the left in 1514).

Da Vinci is probably most famous to us today as an artist (painter & sculptor), but he was also an engineer, a town planner, an inventor, a scientist, a writer, musician and more! He filled countless sketchbooks with his notes, studies, and drawings. Here is a lesson that helps kids explore what kind of work he did. The classroom is divided into four stations:

Station One: Drawing From Nature
Station Two: Strange Beasts
Station Three: Backwards Writing
Station Four: Interesting Inventions

I gave a quick discussion about da Vinci's work and then walked around the room explaining what they'd be doing in each station while showing them examples of da Vinci's work relating to each station. They were able to spend about 10 minutes at each station.

Station One: Drawing From Nature


Supplies Needed:

• Fruits or veggies cut in half (I used an orange and a pepper)
• Shells, flowers, leaves or other objects from nature
• Station handout (examples of da Vinci's work relating to the station and instructions for the station).
• Blank paper (the children could also use their sketchbooks)
• Colored pencils and crayons
• Regular pencils and erasers

Directions:

On the instruction sheet for this station, I had two pages of da Vinci's drawings from nature: oak leaves with acorns and flowers. The instruction sheet encouraged the children to observe (look at) the natural objects on the table and explore how they are formed. Notice the inside and outside of the object. Draw it's texture and color. Draw all of it's parts and label them like da Vinci did in his work.

Station Two: Strange Beasts

Supplies Needed:

• Station handout (examples of da Vinci's work relating to the station and instructions for the station).
• Blank paper (the children could also use their sketchbooks)
• Colored pencils and crayons
• Regular pencils and erasers

Optional Supplies:

• Last year, I created a wheel that the children could spin to select different animal parts to combine into strange mythical beasts. I brought these wheels back in for this exercise, but your children can use their imaginations :-)
• The Bestiary Book from my last year's Medieval Art class (a Bestiary Book is a book of mythical and real animals created in early history to document the animals of the world).
• Blind draw envelopes I took a couple of envelopes and wrote a description of a beast on the outside of each. The children were instruction to read the description and draw the animal described. When they were done, they could look inside the envelope and see what animal I was describing. This is what they said:

"This beast has the head of a [dog]...the eyes of a cat, the ears of a porcupine...the eyebrows of a lion and the neck of a turtle." (that part is from da Vinci's notebook, I added the next part...) It's claws are deadly and its thin, long body is covered with armor-like disks (It's a dragon).

This beast has a small head, long neck and a whip-like tail. It roars to life and it doesn't chew its food when it eats--it uses a whirling force to inhale its prey. Its body shines and can come in many colors. It is walked by man as it hunts its prey (It's a vacuum). *Please note, many of the children did not like this one--they felt rather grumpy that I had deceived them and "made" them draw an animal. 

Directions:

On the instruction sheet for this station, I wrote the following: Back in da Vinci's time, travel was limited. Most people never left their village their entire lives! People would talk about the strange animals that lived in other places, but things were often exaggerated!

Create an unusual beast. You can combine the parts of several animals, if you like. Think about these things:

• Where will your beast live?
• What color is it?
• What does it eat?
• What texture is the coat?
• Is it mean or nice?
• Name your animal.

Station Three: Backwards Writing

Supplies Needed:

• Station handout (examples of da Vinci's work relating to the station and instructions for the station).
• Blank paper (the children could also use their sketchbooks)
• Regular pencils and erasers
• Quills with watered-down tempura paint
• Hand mirrors

Directions:

On the instruction sheet for this station, I had an example from da Vinci's sketchbook of his "backward" writing. I also had the alphabet printed backwards so that the children could see how the letter should be formed. They were able to create secret signs and messages using the backward writing. I encouraged them to use a pencil first and then go over it with the quill. 

Station Four: Interesting Inventions

Supplies Needed:

• Items to take apart (I used a spring-type clothespin, a cassette tape, a Lego man, a ball point pen and a wine bottle opener)
• Station handout (examples of da Vinci's work relating to the station and instructions for the station).
• Blank paper (the children could also use their sketchbooks)
• Colored pencils and crayons
• Regular pencils and erasers

Directions:

On the instruction sheet for this station, I had a couple of da Vinci's drawings of inventions (the giant crossbow and the armored car). The instruction sheet encouraged the children to observe (look at) the manmade objects on the table and explore how they are built. They could draw the outside of the object (or the object "together") and then take it apart and draw the pieces (of everything except the wine opener). I encouraged them to notice the details such as: screws, lettering, switches, textures, edges and springs.

OR...they could create an invention of their own. They needed to think about what the invention would do, what it would look like and what the parts would be. These could be labeled (maybe with backwards writing!). 

All in all this was a great class where the children were able to explore the many facets of Leonardo da Vinci's work! These stations could be turned into three to four separate classes if you wish, but I think my hour-long class was just enough for my students to get a little sampling of the wonderful work of da Vinci!

Resources:


"Da Vinci," by Mike Venezia (ISBN 0-516-42275-8)
"Discovering Great Artists," by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga (ISBN 0-935607-09-9)
"Eyewitness Books: Renaissance," by Andrew Langley (ISBN 0-7894-6624-4)
"Leonardo, Beautiful Dreamer," by Robert Byrd (ISBN 0-525-47033-6)

Easy Sketchbook

In order to study one of my favorite Renaissance artists, Leonardo da Vinci, I'm having my art students make their own sketchbooks to keep in the classroom. This project is very rewarding for the children. They learn to create a VERY EASY BOOK while learning a few things about the Renaissance, Da Vinci, bookmaking and drawing. I also had them do a name tag for the front that teaches a quick lesson on value.

I'll keep these sketchbooks in the classroom and they can use them if they finish their work early. Easy. Fun. Cheap. YEAH! The sketchbooks and the name tags are adapted from two projects I saw on one of my favorite art blogs: Art Projects for Kids. I LOVE this site! She does such wonderful projects! Enjoy!

Supplies Needed:

• 1 piece, 3x5" index card without lines
• Pencil and ruler
• Fine point black marker
• Colored pencils
• Scissors
• Packing tape-clear
• 1 piece, 8 1/2x11" piece cardstock, any color
• 10 pieces, 8 1/2x11" white copy paper
• 24" or so, ribbon or cord for binding

Directions:

Prepare the name tag:

1. Using the pencil and ruler, draw faint lines every 1" lengthwise along the index card.

2. Creating the pencil point: mark the center of one narrow end of the index card, this will be the tip of your pencil point. Then, along the top and bottom edge of the index card, make a mark about 1 1/4" in, this will be where your pencil begins to come to a point. Using these guides make the triangluar portion of the pencil (the sharpened part). 

3. Using a fine tip marker, outline the lines along the length of the pencil and draw in the tip, or colored portion, of the pencil. You can write your name on the pencil at this point. When done the marker work, use an eraser to remove your pencil lines.

4. Use colored pencil to lightly shade the upper portion of the pencil. Then, use slightly more pressure to color the middle section of the pencil a slightly darker shade. Finally, use even more pressure to color the bottom section of the pencil. This gives the illusion that the pencil is three dimensional. A similar technique can be used on the wooden portion of the pencil point to create dimension there. Color the tip of your pencil.

5. Using scissors, cut away the excess paper around the tip of the pencil point, if desired.

Make the sketchbook:

1. Fold the card stock in half the wider way (hamburger fold). Do the same with the 10 sheets of copy paper. If you fold the paper lengthwise, your sketchbook will be too skinny.

2. Place the copy paper inside the card stock with all of the sheets nesting together.

3. Wrap the ribbon or cord around the center fold of the paper/card stock bundle and tie the cord securely with a knot. This knot can stay at the top, middle or bottom of the binding--it doesn't matter.

4. Adhere the name tag to the front of your sketchbook with packing tape.

Ta-da! You are ready to sketch!

Illuminated Names

This is a wonderful project for students to get to know each other. I saw this in the book, "Medieval Projects Your Can Do," by Martha Graves. This is a great resource for parents and educators and it is full of lovely, simple little projects.

This shows the various stages on the project all at once.

I have the children introduce themselves and give a couple of brief bits of information about themselves (favorite sports, colors, animals, etc). Then we talk about how they can incorporate those ideas into a fancy letter of their names. Simple and fun and everyone leaves with a piece they are proud of and is uniquely theirs!

Supplies Needed:

• Large index card (5x7" or so) without lines on it
• Pencil and eraser
• Ruler with inches
• Reference books with illuminated letters or calligraphy (optional, but nice)
• Fine tip markers (we used sharpie brand in black and other colors)
• Colored pencils, optional (when we wanted to add a hint of color)
• Gold paint pen or gold acrylic paint with a fine brush

Directions:

1. With the pencil and ruler, lightly make horizontal guidelines every 1" on the index card.

2. Check out the reference books for inspiration and lightly draw the initial, or first letter of your name onto the index card. It should be large about 3" tall (mine touched both the top guideline and the bottom guideline on my index card). See below for the reference books I had on hand.

3. You can letter the rest of your name now, if you'd like. I made my letters about 1" tall and used a plain text I found in a book.

4. Add details to your initial. This is where all of the things that make you YOU come in! The girl I am making this for loves art and is seven. She also has a grandmother who does a lot with protecting sea turtles (and this little girl is interested in that), so I put a sea turtle and a seascape in there as well.

5. Use a marker to fill in the piece. I used black first and then colored in parts with other colored markers. I wasn't crazy about how dark the marker colors were getting, so I used colored pencils for the elements that I wanted to be secondary. When I was done the marker work I used an eraser to remove my guidelines and THEN I did the colored pencil work.

6. When it is done, use a gold paint pen to add some pizazz to the piece. This is part of what makes this art so "illuminating" because the gold makes it appear to be shining with light and color.

Here are some of my students' pieces, below. ENJOY!

The students could choose their first or last name.

This student traced over the pencil guidelines with gold with beautiful results!

Lovely lettering!

References for this class:

• "Medieval Projects You Can Do," by Martha Graves
• "1001 Illuminated Initial Letters," by Owen Jones
• "Bestiary: An Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beasts," by Jonathan Hunt
• "Eyewitness Books: Renaissance"
• "The Illuminated Alphabet," by Timothy Noad & Patricia Seligman

Artist Trading Cards

Ahhhh...the internet. I need to set limits because there are just WAY too many good sites out there with WAY too many great art ideas and I get lost in a world of links! But, on the bright side, I get so many wonderful ideas and learn so much! One thing I see that intrigued me is something called Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs).

Some of the ATCs made by my boys (the "Make More Art" one is by me).

Artist Trading Cards are awesome! Started in 1997 by an artist in Munich, they are a great way for artists to showcase their style or ideas, but they aren't just for professional artists! Anyone can create ATCs--children, teens, or grown-ups! There are very few rules for ATCs: 1. They must be 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" and, 2. You cannot sell them--they must be given away or traded. This is a wonderful way for children (and grown-ups) to learn new art techniques and express themselves! It is also a wonderful way to spend time together as a family--grab some art supplies and sit down and let your creativity go!

For Me: Personally, I am embracing the ATC idea! I'm an artist but I am also a mother of four and an art teacher trying to grow my business--I don't get to do huge masterpieces right now. I'm OK with it, but sometimes I get an art idea and need to explore that. ATCs are just right for me!

For my children: I am also encouraging my children to do ATCs. My children love to collect and trade things, but I seriously WILL NOT pay lots of money for cheap trading cards whose sole purpose in life is to get children to spend money (oops, getting off the soapbox now...). Anyhow, ATCs allow children to create & explore and gives them something they are excited to trade and are actually connected to. Learning and fun--I'm all in!

Supplies Needed:

ATCs are easy and require no special supplies, unless you want to try different techniques. Here are some supplies to begin with:

• Posterboard cut to 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" to use as "blanks"
• Glue sticks
• Scissors
• Pencil and eraser
• Markers, colored pencils, crayons, etc.
• Stickers
• Stamping materials
• Neat papers (I have a scrap paper bin I brought out and I save neat papers from junk mail, etc).
• Old magazines
• Paint (tempura or watercolor) & paintbrushes
• Old photos
• Needle & embroidery thread
• The list is truly endless!

Instructions:

1. Cut a whole bunch of blanks from posterboard. You'll need about 8 or so per person to get started. Once you get going--it is hard to stop!

2. Start creating! Think about the different ways you can create:

Drawing
Painting
Collage
Stamping
Ripped paper
Sewing (by hand or machine)

There is no right or wrong way to do these. Relax and have fun. Send me pictures of your ATCs--I'd love to see your creations! ENJOY!

Need more inspiration? Here are a couple of links to check out:
This month's Family Fun Magazine
A great mini tutorial on ATCs from http://www.cedarseed.com/ 

My disclaimer: While I do look at all references before sharing, I cannot look at every page of every reference. Please check out these references before sharing with your children, to verify that the content and images are appropriate for your child's age level and the content is acceptable for your family.

Creativity Break: Cat Cards

I just got back from a camping vacation with the hubby and kiddos, and now I'm finalizing the curriculum "stuff" for this coming year (right before vacation, I was told I'm going to be teaching two more classes-YAY!!). So with all of this art stuff a-swirling in my head, I needed a break. I also needed two thank you cards to thank the two people who took care of our cat (and our bird and sea-monkeys). I knew I had some artsy papers so I did a bit of tearing and pasting and added a couple of stitches, and "ta-da!" instant thank you cards.

Torn Paper Cards

Supplies Needed:

• Cardstock or greeting card blank
• Envelope
• Various papers (I used a good quality black paper, white rice paper and pink tissue paper)
• Glue stick
• Crayons, colored pencils or markers (optional)
• Embroidery floss (I used two strands of burgundy)
• Needle, needle threader
• Scotch tape
• Scissors
• White construction paper for inside of the card

Directions:

Don't get too fussy with torn paper--it is meant to be fun and easy!

1. Cut the card stock to the size you want and fold in half. Decide if you want your card to be horizontal or vertical--this will help you plan your image on the front of the card.

2. Use the crayons, colored pencils or markers to create some texture on the front on the card, if you want. I used three different crayon colors and just did some light scribbling.

3. Rip the papers, a bit at a time, to create the image you want on the card. I started with the black and created the body of the cat. Then I ripped some white paper to make the white parts of his fur. I glued all of that to the card with glue stick. I took a bit of pink tissue paper and used that for his nose.

4. Once all of the torn paper portion was done, I threaded a sewing needle with two strands of embroidery floss (a piece of embroidery floss is made up of 6 strands, but that would be too thick for this project). I then sewed the eyes, mouth and whiskers of the kitties. Once done, I taped the floss from behind to secure it.

5. To hide the backside of my sewing, I applied glue stick to the backside of the sewing and attached a piece of white construction paper. I then refolded the card and trimmed the white construction paper even with the cardstock.

My cat-sitters are sure to enjoy these quick little images of their furry friend! ENJOY!

Clothespin Theater

I love this project! This clothespin theater is one of those projects which kids can totally make their own! I originally taught this project as part of a medieval art course. I tied in medieval puppetry and theaters and it was a wonderful way to link history with art. 


While I had envisioned creating backgrounds and characters to act out a play about St. George and the Dragon, the children created a wide variety of characters and backgrounds such as a rainforest explorer, a soccer team, a horse and rider, and more. This project would also be a wonderful way for children to make an interactive diorama for a project at school or a book they've read (imagine Little House on the Prairie!).


Enjoy this wonderful project and the creative options it inspires!

Background:

Medieval life was hard! But during festivals, children and adults alike were able to enjoy puppet shows. There are woodcuts, paintings and illuminations that show people enjoying puppet shows. These shows were also a great way to illustrate stories for people who could not read.

One popular type of puppet during medieval times was the marionette. We created marionette during my first semester art class. Marionettes have jointed body pieces that are controlled from above with strings. Although there were also puppets that were glove puppets (that fit over a person's hand) and "jiggling" puppets that were controlled from below with a stick.

I brought in a few different types of puppets for the children to see: a finger puppet, a marionette from our first semester class, and a glove puppet. We talked about the elements of a stage: the floor, or stage itself, the background, the actors, etc.

In this project, we use a cardboard box with the top and front removed, for our theater. We then created backgrounds and floors by drawing on pieces of paper and inserting them into the box. The actors (or puppets) are drawn on index cards or cardstock and glued to clothespins. The puppets are then placed onto a piece of yarn that has been strung across the width of the box. The child can then move the puppets along the yarn as s/he acts out the story.


Supplies Needed:

• A cardboard box (we used a box that juice pouches came in)
• Yarn to go across the width of the box 1 or 2 times 
• A nail to make the holes for the yarn (a grown-up's job)
• A plastic needle
• Plain white paper for the background (ours were 10 1/2" wide x 5 3/4" tall)
• Plain white paper for the floor (ours were 10 1/2" wide x 3 1/4" deep)
• Pencils
• Crayons or colored pencils
• Sharpie marker (optional)
• Clothespins (the non-spring type)
• Index cards or card stock, white
• Hot glue or tacky glue
• Scissors
• Glue dots or masking tape (optional)

Directions:

1. Remove the top and front of the cardboard box you will be using for your theater.

2. Measure the back and floor of the inside of your box and cut plain white pieces of paper to fit. These will be the background and floor of your theater.

3. With pencil, draw the details of the background and floor. In my case, I created two backgrounds: one that shows the outside of the castle with a seascape and misty hills shrouded in thunder storms (that is where the mean dragon lives) and an inside view of the castle. This was a great opportunity for me to draw all of the things we've learned about this year in our medieval-themed art class: shields, tapestries, swords, etc. When drawing your background think about drawing things near and far (the foreground, mid-ground and background)--that will add depth to your drawing.

The two backgrounds I created. I only colored one in.

When I drew the pieces to line the bottom of my clothespin theater, I drew a dirt path for the outside view and a castle floor with rug for the inside view of the castle.

The two "floors" of my theater.

4. If you'd like, go over your pencil lines with black Sharpie marker and then color the images in with crayons or colored pencils.

5. Create the puppets or actors: You will need one clothespin and one index card per puppet. Draw the puppet onto the index card (put the puppet's feet at the bottom of the index card), trace over your pencil lines in Sharpie, if desired, and color in as you did the background. I made my puppet about 5" tall. When done, you can cut around the figure with scissors to remove the excess paper. Using hot glue or tacky glue to attach the puppet to the clothespin as shown in the photo below. This will allow your puppet to move along the yarn.

Puppet front

Puppet back. Note how the clothespin is glued to the puppet.

6. Assembling the theater: Have a grownup poke holes in the side of the box. They should be the same height as the clothespin slot. Now, using the plastic needle, thread the yarn through the holes and knot each piece outside the box. Slip the background into the box and place it into position (if you want to change the background, you can just prop the background in there, or you can use glue dots or masking tape to permanently attach the background paper to the back of the box). Slip the floor into place (you can attach that with tape or glue dots if desired). Place the puppets onto the string and enjoy the show!

You can string one, two or more lengths of yarn across the theater.

Here are a couple of the clothespin theaters the children in my art class created:

Fostering Creativity: Supplies to Have on Hand

I'm in love with art supplies. I consider walking up and down every aisle of an office supply store, craft store or fabric store "quality time." At the beginning of the school year, when department stores have bins and bins of pencils, crayons, etc.--I get giddy! But, ahem, I guess that is not the norm.

This is the art bin we use at home. My oldest three children share it and it stays on the art table all the time.

Throughout my years of being a mom I have encountered many a parent who says, "Oh we do not have (fill in some basic art supply) in our house--it's too messy." I first encountered this when my first son was about three and one of my mom friends said her toddler was driving her crazy (she had a new baby and was short on sleep and patience). I suggested bringing out the crayons and letting the toddler go to town. My friend told me she had never let her two-year-old use more than one crayon at a time. Why? Because it was too messy and she might "get into trouble."

Was this an isolated incident? I guess not. I'm often told by parents and children that they don't have watercolors, colored pencils, etc. at home. I've found that with my children, just having a space with art supplies available gets them thinking creatively. In fact, we just came off of a very prolific watercolor weekend in which my three older children must have created 20 pictures!

Here are some thoughts about fostering creativity by simply having art supplies available to children:

1. What is age-appropriate for your child and household? If you have a two-year-old and a baby crawling around, then maybe the art supplies stay in a bin and come out when mom is prepared to sit with the child who is creating (maybe when baby is taking a nap?). If you keep the "approved" art supplies for your child in a bin, you can bring it out quickly and put it away quickly. Don't put all of your art supplies in this bin--only put the things that the child could use easily at one time (you don't have to out every coloring book, every sheet of stickers, the pom poms, glue and glitter all in there--you will be creating a cleaning nightmare and become frustrated). Have the basic supplies in the bin and have a cabinet or shelf out of sight for the other, special supplies.

2. Be prepared for mess. Young children do not use art supplies like grown-ups do. Some art supplies don't make a huge mess (like crayons and colored pencils--always buy washable!!). If you teach your children the rules about art supplies and remind them over and over that "crayons are for paper," someday you'll be able to trust them to use the supplies without making a mess. I have a child-size table that is well-loved and is called the art table. I still tell them not to draw on the art table, but if paint gets on it and stains the finish (as even so-called washable art supplies do), at least I don't have to worry about my dining room table. The art table is located in our kitchen where spills can be wiped up easily and bits swept up right away (if you let your kids do artwork on carpet, you are asking for trouble).

Since we have a crawling baby, I occasionally drag the art table a few feet to an area behind a baby gate. It's sort of an inconvenient place for mom to get around if I'm running upstairs, but it allows my four-year-old to play with dough without me having to worry that my baby is eating most of it!

3. Be prepared for waste. Well, no matter what the age of your child, they are going to "waste" art supplies. By this I mean going through endless amounts of paper just scribbling randomly or cutting it into little tiny bits over and over and over again....While this may seem wasteful to us as grown-ups, it has great value for children to do these things over and over. It is really forming connections in their brains and teaching them fine and gross motor skills. OK, so not every piece is worthy of being framed and being hung in a museum, but the process does have value to the child in terms of social, emotional and cognitive growth.

That being said, you need to know when to speak up and encourage using the supplies fully ("we use both sides of the paper") and when to let them go on a crayon or glue bender. This is also why I don't suggest putting all of your art supplies in  one basket, so to speak. If you set 5 bottles of glue in front of many children, they will use 5 bottles of glue! So, either bring out the glue when necessary, or leave a half-used bottle in the bin (and keep an eye out for glue dripping in your floors!).

There truly is a fine line here. You don't want your child purposely breaking crayons and refusing to use a piece of paper that has literally a dot-sized crayon mark on it, but think of the pressure on a little child to have to create a refrigerator-worthy masterpiece on every piece of paper! Or know that if s/he makes a mistake when experimenting that mom or dad is going to flip! Art supplies can be inexpensive, and they are meant to be used!

Bin Full of Art Supplies:

Remember, these bins are for most-used art supplies that are safe for your child to use on his/her own while you are nearby.

• The bin itself. I show a variety of bin in the pictures, find something that works for your family and doesn't have too many areas for supplies to get lost. It should have a handle for a parent or child to carry and be easy for a child to put away his/her supplies.
• A sketchbook. I like spiral bound sketchbooks because they lay flat. One for each child labeled with his/her name.
• Crayons. I like Crayola brand. You can keep them in the box (hard to put away) or dump them in a yogurt cup for a more "grab and go" experience. A 24 count box is great.
• Markers. I like washable Crayola brand. A package of 10 chunky ones is very versatile, but as children get older they may prefer the fine tip. If you have older children, you could put a Sharpie in their bin.
• Colored pencils. Crayola is good for a start, but older children might like a gift of Studio brand or Prismacolor brand colored pencils in a case.
• Glue. I throw a couple of glue sticks in the bin when I'm feeling adventurous. Older children could use a glue stick and a bottle of Elmer's school glue (also called PVA glue). Skip this with very young children.
• Scissors. Very young children can use scissors under supervision. Add in a pair of age appropriate scissors. As your children get older, you can buy scissors that create decorative edges on paper.
• Regular pencils. Also called Number 2 pencils, these are a must for any child's art bin. Very young children will need to be supervised with them and you'll have to inspect the parts of the pencils to make sure they are OK for your little one to be around (toddlers like to chew on the pencils and erasers), but gradually, you can include a pencil sharpener in their bin. I also keep those rubber pencil toppers on hand to prolong the life of pencils whose erasers have been worn down by overzealous artists. These are not appropriate for children under three though due to choking hazzard.
• Rulers. A standard 12 inch ruler is great. I have flexible ones because they hurt less when your brother smacks you with one and they don't break when the children practice their muscle man moves.
• Watercolor Paint. I like Crayola for the very young and messy, but I prefer Prang for the older children. I don't usually keep these in the art bins since my kids make WAY too much of a mess with them and I like to monitor their usage, but if you have older children and they are neat, go for it!

This is a smaller bin and might be good for 1-2 children. This bin still holds plenty of art supplies!

This bin is easy to carry and can be stacked. This is a nice option if you need a few of bins spanning a variety of ages. Make sure to label the outside with the name of each child (or a picture of the child if they cannot read).

Enjoy the finished art bins! Create, create, create! Or as Ms. Frizzle from "The Magic School Bus" series of books says,  "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!"