Other Resources

Here are other blogs that contain art projects and lesson plans that can be used for future references.

• http://classroomartwithmrst.blogspot.com
• http://jpopeart.weebly.com/ 
• https://ourclassroomcreation.wordpress.com
• https://artspring2015.wordpress.com
• http://potterselementaryart.blogspot.com/
• http://artisticbeginnings.blogspot.com
• http://jencro.blogspot.com/
• http://mrsjohnsonsart.blogspot.com
• http://audreyelart.blogspot.com/
• http://creatinglittlemasterpieces.blogspot.com/
• http://tycksenthoughts.blogspot.com/
• http://artsiesforsmartsies.blogspot.com/
• http://natalieartsblog.blogspot.com/
• https://wordpress.com/posts/alaskagrown21.wordpress.com
• AlisonPowersArt.blogspot.com
• sarah-paul-art.blogspot.com
• http://lets-go-on-an-artventure.blogspot.com
• http://trevonseledartmethods.blogspot.com/
• http://nicholesorensen.blogspot.com/
• http://artisticcreativity1.blogspot.com/
• http://eledartclass.blogspot.com
• http://art3700.blogspot.com/?m=1

Freedom Quilt Lesson Plan

Students will learn about the Underground Railroad and the importance of freedom quilts during this time period. They will then use their knowledge to create an escape map square which will then be a part of the classroom freedom quilt.

Freedom Quilt Lesson Plan 

The Underground Railroad PowerPoint 

I chose to do this lesson for my practicum experience for  ART 3700. This was a really great experience and the students really liked this lesson and they were engaged and excited to learn more about The Underground Railroad.

Practicum Experience PowerPoint 

Landscape Line Art

Students will create works of art displaying foreground, middle ground, and back ground in landscapes using a variety of lines and textures. 

Landscape Line Art Lesson Plan 

1st Grade Monster Blow Painting Lesson Plan

Students will visualize their own monster and create a colorful work of art that expresses personality and creativity by painting using an  unusual method that is unique and different, just like their monsters.  

Blow Monster Lesson Plan 

Cardboard Sculpture

Cardboard is a tool that is extremely underestimated. Just using cardboard and glue someone can create an amazing piece of art. Mix things up and used cardboard of different sized and thickness and see what you can come up with. Everyone can find cardboard lying around and take something that is boring and turn it into something amazing. 

This was one of the most difficult project that I have done. When I first started this project I had a difficult time coming up with an idea for my sculpture. I decided that I was going to cut out triangles in a variety of sizes. I then painted them with black paint and used a plastic grocery bag that was scrunched up to stamp the colors onto the triangles. Then I started to glue. I didn't really have an idea of what I was trying to accomplish, but the art project all came together as one and I was able to create an interesting sculpture. 

Alien Name

For this project you use your name to create an alien creature and their environment. To begin the project you take a piece of construction paper and fold it in half "hot dog style." Then you take a pen and write your name in big letters so that they stretch across the folded paper. They can be in all caps or lower caps just as long as they are big. They you take a pair of scissors and cut around the letters so they have a boarder. Then unfold your paper, turn it around and you have your alien. Add different colors and textures to make you alien beautiful. Once this is done create the world that you alien lives in and calls home. 

In my alien's world it is beautiful because of the many beautiful and vibrant colors. I water is a blend of green and blue and the flowers are also beautiful, vibrant and tall. My alien is beautiful on her planet because just like the environment she is also bright and colorful. She is unique and stands out on her planet which makes her one of a kind and beautiful. 

Printmaking

Printmaking is a technique that is used to create the most amazing pieces of art. There are so many different ways that one can do printmaking. Here are some resources for some ideas. 

• 25 Cool Printmaking Ideas
• Printmaking with Legos
• Plastic Bag Printmaking
• Leaf Printing
• Block Printing
• Gyotaku
• Collograph 

For my printmaking I used a combination of techniques. For my first one I used plastic wrap and a paper towel, the end of the paper towel roll and a plastic bag. For the background I wrapped the plastic wrap around the tube and rolled the paint on the paper. Then I used the end of the tube to stamp circles on the paper as well. Then I finished the piece with using a plastic bag to print the snow flakes. I loved my final piece and how the techniques all came together in one cohesive artwork. 

The second technique I used was not as complex, but still resulted in a beautiful piece of art. I had some cardboard from a box and I cut it into squares. Then I stripped the one side of the cardboard to expose the lines in the inside. I then used that as my printmaking tool. I mixed a variety of colors and stamped then on the paper using different angles to create a different look and texture. 

This project can be a little messy and does need a little bit of clean up. Also if you are doing this project with young children I would use a different printmaking technique. I had a difficult time holding onto the cardboard square. I would probably use the potato trick and just help them cut the designs or use legos. Each will still create a beautiful and fun piece of art. 

100 Color Challeng

The ability to create many different colors is a great skill for any artist to have. This is a project that will test your ability to not only create a variety of beautiful colors, but also challenge your patience and cooperation with others. For this project students will work with a partner and use watercolors and tempera paint to create 100 different colors. They will do 50 colors using watercolors and 50 using tempera paint.

When I did this project, I did it with my husband and boy was it a challenge. We did not have a system set up with how we were going to do this together so a lot of our colors were really close to each other. If I were to do this again I would have one of us be in charge of water colors and the other in charge of tempera paint. This would help us prevent making the same color.

This was a really good experience and I know for me it helped me to realize what colors were complimentary colors and to see what colors I could add and create an entirely different color. This art project sure does hold up it's name as a challenge, but it was a great learning experience and it helped me to start develop skills that will help me as an artist.

Zentangle Scratch Board

This is a great two in one art project. A Zentangle is a unplanned, abstract piece of art usually done in black and white. The process of making a Zentangle should be a spiritual experience for the artist and should be a time of reflection and meditation.

Because this project it paired with a scratch board, it is not black and white. Although it could be, I used oil pastels to add color to my Zentangle. The process of making a Zentangle scratch board  is really easy. To make the scratch board you will need the following: 

• Oil pastels-water resistant
• Watercolor paper 9 X 9 inch square
• Black Tempera Paint
• Dish Soap
• Tools for Scratching

Just follow this tutorial on how to make a scratch board. Once complete and dried you are ready to create your Zentangle. The first thing that you need to do with your Zentangle is create "a string" line. This is a curved line that will give structure to your design. Once you have created your "string" you will then start drawing patterns between the contours of the string line. This is an abstract art project and there is not mistakes. Every line and scratch that you make is apart of the beauty of the piece.

When I was doing my Zentangle, I had a hard time getting the scratch board paint to stick to the oil pastels. The first layer that you do will not be thick enough to cover the oil pastel color below so you will need to do several layers. While I was applying my second and third layer I noticed that the previous layer would wipe off. When this happened I found that if you just dab in those areas and make them as smooth as you can it works great! Also you can use a variety of tools for scratching. I liked the toothpick because it allowed me to create little details that really made the piece special, unique and interesting. 

Light Painting

The Fourth of July was always a great holiday around my house. It was one of my favorites because we were able to play with sparklers. Each year my Mom would take a picture of us girls swirling the sparklers around and she would create beautiful and interesting pictures. I now know that she was painting. Not in the traditional way that we are all familiar with, but with light. 

Light painting is such an easy technique and can be done with only a few materials. All you need to create this is a camera with a slow shutter, sources of light weather they be flashlights or glow sticks, and a dark environment. You take your light source and move it around while someone is taking a picture and the end result is breathtaking. 

When I was doing this project I found that the flashlight was too bright because we were in a small room. One of our flashlights had a red light on the tail end of it and so that is what I used. This light was dim enough that it didn't light up the entire room but I was still able to create a gorgeous light painting that told the story of love and how it can start out small and blossom into something large. 

Batik

A Batik is a type of white resistant dying using cloth. Traditionally, an artist has a pen like instrument that had melted wax. As they draw their design on the cloth, the wax is dispersed and then left to dry. Once dried the cloth is dyed. Once this step is complete the wax is removed by scraping or boiling the cloth and what is left is a beautiful design. 

Although you would not give a child hot wax, they can still create their own Batik using white unbleached 100% cotton cloth cut to a 12 X 12 square, Elmer's Glue, non washable tempera paint, and a paint brush. 

The first thing that you will do is create a design. You can draw this onto your white fabric using a pencil and you will trace your design using Elmer's Glue and let dry. Make sure that your design is big and there is not a lot of small components for this will make it hard for you to outline in glue. Then you will paint your Batik and also let dry. Once yourBatik has dried overnight you will rinse out the glue using hot water and scraping. Once done you again let it dry. Then you have a beautiful work of art. 

While doing this art project I discovered a lot of things. First, use a paint brush to apply your glue. I applied the glue using the bottle, but then I used a small paintbrush to create a clean outline. Also when you are painting apply a lot of paint and put it on thick. This will ensure that your paint will saturate your Batik and when you wash it out the color will still remain. Also you lay it as flat as you can when drying. This will prevent the Batik from wrinkling. 

This project can be a little messy, but is also easy to clean as well. Make sure that you line the tables with plastic bags or paper for easy cleanup because the paint with bleed through the cloth. Also this is a multiple day project. There is a lot of drying time, but each step does not take long to complete. Once done each art work is so beautiful. 

Hand Print Mask

When I was researching different mask making techniques I wanted to find a method that was cheap and would be easy to do with all ages. I also wanted to use a method that I could do with the supplies that I already had.) With this technique students would trace their hands, I did six, and arrange them in any way that they want.

With my mask I also drew a paper mask to help it look the way that I wanted it to. I used a Popsicle stick for a handle for the students to place them up to their faces. There is so much that students can do with this. They can create different animals by adding additional paper or details. If I were to teach this in an elementary setting, I would adapt it and have the students add more detail to the mask. I would have the students trace their hands and let their creativity soar. I would let them decide how many hands they wanted to use and what they want to create out of their mask.

I would provide all of the supplies that they needed and await what the students come up with. This would be a fun activity to do with animals and see what different animals students could create with their hand prints.

Milk Jug Mask

This art project was inspired from African Masks that are used for rituals and ceremonies in the African culture. These masks are typically made out of wood and are hand carved by a mask artist. All masks are different and each one has it's own special and spiritual meaning. These masks are usually used in tribal dances and celebrations and they are usually constructed to resemble a human or animal face. 

For this project you need a few supplies. First you will need a milk jug that has been cleaned and dried. Then you will need masking tape, shoes polish, raffia, hole punch and paint. The first thing that you need to do is cut out a mask from your milk jug. You can put any features you wish such as eyes, mouth or eyebrows. When you are finished you must tape your entire mask with the masking tape. You can face the tape all the same direction or you can do different directions. This will only had more detail to your mask. 

Next you will rub shoe polish on your mask to create a rustic look. This will bring out the natural details and textures from the tape. Then you will paint your mask with more detail using a variety of colors and add your raffia. Then your mask is complete. 

When I was making my own mask, I felt like this mask was fun but also easy. Children of all ages would love to do this mask. The only problem that I found with this mask, is my paint did not stick very well. Overtime the paint lifted and fell off. I used tempera paint for my mask so maybe a different kind of paint would help with this issue. 

I think that this is a great way for students to create their own personal work of art because not one mask is the same. Each ones is different and unique just like we are! 

Georgia O'Keefe

Georgia was a 20th century artist who is famous for her flower canvas work and landscape art work. Her use of color, using different colors and shades, also helped with the realism. She also used a lot of textures and value to help enhance her artwork to create a realistic look. 

For this project we were to create a Georgia O'Keefe inspired water colored painting. For this project we used a view finder that was made from a index card. To make this view finder you take your index card and cut a 1 X 1 inch square out of the middle of the card. The purpose of the view finder is to crop out or get rid of unnecessary details. A viewfinder allows you to select a portion of what you wish to paint and create an entire different view of the object, scenery or picture. 

For this project I chose to draw a plant that I have had for many years. If I were to draw the entire plant it would look extremely overwhelming, but when using a view finder I could focus on one leaf and really analyze the detail that is present in that portion of  the plant. 

During this project I had a hard time working with the water colors. I used too much water and so the detail were not really present like I was hoping and trying to accomplish. Although it did not turn out the way that I wanted it to, I was still please with my artwork and I was still able to create beautiful colors and shading to help enhanced the piece of art. 

Water Color Emotions

This is such a fun project for kids to do. The purpose of the project is to either have your students pick six emotions and use colors and different materials (salt, alcohol, plastic wrap) to help visualize them with water colors.You can also bring different foods and have the students paint how they felt or experienced while they ate them.

This was a really fun project to do, but the first time that I did this project, my paint bled through the tape that I used to make the blocks. It did  this because I failed to run my fingers along the edges of the tape. The second time that I did this project this was my final result. Nice clean lines and six perfect squares that represent my emotions.

The emotions that I chose for this project was calm, love, sad, angry, compassion, and surprised. I used different materials such as salt, acetone, and plastic wrap to create the many textures that are present. I really liked this project and to see what I could create and to see the how the different materials reacted to create such beautiful pieces of art work.

Notan

The word Notan comes from the Japanese language and means “dark, light.” This type of art is a combination of light and dark that work together to make a beautiful work of art. This is usually used with black and white and implies beauty and harmony. It gets at the essential spirit of a composition, its pattern and design, through a strict black-and-white, dark-light arrangement.

All you need is a white square sheet of paper, a black square sheet of paper half the size of the white one, a colored pencil, scissors, and glue. So intricate and beautiful!

This is the one that I made. When I first started this projects I drew my details of the Notan and I was ready to cut. I learned very quickly that scissors are not the best cutting tool for this project luckly I had a small razor blade that I could use to help me make clean cut lines for the project. If I were to do this project again I would try to make more details in my Notan because the details are what makes this kind of art so unique.

Foil Square

This is an easy and beautiful art project that would not cost a lot of money. This is a great project for students to experiment with textures. Students will pick an image and use string, glue, or any objects they can to create the basic outline of the image on a piece of card board. Then they glue aluminum foil down on the cardboard and then add the details of image on the foil. Then they will add shoe polish, tempera-paint, or markers to really make them pop. Wipe the foil clean and your master piece is ready for display.

When I was doing this project I had some issues with the shoe polish not sticking. I made my lines and textures, and wiped the shoe polish onto the foil and let it dry for a few minutes. When I wiped it off, the shoe polish did not stick in the lines that I made. I discovered that I should have made the lines deeper, and the longer you let the shoe polish dry, the better. I also found that when you are trying to do the outline of your organice object, use hot gule. It works a lot better than elmers glue and string does not hold its shape.

Mandala

The word Mandala comes from the Indian language of Sanskrit and is translated as “circle.” This is more than just a simple shape. There is no same Mandala because each one is unique and special in its own way. Each symbol that is used in the Mandala represents something significant. 

This would be a great activity to do with your students at the beginning of the school year to help everyone to get to know each other. Have the students create symbols that represent who they are or helps to represent them. Then after the students have completed their drawings, have each student get up in front of the class and present their Mandala. 

Here is mine!!! 

The symbols that I chose is a baseball diamond, snake skin pattern, infinity sign, a flower, ocean waves, music staff and “crochet loops”. Each of these represents my love for baseball, my fear of snakes, my never ended persistence in all that I do, my love for the outdoors, my love for the ocean, my love for music and my hobby of crocheting.  I chose the colors blue, green, yellow, pink, and red. These represent peace, love of nature, happiness, love and strength. 

To start out making my Mandala, I had to think of different symbols that represented me. Once I had this done, I made a few sketches that had the symbols I chose to use. Once I decided on a sketch I started on my final project. This project turned out just like I had planned and it is one of my favorite art projects I have done so far.

WELCOME!!!!!

Art is one of the most underestimated subjects in school. In today's school districts there is hardly any time for the Arts. The focus is more on Math, Science, Reading and Writing. But the truth of the matter is, students can learn just as much from Art as they can from any other subject.

Whether it be drawing, painting, sculpting, dancing, singing, etc., Art will help our students to be creative and how to analyze and critique. They will be able to evaluate their own work and make any changes they need to. It is an amazing process and students are missing out on this opportunity.

As a teacher it is your job to provide this opportunity for your students. There are so many different art projects that students can do and there is also a variety so that each student will be able to find what they are good at and improve their art skills that are just waiting to emerge.