Art Blog Directory

I can't believe there are so many art education blogs out there.  Check out this directory.  It's a few years old but I clicked on a few of the links and they are still current.  Looks like a great resource.  Here is the link:  http://vividlayers.blogspot.com/2010/12/art-teacher-blog-directory.html

Clay Orbs

One of my favorite artists from Durham, NH is Jane Kaufman. I love her orbs,  they are these organic spheres made from clay. She makes them in all different sizes. Her website is great and I love sharing it with my students.  She shares where the ideas for her work come from. I think it's important for students to see the process of an artist.  Check it out:  http://www.janekaufmann.com/orbs/index.html  

She has some great whimsical clay characters too.

Third grade students created their own Winter Landscape orbs.  We used 2 circular slabs of clay and newspaper to create the orbs.  We talked about how to transfer our two dimensional sketches onto our three dimensional forms. 

Artwork with a Medieval Theme

Second grade students had fun creating artwork with a Medieval theme.  I found two of these great lessons at one of my favorite blogs, Deep Space Sparkle.  Here is the link for the painted royalty lesson and you can also find her castle collage lesson there too.  
http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2012/01/09/fairy-tale-kings-and-queens-art-project/

It was fun creating artwork with the same theme using different materials; collage, clay and tempera paint.  

 

Model Magic People

First grade students worked with model magic clay creating these fun clay people.  We talked about different ways that we could roll, pinch, or stretch the clay to make the body parts.  We also talked about the difference between 2D and 3D artwork.  I love using model magic with my students.  It is a fun, non-messy way to practice handbuilding techniques.  

Van Gogh Chairs

    

Fourth grade students looked at Vincent van Gogh's chair paintings and then created their own.  We talked about how to draw and color something so that it looks three dimensional.  We also experimented with our cray-pa, blending and creating textures.  Each student added personal touches to their pictures with objects that represent hobbies or favorite things.