Art is Basic has moved!

Hi friends!

I moved Art is Basic to a new location:  www.ArtisBasic.com
If you follow on Google Reader, your feed should have been updated when I transferred everything over.  If you follow on another reader, you *may* need to update your feed. 

The feed is:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ArtIsBasic

If you saw my last post about the Native American paper mache rattles, then you are already updated and don't need to do anything.

Thanks for being a reader.  I appreciate everyone who has commented on my blog, encouraged me and shared their own ideas for teaching art. 

Digital Hybrid Art Journal page by Marcia Beckett

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Valentine's Art Projects from the Past

Each year, I tend to try something different for Valentine's Day.  I like to spice things up, don't you?

Here are some from the past that I have done.

1.  Valentine's Heart Collages

 2.  Cool Hands, Warm Heart

3.  Easy Clay Hearts for Kindergarten 

    I have made these for Christmas presents, but they would be perfect for Valentine's Day.

4.  Maps of My Heart (by Kindergarten)

5.   Styrofoam Printed Valentines

P.S.  My new blog design is at ArtisBasic.com.  Check it out if you would like to get a sneak preview before the RSS feeds are moved over.

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How to Paint Gorgeous Clouds with Watercolor-- 5th and 6th Grade

Clouds. Aren't they amazing? 

Cloud photography by Carolyn Cochrane  (visit her Etsy shop by clicking on the link)

Two years ago I took a very helpful watercolor painting class.  One of our assignments was to paint clouds. 

Painting by Marcia Beckett

Connecting Art with Science

I love to make connections with other subjects.  This one is perfect for my 5th/6th grade because in Science class they study cloud identification.  They come into my class with a broad understanding of clouds which makes my lesson richer.  

Clouds and Art Resource

The Clouds in Art Gallery is amazing.  This gallery features famous paintings (for example, by Van Gogh, Constable, Turner, Renoir) with the clouds identified.  To start this lesson, I downloaded the powerpoint from the website to show my students.

The One Tool I Can't Live Without for Watercolor Painting

Hands down, my favorite tool for watercolor painting is the fan brush.   Buy fan brushes in a variety of sizes.  If your budget is small, start by buying a small assortment every year.  They are indispensable for creating texture! 

Blick Scholastic Wonder White Fan Blick's White Taklon delivers the texture and responsiveness of Red Sable, yet holds up to the caustic nature of solvents and acrylic paints with greater durability, making these brushes a must-have for the classroom. The selection of shapes and sizes available means there's a Wonder White brush for every media and application. The sharp point has good spring. Long handles are finished in blue gloss with nickel-plated brass ferrules.

Tips for Using the Fan Brushes

1.  Find reference photos of clouds to use while painting.

2.  Use the paper towel to dab your brush so it is not dripping wet.  A dry brush will create a nice texture.

3.  Use a light feathery technique to make the texture in the clouds or grass.  Look at this video to see what I mean.  For the clouds, hold the brush flat and dab it up and down.  

4.  When painting the sky, remember to leave the cloud areas white, unpainted.  Paint the sky around the clouds.  While the blue paint is still wet, add other colors (different shades of blues, purples, etc) on top and it will blend the colors together.  Creating variations in the shades makes a more realistic effect.  

5.   Go back in to add depth to your clouds with light touches of grays, pinks, purples.. the sky's the limit! 

Additional Tips for Watercolor Painting Landscapes

• If you can afford it, don't skimp on the quality of the watercolors for kids.  It does make a big difference, in my opinion.  Every two kids can share the paints.  So if your highest count of kids in a class is 26, buy 13 sets if you can.   Simply instruct them to place the watercolors in between them.  I also find that this helps them to monitor the muddying of the colors.. no one wants all their paints to turn black from careless mixing.   

• My favorite watercolors for kids are Crayola Artista II Watercolors, 16 Color Set

• The Prang Washable Watercolors, Metallic are nice for some shiny touches.

• Use a sea sponge for rocky or sandy texture.  

• As for paper, I have experimented with a lot of paper and I am still on the never-ending quest to find the perfect, non-wrinkly, affordable watercolor paper for kids.  PLEASE let me know if you have any recommendations.  What I have used recently for painting with watercolors and tempera is White Tag Board from Nasco.  I find that it takes paint well and looks pretty nice.  I have not been afraid to get out the iron and carefully iron paintings that have buckled.  Another option is to take a stack of heavy books and place them on top of the dried paintings.  What do you do?

 

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Cross Hatched Animals by the 3rd and 4th Graders

These lovely cross-hatched animal drawings were made by my 3rd/4th grade class. The students used pictures from Zoobooks magazine for reference and practiced hatching and crosshatching techniques.

I love using illustrated books to connect with our curriculum. For one, it gives a real life connection. Second, it might spark their interest in reading more quality books.

We looked at the beautiful cross hatched drawings by Brian Selznick, author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck. Those are both awesome books. Many of the students had already read or seen these books, so it was a great way to connect with interests they already had.

drawing by Brian Selznick



 

   

   

   

   

5 Fabulous Things I am Loving Right Now and 1 Thing I am Not

1.  How to Make Trillions of Dollars... or why American all tired and unhealthy and vaguely dissatisfied with their lives.  It explains a lot!

2.  Fingerprint Artist Judith Braun

3.  Crayon Engraving with Oil Pastels-- Great lesson plan for kids.. so beautiful!

4.  You just never know...
      or why you should try to be compassionate in all your interactions...

5.  Best Art Journaling picture I have seen lately!   LOVE.

And the one thing I am not loving right now...

1.  Anthropologie's racist candlesticks...  I saw this and have been following this story.  Thankfully they decided to pull the candlesticks off their website.  But, really?  Do they not have a design/editorial team that would have realized this could be perceived as racist?   What do you think?  The story interested me in particular because after my grandpa died we sold thousands of his "collectibles" on Ebay.  He was a flea market dealer hoarder and had rooms and rooms of fun stuff.  We came across a collection of mammy dolls.  I think I actually still have them in a box somewhere because I did not want to sell them if they were considered a racial stereotype.

Veteran's Day Poppy Posters

This past fall, my 5th/6th grade students participated in a join project with the Senior Center in our town.  The poppy is a symbol of sacrifice and is worn to honor the men and women who have served in war.   They created poppy posters in remembrance of the veterans.  These were displayed in the Senior Center and the students attended a very special Veterans Day program.  The students sang patriotic songs and were recognized for their posters.  A local singing group also sang and the veterans that attended were honored.  

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

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Papermache Masks-- 3rd and 4th grade

This is an art project that I repeat every year, because it is such a great process for the kids... starting with an initial sketched idea, building an armature, applying paper mache, painting and adding embellishments.  I tie this lesson to the Pacific Northwest Coast masks.

You can see masks from previous years here and the process photos here.
 

Thank you if you voted for me in the Art Ed blog of the year contest!  While I did not place in the top ten, I was honored just to be in the running.  Thanks for reading my blog and interacting with me!

I'm on Twitter now! What will I say? Maybe I will share more fun things I come across on the internet.   Join me!

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Holiday Round Up

Two of my classes made pictures frames like these: 

They turned out really cute and I did not take pictures until after the kids glued their pictures in, so I did not want to post any of the frames with their pictures in it. 

This year, I did not do too many holiday art projects, but here is a round-up of some that I have done in the past. 

Sock Snowmen

 Snowflakes with Glitter

Snowglobe Pictures

Picture Frame with Tooling Foil

Dreamcatcher Style Ornament

Winter Landscapes

I usually do these in January, but this could be a holiday landscape.

Clay Heart Ornaments

 (I did these again this year, but forgot to take pictures.)

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Glass Fusing

The fourth-sixth graders made these glass fused pendants.  We are gluing the "bails" on the back to make necklaces.  The kids are going to give these as holiday gifts to a family member or friend.  They each made two pendants.  

This is the first time I have done fused glass with kids.  I used the how-to guides from the System 96 website and ordered the glass from Delphi glass.  

Have you done fused glass in your kiln before?  If so, I have some questions to ask you and maybe you can help me troubleshoot a bit.  Let me know and we can connect!

Some of the pendants turned out wonderfully (as I expected) and some of them did not seem to melt evenly.  They are still beautiful and the kids are proud of their work, but I am wondering if anyone has any insights.  

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