Blog Feed: Art lessons based mainly on art history with unit study ideas to support them.
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You Know it's Spring When the Zinnias Zoom and...
Published on 2012-03-28 10:54:00
oil pastel and watercolor resistthe art teachers start pulling out lessonson Georgia O'Keefe's flowers.Yes, spring has sprung where I live and the rainbowin my backyard is blooming again! In art class last week and the week before we focused on Georgia O'Keefe.She has a very interesting biography and you can read more about that here, but for now I have two projects for your consideration.Project # 1 Oil pastel and watercolor resist Materials needed:black oil pastelwater color paint brushes wa [..] > read more
How Very Vermeer- An art Lesson on Jan Vermeer- Revisited
Published on 2012-03-26 10:00:00
Just to let everyone know, I am feeling better and have a few new lessons in the works, but for now, here is one of my favorites.Jan Vermeer(1632- 1675)Jan Vermeer was born to an art dealer father in the city of Delft in the Netherlands. His father's position afforded him an early advantage of contact with artists and art buyers. Vermeer painted mostly portraits, completing only 40 or so paintings in his lifetime. More have been attributed to him, but their authenticity can not be established. [..] > read more
Rainbow Easter Bible Verses
Published on 2012-03-19 22:40:00
As requested, here are the corresponding bible verses...Red is for the blood, Jesus shed on the cross...Romans 5:9 Since we have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him.Orange is the color of the spices used to prepare His death cloths...John 19:40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.Yellow is the color on the hem of an angel's robe, who from the to [..] > read more
Rainbow Color Wheel Silhouettes
Published on 2012-03-07 02:01:00
First we made 12 sections on our papers.Then we added the primary colors. Red, blue, and yellow.Next came secondary colors. Orange, green, and purple.Last but not least, the tertiary colors, which we had to create by mixing the primary and secondary colors. We used watercolor pencils, so I had students lay down a layer of darker color first using lighter pressure and then add the lighter color over the first one. We then used cotton swabs dipped in water to spread and mix the color around. Lastl [..] > read more
St. Patrick and More Shamrocks: Scratches and Rainbows
Published on 2012-03-05 02:02:00
St. Patrick was actually an English citizen who was captured by slave traders and sold as a slave in Ireland. For many years he worked in the fields as a shepherd. This gave him a lot of time to think, especially about God and His plan for Patrick's life. After many years, Patrick felt God was telling him to return to England. After a harrowing journey filled with miracles, Patrick made it back home to England and to a family who had long believed him to be dead or lost forever. It was after th [..] > read more
Shady Little Shamrocks- A St. Patrick's Day Art Lesson
Published on 2012-03-02 09:00:00
Shade: A color mixed with varying degrees of black.Tint: A color mixed with varying degrees of white.What you will need:Paint- I used tempera for this.(Green, White, and Black)BrushesCardstock or watercolor paperStart by making a heart template. Cut a small piece of cardstock in half and then cut out half of heart shape. Open to reveal a perfectly symmetrical heart. Use the heart template to create a three leaved shamrock. (You could create a four leaved- clover, but St. Patrick actually used [..] > read more
The Best Christmas Present Ever!
Published on 2011-12-19 14:20:00
Today was the day! PET/CT results were in. We hoped and prayed in one direction and asked others to do the same, but rejoiced in God's will and His grace regardless.I am overjoyed to announce that the scans were clean. There are no currently visible signs of cancer!We are not completely free of all things cancer related though. We will have a follow up in one month and new scans in three months. In the meantime we will be keeping a close watch on him.Hodgkins Disease treatment protocols recommen [..] > read more
Turn me in for blog neglect- I deserve it.
Published on 2011-12-11 18:57:00
It's time for an update. It's been time for an update for a while actually. My blogs do not whine the way my two year old does, nor do they bicker and fight the way my junior high boys do. They are very easy to keep moving to the bottom of the "to-do list".However, I have had a couple of phone calls and an email which warrant the update. First off, one call and email were inquiring about art classes. Unfortunately I am still not offering any really. I am doing a very small class for some homesch [..] > read more
Movement Assignment-Personal Challenge Completed
Published on 2011-10-30 17:05:00
"Don't Ruffle Feathers in the Henhouse." So here is my completed challenge based on movement. I would love to hear your commentary on it before I start explaining it. Do you think it is successful? Why or why not? > read more
Giving Back
Published on 2011-10-25 13:33:00
I am putting together a kids art calendar which I plan to offer for sale on my blog and website. The proceeds will go to benefit local non profit groups(American Cancer Society, The Pendleton Foundation) that support patients and their families here in my hometown who are dealing with cancer. The theme of the calendar will be "A Hope and a Future." If your child would like to particpate please have them create a drawing or painting in any media they like that they feel fits the theme. Kids ages [..] > read more
Worth Checking Out
Published on 2011-10-24 13:15:00
Sixty Free Art History Based Lessons for Grades 1 through 6I just saw this link over at Homeschool Freebie of the Day. It looks like it could be a huge and very valuable resource for all elementary art educators- whether in public and private settings or for homeschool parents. It was perfect timing for me. In a previous post I mentioned I am not teaching art right now. Well as of November 3rd, that will change. I am starting an Art in the Park class for homeschoolers in my area. I am really exc [..] > read more
A Response to a Collaborative Challenge-Franz Marc
Published on 2011-10-21 14:14:00
After repeated failed attempts to leave a comment with a link to this lesson for Ms.ArtTeacher, I am reposting it here in hopes she will see it or hear about it from other art teacher bloggers that google does not deny commenting ability to. I have no idea why that happened. Anyway here was the challenge...Lesson mission: Create a lesson inspired by Franz Marc that asks students to think about expressive colorSo even though this lesson is not new, it does fit the bill and why reinvent the whee [..] > read more
Personal Challenges
Published on 2011-10-20 22:50:00
So obviously I haven't been posting much. I do have some pretty good reasons not to. The biggest reason may not be neccessarily what you think though. I simply haven't been posting because I haven't been teaching. Not art anyway. I am still homeschooling, but Ryan's illness has made teaching a tricky proposition. I used to teach from my home before the fire. But now, even though we have found a permanent living situation, Ryan's immunosuppression has me preferring not to teach out of my home rig [..] > read more
A Hope and A Future
Published on 2011-08-15 00:37:00
If you are interested in keeping up with my son Ryan's battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, then please check out and follow my new blog...A Hope and A Future > read more
Not Exactly What I Wanted to Hear
Published on 2011-08-12 10:28:00
Hodgkins Lymphoma.I knew the diagnosis before the Dr. told us. A quick google search on "lymphoma in kids" was enough to take me to a list of symptoms that fit perfectly, especially with the description of the "hard rubber like ball" the surgeon told us he'd removed during the biopsy of Ryan's lump.It's rare. It's especially rare in kids under 15. What is even more rare is how fast the process of detection to diagnosis has been. These things sometimes take months to get diagnosed. I first notic [..] > read more
The Land of Uncertainty- Part 2
Published on 2011-08-11 17:10:00
I think the hardest part of being here has been seeing all these other precious children. Some are bald, some are not. Some are tall and some are no bigger than my own little one who hugs me at my knee.My heart goes out to them and their parents, and I wonder if we are heading down the same path they are on. Every fiber of being is screaming, "NOT MY KID"!I could fight, argue, and scream at God for letting Him allow this to happen. Of course, for right now, we still don't know what "this" is. W [..] > read more
And Sometimes Life Just Happens... The Aftermath.
Published on 2011-06-19 14:09:00
I would have liked to blame this latest incident for my blogging break, but alas it was not the cause. It will be the cause of the next one though...Never tempt fate. No sooner had I shared a post on Facebook in regard to adopting minimalism- especia > read more
The Art Fairy's Weekly Top Twenty on Tuesday! (Volume 2)
Published on 2011-05-24 02:01:00
This week's top twenty....Art Threads: Monday Project - Scrap Felt Coasters and Trivets mrspicasso's art room: Monet Gardens The Paper Pear: 5th Grade Lanterns*Fun Art 4 Kids: New Circus Elephants Chesterbrook Academy Elementary Scho > read more
Sorry Sneak Peek
Published on 2011-05-20 21:04:00
I had a pretty good pace going there for projects and posts which all came to a screeching halt because of a sick baby and even sicker husband. After five bouts of vomiting and that other wonderful thing in only four weeks, her doctor and I decided i > read more
Painted Paper City Skyline
Published on 2011-05-12 02:01:00
Materials 8 1/2 " X 11" cardstock cut in half length wise.tempera paint or acrylic in various colors including black, yellow, and purple.oil pastelsold credit card decorative edge scissors old toothbrush shape templatemetallic m > read more
Warm and Cool Color Exploration with Kandinsky
Published on 2011-05-11 02:01:00
I begin this lesson by introducing or reviewing color theory and the color wheel. We talk about primary and secondary colors. We also discuss complimentary colors or color opposites and how those combination are always the result of a pairing of one > read more
The Not So Shady Side of Picasso-In Color!
Published on 2011-05-09 08:51:00
This is a reworking of an earlier project The Shady Side Of Picasso. We followed the drawing directions from this lesson, but when it came time to color, we used oil pastels and followed the technique from this lesson Hoppin Down The Bunny Trail.How > read more
The Art Fairy's Weekly Top Twenty
Published on 2011-05-06 02:14:00
Welcome to what I hope will become a weekly feature around here... My weekly top 20 favorite art lessons I have found in the blogosphere. It is also a wishlist of sorts, since I hope to use these lessons in my classes at some point as will you I hope > read more
The Elephant Vortex
Published on 2011-05-04 02:01:00
This you will probably recognize as two different projects that have been very popular as of late. For some reason, I felt the need to combine them and this is what resulted. The links for each lesson are here for the optical illusion background and > read more
Science, Milk, and Fireworks!
Published on 2011-05-02 02:01:00
After seeing a great link to a science experiment post about making fireworks with milk, dish soap, and food coloring, I wondered if the results might yield a print. Boy did it!You can find the original instructions for the experiment here...http://u > read more
Fun Foam Mosaic
Published on 2011-04-30 22:02:00
This was a really fun project, but it did take quite a long time to complete.. I had the students cover the front side of a copied black line coloring page with white chalk pastel. We then flipped the paper over on to the black construction paper and > read more
The Versatile Blogger Award- FInally!
Published on 2011-04-28 21:55:00
I was so honored to receive this award from not just one, but two amazing bloggers;Art at Chesterbrook Academy andOutside the Lines Young Artists' Studios Being recognized by individuals whose work I admire and respect so much is trul > read more
Not just for the bathtub...
Published on 2011-04-26 01:31:00
Well, I said Monday, but being it is only Monday for another hour, I am going to leave my award post for Tuesday. In the meantime, I will leave you with this...Recently I purchased bathtub crayons for my 15 month old. Technically they are for 3 and o > read more
Op Art Eggs
Published on 2011-04-23 23:02:00
I've seen this project around quite a bit lately, so I just had to give it a try. Of course, I did give it an Art Fairy tweak or two.Instead of using the traditional sphere shape, we used an egg in honor of Easter.This was also done in two pieces. Th > read more
Faux Stained Glass
Published on 2011-04-20 01:03:00
First I found a stained glass coloring page- a very simple oval one. Then we cut up each section of the oval into five or six smaller irregular pieces. This first "stained glass" piece was accomplished by using Prismacolor markers on regular copy pap > read more
Artisitic Progeny
Published on 2011-04-13 16:48:00
People often assume that because I am an art teacher, that my kids take lessons from me and that they must love having an art teacher for a mom. Kids tell me they wish their mom or dad was an art teacher. The fact of my profession is pretty much lost > read more
Getting Inspired
Published on 2011-04-12 10:42:00
"Good artists borrow, great artists steal." A famous quote supposedly uttered by Picasso. Whether or not he actually said it though, it is a universal truth. This article explores this and gives some other great advice for artists of all ages. Go and > read more
The Motherlode of Tangle Resources
Published on 2011-03-29 21:50:00
If you are an art teacher and have not heard of Zentangle yet, then you are sorely missing out. It is really a lot of fun and kids and grown up alike love learning how simple and easy these complex looking designs really are to draw. If you already k > read more
Math and Art
Published on 2011-03-26 11:26:00
In my classes of late we have been exploring relationships between art and math. If you ever go down this path, it is almost a requirement to include a lesson on MC Escher. I usually try to present some biographical information about the artist we ar > read more
Leo's Helio's
Published on 2011-03-24 15:14:00
One of the numerous innovations we can give credit to Leonardo da Vinci for is some of the first concept designs for helicopters. Drawing helicopters is far easier than you might think, and my first grade class pulled it off pretty nicely.This was a > read more
The Art Fairy is Born!
Published on 2011-03-22 18:34:00
It officially Spring! So along with some other Spring cleaning that desperately needs to take place at my house, it is time for a little upkeep here at the blog. What better way than to start fresh? Welcome to The Art Fairy. This is a place for anyon > read more
If you leave an art teacher blog a comment, she will...
Published on 2011-03-22 14:40:00
Please be careful when you leave me comments...If you leave an art teacher blog a comment, The art teacher will have to check out the commenter blog,When she checks out the commenter blog,She will be find an impressive art project.She will want > read more
So Worth A Try...
Published on 2011-03-21 10:07:00
This is a project that needs to be done. Logistically it looks to be a nightmare, but with a little careful planning, the process and end result look to be absolutely worth it...Here you can see how Teacher Tom brought the scale down and did the proj > read more
New Sources of Inspiration
Published on 2011-03-19 18:59:00
If you have not seen this blog, you must go there right now! Seriously, I command you, you really need to see it. Pink and Green Mama > read more
Blog Envy
Published on 2011-02-09 19:14:00
You have to understand, I have no time. No time for myself and definitely no time for blogging. I do have these great ideas though. The good thing is those ideas are in use in my classroom. The bad news is that I am totally frustrated in not getting > read more
Oliart
Published on 2010-08-13 11:12:00
Ok. I think I may be out of a job. How cute is this?She apparently has a whole little series of these videos. Totally awesome! > read more
Blog Hopping
Published on 2010-07-31 13:18:00
Hi there y'all. I know I've been out of circulation a bit- if your baby was as cute as mine, you probably would be too! But she's a bit older now and I am slowly but surely being drawn(ha ha, get the pun?) back into the art teacher blog world. It has > read more
Sitting Under the Klimt Tree
Published on 2010-07-27 14:07:00
This past week we learned about Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. If you know Klimt's work, you may think that not an appropriate choice for a kids class. For the most part, I would agree, but he does have several family friendly pieces and his contribut > read more
Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival- Summer Kick Off Edition
Published on 2010-06-13 14:25:00
Welcome to the June 14, 2010 edition of the Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival.I am so very honored to be the host for this edition. Please accept my sincere apologies for this late edition. But better late than never, right? At least that's what I ke > read more
Very Vermeer
Published on 2010-06-08 16:01:00
This is the lesson I am presenting to my students this week.It's sort of a challenge to for them as it doesn't teach them to draw anything. The point is to draw what they can based on the given criteria.Jan Vermeer(1632- 1675)Jan Vermeer was born to > read more
Just Thought...
Published on 2010-05-30 13:33:00
Just thought y'all might like to knowwhat's been taking up all my time and energy lately. Emberjayne is doing fabulously well as you can see.At just a week or so before five months old, she ismeasuring at 26 1/2 inches long andweighing in at around 1 > read more
Botticelli's Venus
Published on 2010-05-07 21:20:00
As promised, here is a lesson on how to draw the face of Venus using correct proportions all based on the eye. > read more
Easter Rainbows
Published on 2010-03-29 20:25:00
Materials7 sheets of paper, red, orange, green, blue, purple, whitepaper platepencilpaper trimmer and or scissorsstaplerclip(optional)1.Start with 7 sheets of paper stacked in this color order, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and white. Use > read more
Not so Ho-Hum Hummmingbirds
Published on 2010-03-26 10:18:00
This was a post from a while ago, but what the heck, a classic is always in style, and I am beginning to have visits from these lovely creatures in my backyard again.Many a seemingly complicated drawing project is really simple if you just break it d > read more
Easter Eggs, Bunny Rabbits and Cubism?
Published on 2010-03-21 20:40:00
What in the world do the Easter Bunny and Cubism have in common?Really not much at all except that I chose Fernand Leger to be my Artist of the Week in art class and it is also two weeks until Easter, so I chose to do a bunny in a cubist style.What y > read more