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Watercolor Circles- Expressive Faces or Flower Doodles

Watercolor Circles- Expressive Faces or Flower Doodles

I haven’t posted much lately because I’ve been focusing on other things– I’m in charge of the cookies for our Girl Scout cookie sales and that is like a part-time job! Also, I’ve been getting ready for my presentation at NAEA. If you are going to the NAEA conference, let me know.. I would love to meet up with new people! I have a lot of fun art journaling exercises prepared, including this one- using watercolor circles as a launching … Read more…

Watercolor Flower Doodles– Easy & Fun!

I hope you are having a good summer.  I have spent some time doodling with watercolors, my favorite artsy thing to do.  Today I am going to show you how I transform puddles of watercolor to flower doodles.  Here is an example of a finished watercolor flower doodle. This step-by-step is fun, summery art project for you or your kids to try.  I like to share what is fun and exciting for me, because maybe you will take something from … Read more…

Flower Paintings by First Grade: Learn about Van Gogh and Hundertwasser

I’m proud of this lesson and how colorful and unique each of these pictures turned out!  I like to introduce a bit of art history to the younger kids, but I didn’t want the kids to copy a famous painting. Artistic Behaviors: Artists develop their own style. Artists create art that honors someone or something. Skills & Concepts: Discuss the differences and similarities between two artworks of a similar theme. Develop hand/eye coordination through painting and collage. Learn various techniques … Read more…

Fruit and Flowers, Mice and Me!

Fruit and Flowers: I colored in the sketch that I showed you here.  I mostly used colored pencils, watercolor pencils and watercolor paints. A Mouse: My 5th/6th graders are painting animals and my go-to demo is always a mouse or hamster.  I love cute rodents.  The kids are always astounded when I show them how to make furry texture with a fan brush!  So fun.  Do you have go-to images you use when demonstrating techniques? Me: Here I am at … Read more…

Have You Ever Drawn Flowers with Watercolor Pencils?

Have You Ever Drawn Flowers with Watercolor Pencils?

The week after winter break was up in the air.  Due to construction, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to use our art room and we didn’t know if we would have easy access to supplies.  I planned for most of my classes to complete observational drawings during that week period, since they all could use the same supplies and learning to observe the edges and shapes of objects is great training for the eye. It … Read more…

Clay Flowers made by 3rd Grade

Clay Flowers made by 3rd Grade

I’m in love with these gorgeous clay flowers my 3rd graders made. This summer when I was on vacation in Michigan, I saw some lovely clay wall hangings in an artsy shop.  They were layered clay flowers and they were HUGE!  They were so awesome.  I thought my students could make something similar on a smaller scale. The kids learned how to roll out a clay slab.  Then, they cut out various flower templates, traced them and cut them from … Read more…