I came across a sweet new children’s book that I’d like to share with you. It is called If You Are an Artist, (Amazon affiliate link at no extra cost for you) by Meg Auchenbach. I always love finding new inspirational books for my young students and this one is a charming book that shows what it’s like to think as an artist. The illustrations are whimsical and the book is delightful. Before I buy a book I like to … Read more…
**** Art is Basic is giving away one FREE copy of this book to a lucky reader. To be entered, simply leave a comment on this blog post. I will choose one random winner after November 3. ***. Book links are Amazon Affiliate links which means I receive a small amount of compensation at no extra cost to you which go to supporting the blog’s upkeep and expenses. Today I have a very special book to share with you and … Read more…
Hi! Today I have a round-up of Name Design art projects for you. Name projects are wonderful to do at the beginning of the year for a number of reasons. First, it is a great way to learn all your students’ names. Second, it’s a great way for students to share about themselves. You can easily tie in personal interests to name designs. Third, it’s a familiar subject matter to kids and a less intimidating way to start the year. … Read more…
I hope the beginning of your school year is going well. Mine is going fine. We are getting back into the swing of things around here. Here is a fun and meditative art project good for kids and adults of all ages. You can tie this in to labrynths, mazes and mandalas. I use all different kinds of watercolor paints. I have a whole collection! One of my favorites is the Prima Marketing Confections sets. There are a number of … Read more…
This slideshow I found in my archives from 2017. I think this is a project worth revisiting next year. It provides a lot of open-ended decision making and idea generation. You can also tie it in to the famous artist Joseph Cornell and his shadow boxes.
This is a fun, one-day project for kids that teaches about positive and negative space and is good for spatial awareness. I taught this to my 1st graders and most of them understood the concepts and some of them needed help. First, positive space is the shape you cut out of the paper. Negative space is the shape left behind. You will need one sheet of background paper 8.5″ x 11″ and a color rectangle of paper that is half … Read more…
Just in time for the holidays, I have a fun giveaway for 2 lucky readers. Two winners will each receive a copy of BOTH of the games pictured above. (USA only please) I learned about 2 new drawing games from Drawing Deck, LLC. They may look familiar to you because they also made the game Createures. My two kids at home made these monster drawings from the cards from the game! Aren’t they fun?! (Amazon Affiliate links have been used … Read more…
