Marcia

Marcia

Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.

Rainbow Fish

Kid's colorful drawing of three whimsical rainbow fish underwater, with coral and sea plants at the bottom.

First, we read the book Rainbow Fish. Then, the kids drew pictures of fish. Next, we colored them using neon crayons and regular crayons.  Color REALLY hard and thickly.  Demonstrate this to the children so they see how to color…

Week Update

A figurine in a metallic outfit holding a flag and shield, standing on a base labeled "DARWIN OF OTFORD." Week Update included.

Well, I haven’t updated since this past Sunday, so I will briefly tell you what I’ve been up to..  parent-teacher conferences were on Tuesday.  We are in the middle of various projects… monochromatic rhythm paintings (which are awesome and I…

Greek Vase Drawings- 4th/5th grade

Drawing of seven Greek vases on a green surface, displaying various shapes and decorative patterns, ideal for 4th-grade or 5th-grade students studying ancient art.

Greek Vase Drawing & Model:  First, the 4/5s read a magazine about Greek vases. Then they made a small vase using modeling clay.  Next, they used chalk to develop a drawing of Greek vases using Greek imagery and symbols. Black sharpie…

Paper Weavings

A colorful woven paper art piece featuring pink, purple, green, and blue strips arranged in a checkered pattern—a stunning example of Paper Weavings.

Paper Weavings by Kindergartners.A twist on the typical paper weaving… use wrapping paper and scrapbook paper pieces. 

Dr. Suess Architecture

Child's colorful drawing with Dr. Seuss-style abstract structures on a grassy landscape under a bright blue sky.

The 2nd graders studied Dr. Suess in their language arts class.  In art class we looked at the artwork of Dr. Suess.  They drew whimsical architecture with wobbly and wavy lines.

Japanese Scrolls

A Japanese wall scroll with artwork of birds and mountains, hanging on a purple wall.

Third Grade Japanese Scrolls We watched a powerpoint about Hokusai, the Japanese printmaker.  The students made styrofoam prints using imagery of nature.  We practiced using calligraphy brushes with India ink.  The students assembled their calligraphy and prints, along with origami…

Arctic Animals

A child's painting of a penguin on ice with a purple sky, a flying bird, and abstract shapes in the background captures the charm of polar animals.

The 1st graders used their observation skills to draw detailed animals from pictures of these animals. This project complemented their study of the Arctic in Language Arts/Social Studies class.  

Beautiful oops

If you haven’t seen this book yet, it is probably my favorite kids’ book! I love it! My 18 month old loves to play with all the flaps.

Inside Out Pictures

Hands arranging green paper cutouts on a black sheet atop a wooden table.

Inside Out Pictures The Primaries learned about positive and negative space.  They exercised their cutting skills and spatial awareness. Step One:  Cut out shapes from a 4.5″ x 9″ colored piece of paper. Step Two:  Take all of the shapes…

Giant Weaving

Two people working at desks in a cluttered room with materials and papers stacked around, and fabric for weaving hanging on the wall.

  We finished the giant weaving.  I had kids in all different classes work on it when they were done with their projects.  I like how it came out.  We are going to make a few more and then they…