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.
  • Joined: January 15, 2013
  • Articles: 1011
  • Comments: 272

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…

Artist Trading Cards

Multiple colorful drawings of snowmen arranged on a table, showcasing various artistic styles and decorations, resembling a collection of Artist Trading Cards.

My 5th/6th graders made these artist trading cards using the African Adinkra carved stamps they made.  Each kid made one or two cards and decorated them with markers.  We are sending them to a school in Minnesota, art teacher Nicole…

Art puzzle

Hands assembling an art puzzle with colorful pieces on a gray table.

   Here’s a fun little way to get kids excited and looking at an artwork closely.  I printed out small copies of a picture I was introducing to them and then laminated these.  Next, I cut them into little pieces…

Collage Suggestion

A vibrant collage showcasing various butterfly illustrations and mixed media materials.

One fun thing to try is to photocopy your artwork in black and white and then cut and paste pieces of it onto a collage.  Use paints on top to embellish it. Stage 1: Stage Two:   During the next…

Valentines Prints

Bright pink abstract art with peace signs, hearts, and spirals in white. Artist's signature at the bottom right.

Here are some of the finished styrofoam Valentine’s prints by the 1st graders.  One trick that made these work MUCH better is when I dug out the jar of ink-retarder.  The prints look so much better than the first ones…