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Tag Archives: books

I’m Not Just a Scribble: Children’s Book Author Interview

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(Amazon Affiliate links are used in this post at no extra cost to you.)   Have you heard of the book I’m Not Just a Scribble… ?   “Scribble, the book’s main character, never thought he was different until he met his first drawing.  Then, after being left out because he didn’t look like everyone else, Scribble teaches the drawings how to accept each other for who they are.  Which enables them to create amazing art together!”-  from the book’s description. … Read more… →

Make Your Own Creature with Fabric and Paper Scraps

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Little artists love digging into a big box of fabric scraps to find the perfect patterned piece that speaks to them. We have an upcoming Fine Arts Night with the theme of Animals. We are calling it “Wild about the Arts”, which someone suggested in the Facebook art teachers group.  The 1st graders made these fun creature collages.   First we read the book Zigzag by Robert Souci and looked at the illustrations of fabric dolls. The students made creature collages, either … Read more… →

Duncan Tonatiuh: Author/Illustrator Visit

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On Friday, we had a visit to our school by author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh.   See his artwork here.  He is both Mexican and American. He grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City. His artwork is inspired by Pre-Columbian art, particularly that of the Mixtec codex. His goal is to create images and stories that honor the past, but that are relevant to people, especially children, nowadays.  His books are … Read more… →

3 Fun and Easy Kindergarten Art Lessons

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For me it is always a challenge to keep up with Kindergarten art projects. I see my classes twice per week for 40 minutes, so they get to do a lot of art!  They go through lessons and projects quickly, their attention spans are short and they have difficulty sometimes with very basic skills.  Here are three Kindergarten art lessons that are fairly easy to prepare for, teach important art concepts and use the same selection of materials. The first … Read more… →

Books for the First Day of Art Class

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I like to start the first art class of the year with a children’s book about art and something quick and easy to get the kids making art.  Here are some of the books I have used over the years on the first day of school or throughout the year.  I like to read general books about art & creativity on the first day.  I save the books about specific artists or topics for when we study those. Here are … Read more… →

Sand Painting

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Sand Painting

I did it!  I made my first sand painting.  After reviewing the book Ice Cream Work by Naoshi, I decided to try out the SUNAE sand painting technique.  You can read my whole review at this previous blog post. The book is very Japanese in style and reminds me of other Japanese cartoons and illustrations.  Her artwork is very colorful, fun and cute!  I really like her style.  You can see the book on Amazon (affiliate link) Ice Cream Work, … Read more… →

Sand Art Book by Japanese Artist Naoshi & Giveaway!

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I have an interesting and quirky book to show to you today.  The book is called Ice Cream Work by Naoshi and the cool thing is that the pictures are made entirely of colored sand!  I was given a copy of this book to review and a copy to giveaway.  To enter the giveaway for a copy of this book, simply leave a comment on this blog post. The book is very Japanese in style and reminds me of other … Read more… →