Teach Drawing Facial Features Without Overwhelm
Teaching drawing facial features used to make my students (and me!) break out in a light sweat. The second I said “portrait,” I’d see panic in their eyes! Teaching portrait drawing to beginning art students like those in a General Art 1 or Middle School Art courses can be so tough! Over the years, I’ve […]
Beginning the AP Art Course: 4 Tips for Setting Your Students Up for a 5
Beginning the AP Art course can feel kinda like opening a brand-new sketchbook… exciting, full of possibility, and maybe a bit intimidating. Whether it’s your first year teaching AP or your fifteenth, there are always new ideas, strategies, and reminders that can help set your students up for success. This summer I attended an AP […]
5 Engaging Art Projects for BOYS
Getting boys excited about art can sometimes feel like convincing a cat to take a bath. The secret sauce to engaging boys in art class is tapping into their interests with projects that feel fun and relevant and adding in some physical activity if possible. So, I’ve tried to compile a list of engaging art […]
Fair Use for Art Teachers: The 4 Factors, a Parable and 4 Classroom Tips
Let’s talk about something that’s not as fun as a new box of markers but :::sigh::: I guess it’s more important: Fair Use for Art Teachers. You know, that magical set of rules that lets us use copyrighted stuff without getting into sticky situations. The one many art teachers cite but don’t really understand. (eeek, […]
Teaching Copyright in the Art Classroom: 4 Ways to Make it More Engaging
Ugh. Teaching copyright in the art classroom can be just frustrating and complicated. To me, copyright issues can be a little fuzzy and hard to define the edges…and that makes me want to avoid it…especially when I’m trying to look like an “expert” in front of a class of high school students. However, it’s on […]
Spooky SHOUT OUT from TheArtProject! Grid Drawing Practice
Spooky season might be over but I wanted to take a moment and share this FANTASTIC YouTube video review posted by Chad Brown at TheArtProject last week! Here’s what Mr. Brown said about the Grid Drawing Practice worksheet pack on his 5 star TPT review: “My students used this to practice after I had taught […]
13 Free Pages of THUMBNAIL SKETCH Printables!
Shhh! These Thumbnail Sketch Printables are my Art Teacher SECRET Weapon! For my Art 1 students these small, quick, and often overlooked drawings play a HUGE role in shaping their artistic journey in my classroom. Here’s why they matter and why you should incorporate MORE Thumbnail sketches: Visualization: A picture is worth a thousand words! […]
The POWER of Creativity: 3 Printable Creativity Exercises
Why would you want to take an Art Class? Why would we want to complete Creativity Exercises? Did you know? According to a report from Americans for the Arts, students who participate in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement. Art education can be a catalyst for success across […]
First Day of School for Art Teachers, Part 3
WHY are we here? True learning can’t exist if we don’t understand WHY we are learning something. One of the most important things to discuss on the First Day of School for Art Teachers is the WHY. I always explain to my Art 1 students WHY they need to take an Art 1 class. Some […]
First Day of School for Art Teachers, Part 2
First Day of School for Art Teachers, Part 2: Do you dread the beginning of a new school semester the way that I do?? Its not just about ending summer and going back to work. I struggle because its hard for me to feel like I’m on a stage in front of students that I […]
First Day of School for Art Teachers, Part 1
The First Day of School for Art Teachers is Vital! First Impressions are IMPERATIVE! Let me tell you a little story… Once upon a time, I was at an art event and I met up with a retired art teacher that…well let’s just say had a reputation for having no classroom control and no student […]
Embracing Analog Creativity: CELL PHONE FREE!
Imagine this: an art class where everyone is fully present! No more distracted glances at screens, no random ringtone interruptions, and definitely no funny cat videos in the middle of class (okay, maybe we’ll miss those a little). It’s going to be a symphony of pencils, brushes, and imagination! Can you hear the creativity humming in the […]