These colorful hearts for grades 1 and up are inspired by American artist, Jim Dine (1935 - ). They make a fun, framable project for Valentine's Day or ANY day you want to share some love! You can see my demo (above) and a few of my 1st grade artists' paintings below. Yes, those paintings below are by 1st graders! Keys to success There are two keys to success with … [Read more...]
Portfolio Project for Middle School – Graffiti Names
I chose to make my sample using my own name, so no one could complain about their name being too long! This year, my previously K-6 elementary school has added a middle school. Now Art has become an elective class for 6th and 7th graders (an 8th grade will be added next year). This means lots of new lesson plans geared to older kids! I wanted to give my middle … [Read more...]
Keith Haring “Action Figures”
I found my inspiration for this lesson at Deep Space Sparkle. It's the end of the school year, and while this project looks fantastic on regular white paper, I needed to go a step further to really grab my 6th graders' attention! So, I created my sample on aluminum foil with colorful Sharpies. The result.... my students said this was their favorite art project this … [Read more...]
Alphabet Soup Art – The Verdict is In!
two examples of first grade "Alphabet Soup Art" It's official.... everyone LOVES Alphabet Soup Art! From first graders to sixth graders, the responses were all the same - this project is a hit!! A few of the youngest students had to be reminded to connect their letters, but other than that most students were able to work independently. This project is a natural for … [Read more...]
Alphabet Soup Art
In today's culture, some symbols have become so familiar that we've stopped noticing them. This idea is what prompted contemporary American artist, Jasper Johns, to create abstract paintings from symbols such as letters, numbers and maps to get his viewers to experience these symbols in new ways. Your students can follow these steps to learn about abstract art with this fun … [Read more...]