Word clouds are fun to make for holidays or anytime of year! This is a great project for home schoolers, or any class with access to computers. A word cloud is a random arrangement of words, in this case a passage of writing where common words such as "and", "the", "if", etc. are omitted and the text is then arranged in random order, with the words that appear more often being … [Read more...]
Artists in 60 Seconds
Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926). Shadows on the Sea, the Cliffs at Pourville, 1882.No, this isn’t about how to turn your students into artists in just one minute, but rather how to get one minute’s worth of information about an already well-known artist! Sometimes all you need is a quick summary of an artist’s life and work, yet when you search the internet you can easily end … [Read more...]
How Van Gogh Made His Mark – Explore and Learn!
The Courtyard of the Hospital in Arles, First Week of May 1889by Vincent Van GoghIf you are a fan of Vincent Van Gogh, you must visit this wonderful, interactive website for kids by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, called "Explore and Learn" . Here kids can learn about the life of post-impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh, focusing on his drawings and his masterful use of … [Read more...]
Crayola – More than Just Coloring!
"Very Voracious Animal Voices" from Crayola.comHere's another great website I discovered with Art ideas for kids.... crayola.com. Don't be misled (as I almost was!) by the name. Crayola is more than just crayons!! Just follow the link to the Crayola home page, then click on the link "For Educators" on the left. From there go to "Resources" and then "Lesson Plans" to find … [Read more...]
Screen Shots!
For those of you who enjoyed creating Abstract Art using Miltos Manetas' website (from yesterday's post), there is a way to save your creation, even though the website itself doesn't give you a way to do that. You can take a picture of all or part of your computer screen using “screen shots” or “screen captures.” While this isn't exactly a secret, I'm sure there are a few … [Read more...]
What Is Art??
So what is Art, anyway?? Not to get all philosophical or anything, but you have to admit that's a good question! If you ask 100 people, you're likely to get 100 different answers. I recently attended an exhibit at the Denver Art Museum titled, "What is Art?". This question was posed to exhibit viewers who responded on sticky notes that covered an entire wall. Reading … [Read more...]