Maybe you've seen the famous painting of a man dressed in a suit and bowler hat, with a green apple in front of his face. Or the painting of an apple with the French words, "Ceci n'est pas une pomme" written in calligraphy above it ("This is not an apple".... meaning it's not a real apple, but a painting of an apple!) Or the painting where it appears to be … [Read more...]
“Collage Who You Are” Self-Portrait
For centuries, artists have created self-portraits to give others a glimpse into who they are. Since our likes and dislikes, personalities, hobbies, and skills all contribute to making us interesting and unique, why not include those in a self-portrait, too? And what could be a more fun approach to this than a mixed media collage??! For this project we used a bit of … [Read more...]
Mix ‘n Match Faces
Each month brings a new challenge with the Children’s Museum of the Arts (CMA) CIVIC KIDS campaign! Their theme for November is “Equity”…. perfect for election month, don’t you think?! equity noun 1 the equity of society: fairness, justness, impartiality, egalitarianism; objectivity, balance, open-mindedness." The challenge is open to kids everywhere… you don’t need to … [Read more...]
Easy Sugar Skull Kirigami for Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead (or Dia De Los Muertos) is a festive two day celebration (November 1st & 2nd) honoring the lives of loved ones who have died. This colorful holiday from the Hispanic cultures of Mexico, Spain, and South America, is gaining wide popularity across the U.S. One of the most recognizable symbols of Day of the Dead is the brightly colored sugar skull. To add a new … [Read more...]
Sunset Cityscapes
The examples in this post were done by 1st graders, but older kids will enjoy this, too. "No Rulers Allowed!".... if you want results that are charming and almost "Seuss-like"! For a typical class that meets for one hour or less, you'll want to do this project over 2 class periods. Materials: 9x12 watercolor paper (or heavyweight construction paper) watercolor set … [Read more...]
Basic Japanese Notan Designs for 1st Grade & Up
Are you looking for an easy project that will give your youngest students more practice with scissors? This very basic Japanese Notan lesson is perfect for working on cutting and gluing skills, and kids will love the striking designs they create! Notan is a type of Japanese art that uses the contrast of light and dark to make an eye-catching composition. (Pronounce it just like … [Read more...]
Christmas in July! Japanese Notan-Inspired Ornaments
Even though Christmas falls on the same day every year, it still manages to sneak up on me! Why is that??! My best intentions are always to post some new Christmas art projects & ideas a month or two ahead of time, but then the busyness of the season just gets the best of me! So my answer to that is to get a head start by posting them in July! My 5th graders loved making … [Read more...]
Basic Collage with Positive and Negative Shapes
I do this project with my first graders every year to help them understand the concept of positive and negative shapes. This project also teaches symmetry and offers important practice in cutting on a fold and applying glue. First graders are often surprised by the shapes they see when they unfold their papers - they are some pretty cute kids! Materials: 9x12 black (or … [Read more...]
Mexican Papel Picado
"Papel Picado", or "cut paper", is a colorful decoration found at most Mexican celebrations. The “secret” of success for making your own papel picado is to sandwich the thin tissue paper inside a folded, heavier weight paper before cutting it. This makes it easier to work with, less likely to tear, and gives you a surface for drawing a design you can follow as you … [Read more...]
Cursive Cut-outs
I posted this lesson awhile back as "Name Aliens", but I've since figured out a better way to teach this, so I improved the directions. As soon as kids can write their names in cursive, they're ready to create these whimsical creatures! To make "bugs", just add six legs instead of two! (Adapted from the book, "Paper Designs" by Jerome C. Brown)Can you guess what name this … [Read more...]