Why teach drawing to kids? When you teach drawing to kids, you're giving them a skill that pays big dividends in today’s world. Drawing is the foundation for many forms of art. But you certainly don’t need to be an “artist” or work in an art-related career to benefit from drawing. Anyone can use drawing to explore an idea, solve a problem, give visual form to a mental … [Read more...]
Find Your Best Composition With a Viewfinder
How do you choose what to paint or draw when there are so many choices in front of you? Whether your subject is a landscape, still life, or portrait, arranging your composition can be challenging when your options feel limitless. A viewfinder can help you select your best option. A viewfinder is a simple tool you can make yourself with strips of cardboard or popsicle … [Read more...]
22 Ways to Combine Writing & Art to Encourage Creativity
I recently had the privilege of helping my adult daughter edit the manuscript for her first book. Her first real, published book. A book with an agent, a publisher, a release date (April 2017), and it’s own pre-order page on Amazon. A proud parenting milestone for sure! But this book of hers has been a long time in the making. In fact, we can trace its origin all the way back … [Read more...]
Giving Back with Art
Have you ever been inspired to ‘give back’ to your community as a way to say “thank you” to those who helped you through a difficult time? I was touched by the story of Dan and Janean Toone, who started Young at Art in response to the care that their young grandson received while spending most of his first year of life in the hospital. As art lovers themselves, Dan and Janean … [Read more...]
My New Favorite Pencil Sharpener
Usually, I sharpen pencils as needed, a few at a time, and don't think much about it. But this morning I sat staring at 9 dozen brand new pencils I needed for a workshop I'm teaching. I found myself procrastinating this simple task all week, just due to the sheer number of them. But once I got going, I was completely surprised by how quick and easy it actually was, so I had to … [Read more...]
Art with Math – How to Draw a Soccer Ball
What do you get when you combine geometry, art, and soccer?? A winning art lesson, that’s what! The excitement of the World Cup inspired me to come up with a creative way to teach kids how to draw a soccer ball. I was determined to develop a method that would be easy to teach and easy to learn, and would give kids a result they could be proud of. I ended up creating two … [Read more...]
Feed Your Creative Soul – with a Sketchbook
Most art teachers I know struggle to find time for pursuing their own artwork.... so if that's you, you're not alone! Summertime provides a great opportunity for teachers to do things they otherwise set aside during the school year. But if we're trying to teach our students how important art is, should we really be putting off our own art until summer? (I'm speaking to myself … [Read more...]
Pink Gold – Sketching with Erasers!
Did you know that the simple pink eraser at the tip of your #2 pencil is worth its weight in gold?? (Or maybe even more, since erasers don't weigh much!) Well, it is, and here's why... I don't use these erasers for erasing (I save that for my trusty Magic Rub Eraser). I use them for DRAWING. It's a little known secret that you can sketch on almost any kind of paper using the … [Read more...]