I love teaching this clay lesson every year to my 2nd grade students and they (and their parents) love the results! Here are some easy steps and tips to help your students create beautiful flower sculptures while learning some basics of clay handbuilding. Materials needed for this lesson include: a chunk of clay that is … Read more
Mendhi is a temporary type of body art, using a reddish-brown dye created from Henna leaves. It is very popular in South Asia for weddings and festivals and traditionally used to create intricate designs on hands and feet. This art project is a great way to introduce young students to art motifs in South Asian … Read more
The Coqui is a small tree frog native to the island of Puerto Rico. This tiny frog is named after the sound it makes as its mating call (Coqui)! From sunset to sunrise, you can hear the chorus of the coqui all over Puerto Rico! This frog is also the symbol for Puerto Rican cultural … Read more
Alebrijes were first created by a Mexican artist named Pedro Linares. He had a strange dream one day with many strange and colorful animals that kept repeating the nonsensical word “alebrije.” This is where his inspiration came from when he began creating paper mache sculptures of fantastical animals and painting them with bright colors and … Read more
I love to do these ocean-themed crayon with my kindergarteners closer to the end of our school year! I usually start with some guided drawing on thick white sulphite paper in black china marking pencil. Then, they color in with crayon and brush over with some blue liquid watercolor and a sprinkle of salt! The … Read more
Minnie Evans is an African-American artist from Wilmington, North Carolina. She created vivid and colorful works of art based on her own dreams and visions. Her art is considered to be surreal and includes bright colors, nature themes, animals and faces. Her works were also often symmetrically balanced. If you’d like to see some of … Read more
“Non-objective” or “non-representational” art lessons can be super tricky to teach to young students. It can be hard for younger students (and even some grown ups) to see that art doesn’t always have to be representational and that creating abstract art takes skill, deliberate thought, and time! This is a method for introducing “non-objective” abstract … Read more