Arts & Activities articles from April 2003

Arts & Activities archives from April 2003

Editor's note.(Editorial)
April 1, 2003... Come with us as we explore the power of paint this month. A good place to start is with our Cover Story. "Waxing Poetic" (page 28) is the tale of a teacher rising to the challenge of combining two seemingly disparate art classes--watercolor and...

Inspiration found. (letters to a&a).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... As an elementary art teacher, I read a lot of Dr. George Szekely's books and articles. I find his words and ideas very inspirational and most helpful. In fact, I know my teaching efforts would not be as successful without his exceptional...

Time for tea (pots). (letters to a&a).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... I read with great interest Learning from Exhibitions: The Artful Teapot in the February 2003 issue. We recently finished our own figurative teapots, and my eighth-graders were fascinated with the highly creative pots pictured in this article....

That pesky buyer's guide. (letters to a&a).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... I feel that the Buyer's Guide is helpful, but should perhaps be a separate insert instead of wasting 16 pages of magazine space that could have been devoted to art project ideas. I would hate to see Arts & Activities magazine go the way of...

Plug into our Web site. (letters to a&a).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... I have subscribed to your magazine my entire teaching career and just yesterday plugged into your Web site. It's great and I see that I'll be using it as a teaching tool for years to come. I currently teach art at a high school in the Bahamas....

The Impressionists.(Audiovisual Review)
April 1, 2003... CD-ROM/$49.95. Level: All Ages. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025, (800) 255-8629. Based on 200 works by 45 Impressionist artists and 150 documents of the period, this CD-ROM from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris has a...

Monet at Giverny.(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... (2002; $29.95), by Caroline Holmes. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. Without question, Claude Monet is one of the most completely documented artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He...

A Passion for Watercolor: Painting the Inner Experience.(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... (2000; $21.95), by Stefan Draughton. Watson-Guptill Publications, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. Stefan Draughton begins with four assumptions: (1) She did not want to do a "how to" book (she has no recipe for painting in watercolor);...

Alexandra Nechita.(Video Recording Review)
April 1, 2003... Video/20 min./$29.95. Middle School and Above. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025, (800) 255-8629. Remember a few years ago seeing the fantastic paintings created by a little girl--enormous canvases that were abstract...

Paul Gauguin: a Journey to Tahiti.(Book Review)
April 1, 2003... (2001; $14.95), by Christoph Becker. Prestel, 175 Fifth Ave., Suite 402, New York, NY 10010. Few articles have had as much written about them as Paul Gauguin. Born in 1848 in Paris, his life's experience has become the subject of many...

Liquitex. (shop talk).
April 1, 2003... LIQUITEX, a leading producer of professional-quality acrylic colors has relaunched a newly designed Web site. Attractive graphics combined with cutting-edge navigation easily directs users through a Web site that offers up-to-the-minute...

Royal[R] & Langnickel. (shop talk).
April 1, 2003... Royal Soft Grip[TM] brushes from ROYAL[R] & LANGNICKEL are made with clear acrylic handles, have color-coded tips for easy identification and soft no-slip rubber grips. Choose from 144 different brushes that are available in both synthetic and...

Winsor & Newton. (shop talk).
April 1, 2003... WINSOR & NEWTON presents its elegant Artists' Water Colour Wood Box. Housing a selection of the supreme quality Artists' Water Colours, the solid hardwood box also includes high-quality brushes and accessories. This handsome wood box set is...

Delphi. (shop talk).
April 1, 2003... Mosaic TileCreator Software and Grid from DELPHI can help you turn any image into a mosaic masterpiece and create a pattern customized to your size specifications. Choose any artwork featured in your class and let students recreate these images...

Neat Solutions[TM]. (shop talk).
April 1, 2003... The Floor Topper[TM] Mess and Toss Mat[TM] from NEAT SOLUTIONS[TM] is portable, disposable or reusable, and artfully decorated with an educational ABC design, to help put the fun back into arts and crafts time, making cleanup an easy after...

Waxing poetic. (cover story).(art projects)
April 1, 2003... MATERIALS * 140-lb. watercolor paper (Arches) * Paraffin (and perhaps broken crayons for colored wax) * Clean tuna cans * Old baking pan(s) * Double hot plate * Expendible brushes for wax * One or two old irons...

Dynamic squares. (Teaching art with art).(art projects)
April 1, 2003... There's really no other shape that is like a square. There's nothing like it in nature--nothing that has four equal lengths, straight sides and four corners that are equal to each other, that is, right angles. The shape had to have been...

Flowers and landscape by serendipity.
April 1, 2003... MATERIALS * Live or artificial flowers * Pencils * Sketchbooks * Watercolor paper * Masking tape * Assorted colored tissue paper * Large watercolor brushes * Water bowls * Paper towels * Newspaper...

The power of expression.(art projects)
April 1, 2003... MATERIALS * Viewfinders * Acrylics * 18" x 24" painting surface * Brushes * Palette knives * Digital camera * Mirrors * Examples of expressive artwork * Worksheets for students to fill out on...

Show me a sign. (art across the curriculum).
April 1, 2003... "I see letter forms as very powerful symbols. Either alone or in combination as words or partial words, they give additional meaning to a painting. --Robert Cottingham * If you were to visit a busy city, and wanted to photograph a...

Classroom use.(art appreciation)(discussion of Arnold Newman's portrait of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Suess)
April 1, 2003... THIS FACE The subject of this portrait is Theodor Seuss Geisel (1902-1991), known best as "Dr. Seuss," writer and illustrator of children's books. It is made up of two photographs that have been torn apart and the pieces rearranged. This...

Clip & save art notes.(discussion of Arnold Newman's Portrait of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss)
April 1, 2003... Arnold Newman (b. 1918). Portrait of Theodor Seuss Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss), November 15, 1985, in La Jolla, California. ABOUT THIS PHOTOGRAPH Readers who know the books written and drawn by Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) might...

Creating chemigrams in the classroom. (Photographic expression).(art projects)
April 1, 2003... What? Someone accidentally exposed some photo paper to room light? If you've ever do room work with kids, you know that happens. In throwing away that expensive, mined paper, use it next class of beginners. Remember, we're talking about...

A personal point of view. (Photographic expression).
April 1, 2003... LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will... * define the terms: angle, texture, lighting, placement, harmony, balance, repetition, point of view, bird's-eye view and worm's-eye view. * learn how to take a sharp photo. * use leading...

Watergraphs: exploring the world of art with instant photography. (Photographic expression).(art projects)
April 1, 2003... MATERIALS * Polaroid 600 Write-On film * Watercolor pencils or water-based pastels, pen and ink, oil pastels * Glue stick * Mounting board, mat board, metallic papers and tissue paper THE PROCESS * After taking the...

You still use a darkroom? (Forum Thoughts to Share).(photography instructor shares love of traditional photography)
April 1, 2003... When I went to the local camera store to buy my "beginning-of-the-year" photography supplies, the owner took me to what he kindly called the "antique" section of the store. When my yearbook printer was looking over some prints I brought to...

Fairfield Porter: a life in art, 1907-1975. (Learning from Exhibitions).
April 1, 2003... Fairfield Porter (1907-1975) was a fascinating, complex and distinctive American painter who produced Intimist-inspired Realist work in the midst of the Abstract Expressionist movement. While most of the American and European artists were...

A picture memory.(art projects)
April 1, 2003... MATERIALS * 9" x 12" colored construction paper (assorted warm and cool colors) * White chalk * Tempera Paint (primary, secondary colors, white and black) * Palettes (small plastic or wax paper) * Assorted paintbrushes...

Shoreline paintings.(art projects)
April 1, 2003... MATERIALS * 12" x 18" white paper * Tempera paints and brushes * Pencils and erasers * Water bowls * Newspaper table covers * Aprons or old shirts * Construction paper (for mounting the paintings) * Glue ...

Illustrated idioms. (Integrating the curriculum).
April 1, 2003... MATERIALS * Resource books or Internet access * 12" x 18" white paper * Watercolor and tempera paints LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will... * learn the origins of idioms. * successfully depict an idiom of choice...

Young artist.(nine year old discusses art appreciation)
April 1, 2003... My name is Joshua and I am 9 years old. I have lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the last six years. I have always enjoyed drawing, but really started to like art when I began elementary school. We have a special art class at my school twice a...

Gift-giving artists. (Children's art diary).
April 1, 2003... The reasons children make art are complex, but the notion of children making art to give something of themselves to important causes and people in their lives is a powerful motive. Children are proud to make beautiful things that are...

American Art Clay Co., Inc. (AMACO[R]). (Shop Talk).
April 1, 2003... Recently introduced by AMERICAN ART CLAY CO., INC. (AMACO[R]), five new Genesis[R] Artist Colors. Genesis[R] Heat-Set Oil Colors offer all the qualifies of traditional oil colors with the innovative Dry on Demand feature that frees students,...

Urban Pursuit, Inc. (Shop Talk).
April 1, 2003... NaturePainter Software, a division of URBAN PURSUIT, INC., announced the release of NaturePainter Digital Canvas, a painting teaching tool and image editor. The NaturePainter Digital Canvas is a realistic painting software program that makes it...

Scratch-Art[R] Co., Inc. (Shop Talk).
April 1, 2003... Multicolor Finger Paint Paper, from SCRATCH-ART[R] CO., INC., is no ordinary finger-paint paper. Everyone can obtain instant, dramatic, colorful results easily by applying regular black finger paint on these heavyweight-coated sheets printed...

Praise from moma. (letters to a&a).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... Thank you for sending copies of the issue featuring Teaching Art with Art: Hunters as Seen by Artists (Jan. 2002). We found the reproduction and documentation for Picasso's Night Fishing at Antibes complete and accurate. Thank you for your...

It's good to hear from friends. (letters to a&a).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... I teach grades K-8, and I love this magazine! The activities are extremely helpful. I wait with great anticipation for my Arts & Activities to come in the mail. I have been known to read the entire magazine in one sitting, then to put into...

Flemish and Dutch painters.(Video Recording Review)
April 1, 2003... Box of 5 CD-ROMs/ $69.95. Level: High School and Adult. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025, (800) 255-8629. Made in France, this set of CD-ROMs contains more than 100 pictures from museums and collections around the...