Arts & Activities articles from April 2008

Arts & Activities archives from April 2008

Edward Hopper: Painter of Light and Shadow.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... EDWARD HOPPER: Painter of Light and Shadow (2007; $18.95), by Susan Goldman Rubin. Abrams Books for Young Readers. Edward Hopper's Nighthawks (1942) is a work many think of as one of America's finest paintings. Based partly on an all-night...

The Cave Painter of Lascaux.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
April 1, 2008... THE CAVE PAINTER OF LASCAUX. VHS or DVD/8 min./$29.95. Level: Elementary. Crystal Productions. In eight short minutes this video brings to the screen the story of the Lascaux caves as written by Roberta Angeletti. Using the same colored...

Can You Hear It?(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... CAN YOU HEAR IT? (2007; $18.95), by William Lach. Abrams Books for Young Readers. Listening to music often invokes images in our mind's edge. Visual artists and musical composers are known to have connected visual and sound experiences in...

Prestel Publishing.(shop talk)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Impressionism: 50 Paintings You Should Know is a reference guide to the movement's most important masterpieces and the artists who created them. Each reproduction is accompanied by an overview establishing its place...

Jacquard Products.(shop talk)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments are now available in mini three-gram size jars. Pearl Ex, available in 40 colors, is a popular additive for most media, producing looks ranging from a metallic sheen to a pearly luster on...

World Class Learning.(shop talk)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Little Artist Palette Set offers World Class Learning Materials's Stop-Spills Mini Paint Pots, six coordinating tempera paint cakes and a child-sized artist palette. Containers are clearly labeled with color...

Richeson Art.(shop talk)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many experts agree that Tri-Art's Solucryl--distributed in the United States by Jack Richeson Art, and available through a number of art catalogs--is the definitive educational paint, priced to fit into any budget....

Nasco Arts & Crafts.(shop talk)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nasco Arts & Crafts' 2008 catalog offers over 1,400 new products along with tried-and-true art materials to help artists and students create amazing work. Products featured in the 532-page catalog help make teaching...

ArtBin.(shop talk)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ArtBin has joined forces with the National Breast Cancer Foundation to present limited-edition products, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the search for the cure. Two ArtBin bestsellers are included--the...

American impressionism: paintings from the Phillips Collection.(LEARNING from EXHIBITIONS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since the late 19th century, Americans have had a fascination with Impressionism, a French-born style of painting depicting landscapes and scenes of everyday life revealed through natural light and virtuoso...

Finding poetry in art.(Cover story)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is one of the most comprehensive projects my students have ever done. We begin by talking about artists and the impressions students have of them. Students spend a full class period browsing through art...

Quilted dreams: inspired by Faith Ringgold.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Faith Ringgold's Tar Beach is a story about Cassie Lightfoot's Harlem childhood. In the story, Cassie recalls sleeping on the rooftop of her apartment building, a "tar beach," the family's escape from the summer's...

Spray-paint portraits.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I have found that many of my students are interested in less-than-traditional forms of art, and are particularly fascinated with graffiti and anything involving spray paint. A number of them have quite a talent for...

Isis rises.(art ACROSS the CURRICULUM)(Biography)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Water, water everywhere, flooding buildings, ruining places for living, working and worshipping that others built and maintained with so much love and devotion. Such an image is all too sadly familiar to those living...

Clip & save art notes.(American painter Georgia O'Keeffe)(Biography)
April 1, 2008... ABOUT THE ARTIST Magnified, voluptuous flowers. Dried bones and shells. Mountains, deserts and clouds. Adobe houses and mission churches. These subjects unmistakably call to mind the subjects of 20th-century American painter Georgia...

Art print: A storm.(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Georgia O'Keefe (American; 1887-1986). A Storm, 1922. [c] Georgia O'Keefe Museum/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Pastel on paper, mounted on illustration board; 18.25" x 24.375". Anonymous Gift, 1981. The...

Classroom use of the art print.(Biography)
April 1, 2008... Georgia O'Keeffe (American; 1887-1986). A Storm, 1922. Pastel on paper, mounted on illustration board; 18.25" x 24.375" (46.4 x 61.9 cm). Anonymous Gift, 1981. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y. THINGS TO KNOW Georgia...

Young artist.(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... My central theme in my body of work focuses around the spiritual realm, mostly the idea of women striving to achieve a spiritual balance and center, amidst the pressures of the modern world and society, by being in the most natural and...

Fabulous frogs.(teaching elementary school students watercolor painting)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Any teacher who has tried to instruct elementary-age children in watercolor knows it can be a frustrating ordeal. In my own experience, this was one medium that just didn't work with young children. Students...

Music and monochrome.(use of monochromatic color schemes and the influence of music in creating artworks)
April 1, 2008... Budding kindergarten artists have been fun to watch, but frustrating for me in designing lessons. I taught for nine years at middle- and high-school levels, and moving to a different district opened up the opportunity to teach elementary art....

Organized chaos.(an art teacher's story about teaching two classes at the same time)
April 1, 2008... As shocking as this may be, our art department just doesn't have enough supplies for every student We average about 22 students in our high-school introductory-level classes and often Mark Kucharski, my teaching partner, and I are teaching the...

Why design? Social change one poster at a time.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Some of my favorite questions to ask art students of any age (K-college) deal with exploring the many purposes of design. What is design? Why do we design or make art? Why do we look at art or value design? What...

Amazing Watercolors: Projects Using the Wax Resist Technique.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
April 1, 2008... AMAZING WATERCOLORS: Projects Using the Wax Resist Technique. Video or DVD/30 min./$19.95. Level: Adult. Crystal Productions. Tina Cintron competently demonstrates the wax resist technique of working with watercolors in this video best...

Matisse-inspired masterpieces.(Henri Matisse)
April 1, 2008... Next in our "eARTh... it's got ART" yearlong curriculum series is the continent of Europe. This unit could be a full-year curriculum due to the many countries and artists found here, so writing a single unit is a challenge! Here, I...

Brush artists.(CHILDREN'S art diary)
April 1, 2008... Kids paint with everything before we put art brushes in their hands. High-chair painters use their fingers. Bathroom artists squeeze striped colors from a toothpaste tube and test makeup brushes. Children's painting explorations are furthered...

Art for special-needs students: building a philosophical framework.(FORUM: Thoughts to Share)
April 1, 2008... Art educators agree everyone benefits from the visual arts. In my years of teaching, I have learned that students with special needs may face many challenges in creating and enjoying art. Potentially, through art, these students can be given a...

Mandala tiles.(CLAY corner)
April 1, 2008... I have always appreciated the designs and patterns one can derive from exercises in symmetry. I've even used the traditional fold-transfer technique to create bilateral mask designs and prints, because a symmetrical print holds no surprising...

Painting, composition and color.(tried & true tips for art teachers)
April 1, 2008... Spring has sprung, the school year is advancing toward its end, and the colors outside are becoming more vibrant and colorful! Painting is a celebration. Whether your students are using tempera, acrylic, oil or watercolor, it's exciting!...