Arts & Activities articles from December 2008

Arts & Activities archives from December 2008

Editor's note.
December 1, 2008... Our focus this month, "Fibers, Textures and More," offers an array of opportunities to challenge the creative skills of your students. Within this issue are successful lessons developed by teachers all over the United States, and we know you...

The Harlem Renaissance.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2008... THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE (2008; $49), by Kevin Hillstrom. Omnigraphics. This is an excellent historical account of an important part of African-American history. The book is organized in three sections: 1) a narrative overview (Black America...

Baby Animals: Little Ones at Play in 20 Works of Art.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2008... BABY ANIMALS: Little Ones at Play in 20 Works of Art (2008; $14.95), by William Lack. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Abrams Books for Young Readers. This is a book to be used by preschool teachers. It contains reproductions from 20...

The 20th-Century Art Book.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2008... THE 20TH-CENTURY ART BOOK (2007 $24.95). Phaidon Press, Inc. This book contains 500 full-page color plates of well-known 20th-century artists. The works are arranged alphabetically accompanied by a brief text. What is interesting and quite...

Anatomy for Artists: The Human Form Revealed, 2nd Edition.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
December 1, 2008... ANATOMY FOR ARTISTS: The Human Form Revealed, 2nd Edition. DVD/52 min./$19.95. On Air Video, Inc. Anatomy for Artists explores the underlining structure of what comprises figure drawing. The presentation is not a drawing demonstration per...

Sax Arts & crafts.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Jumbo Glass Bead Classroom Pack from Sax Arts provides approximately 220 to 240 multicolored, patterned beads, great for weaving, macrame and jewelry projects and much more. Also included in the pack are 24...

Avery Dennison.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Avery Wizard Holiday Edition, a flee software download program for Windows[R] users at www.avery.com, lets consumers create personalized holiday address labels and tags. The easy-to-use software allows photos to...

Silver Dolphin Books.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Educational nonfiction, activity and novelty books for pre-K to grade 6 are the specialty of Silver Dolphin Books, who says their books' interactive formats educate as they entertain. Explore Within a Medieval Castle...

Blick Art Materials.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Among the fabric/fiber-arts products offered by Blick Art Materials are Jacquard's Tee Juice Fabric Markers. These free-flowing, broad-line markers are for use on canvas, cotton fabric, jeans, T-shirts and more....

Adhesive Technologies.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AdTech's ultra low temp[TM] battery powered glue gun, The Cool Tool[TM], is safe, fast and portable. With a running temperature 75[degrees] cooler than other low-temp glue guns, this gun is fingertip friendly and...

The Cookie Cupboard.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Educational gift baskets that combine learning with gourmet treats are available from The Cookie Cupboard. Gift basket themes include fine art, classical music, history and children's literature. The baskets are...

A.W.T. World Trade Inc.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A.W.T. offers screen-printing frames and associated supplies for most any budget. Made from kiln-dried pine with mitered ends, the frames are glued and stapled, and maintain square corners even after repeated...

Fulcrum Publishing.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This soft cover children's book will serve as the perfect introduction to your fibers and textures unit for younger students. The Mitten Tree tells the story of Sarah, who knits mittens and leaves them on a tree at...

Delphi.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Delphi, supplier for a variety of crafts including jewelry crafts, fusing and stained glass, has released their 2008-09 Annual Supply Catalog. The 420-page, full-color catalog is densely packed with over 30,000...

Olympic Kilns.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New from Olympic Kilns is the Electro Sitter, a solution to kiln-sitter users without parts. The Electro Sitter replaces the obsolete kiln sitter with a limit timer. Electro Sitter is complete with thermocouple...

Alpha books.(shop talk)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Filled with new ideas for items to crochet, instead of the same old patterns, this guide contains nearly 60 projects with clear, stitch-by-stitch instructions for all levels of crocheters. Among the projects are a...

Learning from exhibitions: Ancestry and Innovation: African-American art from the American Folk Art Museum.(Cover story)
December 1, 2008... An exciting variety of artistic expressions by self-taught African-American artists from the urban North through the rural South is documented and explored in a stunning new traveling exhibition. Ancestry and Innovation: African-American Art...

Young artist.(author's views on how she developed her talent as an artist)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... When I was younger, I was constantly drawing, whether it was on paper, walls, sometimes even on my desk at school. My mother is very creative and I have learned many things from her, such as sewing, needlework and paper crafts. I've always...

Make texture the star.(art lesson on texture)
December 1, 2008... In introducing media for graphic expression, texture can be more than useful: It can be the star! This lesson's purpose was to emphasize that concept, which can be taught from grades 3 to 12. Of course, one must expect a difference in...

Aaah ... beautiful Batik.(art lesson on making textile art called Batik)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I've always liked the look and quality of batiks. I worked with the batik process in college, and I wanted to use this process with a group of students. I decided it was best to explore the process of batik with...

Handwoven Bowls of Diversity.(art lesson on forms of weaving from different cultures)
December 1, 2008... My "Handwoven Bowls of Diversity" project came to me when I was working on a very limited budget and wanted to create a weaving lesson that would produce a unique product. I have seen many styles of weaving throughout my art career, so I...

Clip & save art notes.(facts about French painter Henri Rousseau)(Biography)
December 1, 2008... ABOUT THE ARTIST In today's art world, French painter Henri Rousseau would be considered an "outsider artist," a term that describes those who create art despite a lack of formal art training. This son of an ironmonger from Laval, France,...

Art print: Carnival Evening.
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Henri Rousseau (French; 1844-1910). Carnival Evening, 1886. Oil on canvas; 43.187" x 25.25". The Louis E. Stern Collection, 1963. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Classroom use of the art print.(lessons on Henri Rousseau designed for elementary, middle school and high school students)(Biography)
December 1, 2008... THINGS TO KNOW Henri Rousseau was born in France and lived there all his life, despite spending four years in the French army in his early 20s. After his brief stint in the army, he got a job with the French customs office, where he worked...

Many-colored mittens.(artful INCLUSION)(art lesson on making mittens)
December 1, 2008... Scraps of fabric are always floating around the storage room where I get the art supplies for my projects. Most of the time they're too small to use for any large artworks, and I usually write the pieces off as useless. [ILLUSTRATION...

Kente cloth-inspired weavings.
December 1, 2008... How many of us have ever thought, "How am I supposed to teach a quality art lesson in 50 minutes?" I know I have many times, and over the last several years of teaching elementary art for 40 to 50 minutes once a week, I have decided you can't....

Civil War puppets.(INTEGRATING the curriculum)
December 1, 2008... A group of teachers from my school applied for and received a grant to produce a multifaceted, interdisciplinary unit of study on the Civil War. Because both fourth- and fifth-grade students study this historical period, the project would...

Foil magic ... worth revisiting.
December 1, 2008... We art teachers are always looking for interesting techniques to introduce to our students. Here is one you might have forgotten about. It's been around for years, but deserves to be brought back into the art room to see what today's youngsters...

Candy houses ... yum!
December 1, 2008... Candy has a very sweet universal appeal. Almost everyone has a favorite kind. As you can see by the colorful, high-quality student work here, this candy house project is quite a hit. Because it does not have a religious theme, this project is...

Store-play artists.(CHILDREN'S art diary)(art stores that also give art classes for children)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I love to work at Zany Brainy," my daughter Ana said years ago when she worked there. "I get a great apron and I can make my own name tag. We get new ribbons and fun buttons to put on our apron all the time. I get...

Ringing in the holidays.(CLAY corner)
December 1, 2008... Working with clay is my first love. Engaging students in diverse experiences with clay has always been a priority for me. This year, kindergarten was added to my schedule of classes, and I pondered how I would give 5-year-olds a successful clay...

Tried & true tips for art teachers: textures and fibers.
December 1, 2008... Textures and Fibers, the focus for this month's issue, touches an innate part of us. The tactile quality of the materials we work with is an important aspect of art making, one that is visually varied and stimulating. In drawing and...