Arts & Activities articles from February 2006

Arts & Activities archives from February 2006

Editor's note.
February 1, 2006... Come with us and experience the many shades of clay. Whether it's the vibrant pieces created by seventh-graders in "Face Vessels: Original African-American Folk Art" (page 18) or the terra-cotta, black and white figures in "A Story to Remember:...

The Prom's all taped up.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Five years after its inception, the Duck[R] brand duct tape Stuck at Prom[R] Scholarship Contest is still awarding its top scholarship prize to high-school students across North America. The con test annually rewards innovative and creative...

Art supplies for survivors.(arts update)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... This past November, the National PTA joined Rack Room Shoes, the Mississippi PTA and local school officials to hand out new art-supply kits to 30,000 Mississippi elementary-school children affected by Hurricane Katrina. The kits--each...

Block Print Contest.(arts update)
February 1, 2006... Time is running out to enter the 2006 Blick's Linoleum Block Print Contest, a great opportunity to increase your art budget and gain national recognition for your students. The contest is offered in three divisions: grades 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12. A...

Bird's-eye views.(www.birdseyeviews.org )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Amon Carter Museum has launched a ground-breaking Web site dedicated to the study and appreciation of Texas "bird's-eye views." These very detailed late-19th- and early-20th-century aerial views of Texan cities appear as something between a...

The Art of Sculpting with Philippe Faraut, 2 vols. .(Video Recording Review)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... THE ART OF SCULPTING WITH PHILIPPE FARAUT, Volumes One and Two. VHS or DVD/Vol. One: 89 min.; Vol. Two: 110 min./$69.95 each. Level: High School and College. PCF Studios, Inc., P.O. Box 722, Honeoye, NY 14471, www.pcfstudios.com. These two...

Carnaval!(Video Recording Review)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... CARNAVAL! Package: Video, 24 color prints, Teacher's Guide/$75. Level: Grades K-12. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025; (800) 255-8629; www.crystalproductions.com. The renowned Museum of International Folk Art in Santa...

How To Draw Animals.(Brief Article)(Children's Review)(Book Review)
February 1, 2006... HOW TO DRAW ANIMALS (2004; $14.95), by Susie Hodge. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. This is a "how-to-do-it book" that describes approaches to drawing animals: a cat, pig, rabbit, duck, squirrel,...

The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2006... THE ARTIST'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO DRAWING THE HEAD (2004; $24.95), by William L. Maughan. Watson-Guptill Publications, 700 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. In his preface to this book, William Maughan states: "... the drawing method I teach is...

American Art Clay Co., Inc. (AMACO).(shop talk)
February 1, 2006... Since 1919, Permoplast[R] modeling clay, from AMERICAN ART CLAY CO., INC. (AMACO), has helped small children develop their motor skills and hand/eye coordination, and has encouraged older students to express their imagination and creativity....

Speedball[R].(shop talk)
February 1, 2006... SPEEDBALL[R], manufacturer of quality artist's materials for over 100 years, is introducing a line of ceramic glazes where every color and every glaze or underglaze is completely non-toxic and safe. These trouble-free, quality, intense,...

Artograph Inc.(shop talk)
February 1, 2006... ARTOGRAPH INC.'s popular Lightracer and Lightracer II art-and-craft light boxes have been upgraded to produce more even and bright illumination, free of hot spots or shadows across the work surface. Both light boxes are a fast and easy way to...

Art Video Productions, Inc.(shop talk)
February 1, 2006... Narrated by long-time art teacher, Carolyn Lebo, The Life & Works of Rembrandt, from ART VIDEO PRODUCTIONS, INC., tells the story of the life of the 17th-century Dutch artist and his famous works, along with teaching three art lessons that...

Leaning Post Productions.(shop talk)
February 1, 2006... LEANING POST PRODUCTIONS continues to add new features to its two software programs, ArtSite and ArtWebsite. An "art museum" can be added to a classroom computer or school network with ArtSite by building an unlimited collection of free images...

Jack Richeson & Co., Inc.(shop talk)
February 1, 2006... Made of lightweight fabric, JACK RICHESON & CO., INC.'s Roz Bag has two separate compartments, the lower of which can hold four pastel organizer trays. With its built-in elastic band, the upper section can hold one more pastel organizer or any...

Face vessels: original African-American folk art.
February 1, 2006... There is nothing like clay to make a great hands-on learning experience for the middle-school level. This particular lesson incorporates all the Standards for Learning in Art. It is one of my favorite lessons during the 10 weeks each year when...

A dinner party of their own: tribute to Judy Chicago.(The Dinner Party)
February 1, 2006... Who am I? Where am I going? What makes me unique? These are all queries of adolescence. Our students are growing up in a challenging, frightening, confusing world and need time to reflect on their personal journeys to adulthood. My first...

A story to remember: Southwest Indian storytellers.
February 1, 2006... The legends of the Southwest Indians are rich in tradition. Songs and stories are important in the Pueblo world. Grandmothers and grandfathers bring the past alive for the new generation through their tales. Until recently, these Indians did...

Learning from exhibitions: shades of clay.(Cover Story)
February 1, 2006... SHADES OF CLAY A Multi-cultural Look at Contemporary Clay Courtesy of Paul Andrew Wandless, Curator, and participating artists. Tour development by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services, Kansas City, Missouri. Clay has been employed as a...

Clip & save art notes.(Nathaniel Currier, James Ives)
February 1, 2006... ABOUT THIS PRINT This print is one of over 200 drawn in the Currier & Ives workshop that shows steamboats. Like railroads, steamboats were opening up the United States during the 19th century, bringing prosperity to the continent. It is...

Classroom use of the art print.
February 1, 2006... Currier & Ives, A Midnight Race on the Mississippi, 1890. Lithograph. Museum of the City of New York. The Harry T. Peters Collection. THINGS TO LEARN * Lithography, or "writing on stone," is a form of printing that was first made...

Young artist.
February 1, 2006... To me, art means loving what you're doing and having fun doing it. I love painting, drawing, sketching and photography. I think art is great and that you have to enjoy what you're doing to do it well and paint what you feel. I love being...

Digitally Romare.(digital cameras in art education)
February 1, 2006... Technology is an important tool in schools, but several of my mentoring teachers have told me that it's not always easy to incorporate it in an elementary art class. In answer to this, I offer the following lesson as a way to bring simple...

Animistic appliances.
February 1, 2006... Animists perceive the spirit world to be one of balance, conflict, extraneous controlling forces and resolutions. They believe that all inanimate objects have spirits and that these spirits have powers that may help or hinder human existence at...

Literary beasties.(INTEGRATING the curriculum)
February 1, 2006... Beasties have appeared upon the walls of two of our elementary schools in Monticello, New York. They are staring, they are roaring, they are growling, they are laughing. But wait--can this be true? Are they also telling us whom they are, what...

Put it on the ceiling.(ceiling painting )
February 1, 2006... Of all the ancient churches that I visited in Italy, when I entered the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, I was totally awestruck by Michelangelo's extraordinary recording of the church's history that spanned the high ceiling. At school, I...

Clever sports cartooning.
February 1, 2006... What if your teacher presented you with a challenge to depict a sport using cartooning? And, what if that teacher put a twist on it? That twist would be that the cartoon characi ter had to be a caricature with a big head and a small body, plus...

ABC NYC: A Book About Seeing New York City.
February 1, 2006... ABC NYC: A BOOK ABOUT SEEING NEW YORK CITY (2005; $14.95), by Joanne Dugan; designs by Pamela Hovland. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 100 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY10011. This is a book intended for preschool children. It is organized...