Arts & Activities articles from June 2004

Arts & Activities archives from June 2004

Editor's note.(Editorial)
June 1, 2004... The classroom-tested ideas we're presenting this month will get you into a summer mood. Our Cover Story, "You See... It's Me!" (page 18), is just the thing for smaller groups of students. Whether high-achievers, art-club members or...

Look! Zoom in on Art!
June 1, 2004... LOOK! ZOOM IN ON ART! (2002; $19.95) by Gillian Wolfe. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4341, www.oup.com/us. All too often we take "looking" for granted. Yet, time and again, we do not notice things in our...

Embracing Child Art: Projects for Grownups to Keep and Treasure.
June 1, 2004... EMBRACING CHILD ART: Projects for Grownups to Keep and Treasure (2001; $24.95), by Barbara A. McGuire. Krause Publications, 700 East State Street, Iola, WI 54990. This is a publication of the International Child Art Foundation; it is a...

Computer Animation: Student Animation Showcase.
June 1, 2004... COMPUTER ANIMATION: Student Animation Showcase. Video/25 min./$24.95. Level: High School. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025, (800) 255-8629, www.crystalproductions.com. After viewing this delightful motivational video,...

Mastering the Glass Bead: a Beginner's Guide.
June 1, 2004... MASTERING THE GLASS BEAD: A Beginner's Guide. Video/40 min./$19.96. Level: High School and Above. Delphi Creativity Group, 3380 East Jolly Road, Lansing, MI 48910-8539, (800) 248-2048, www. delphiglass.com. If you or your students have...

Artograph.(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... The New Globox from ARTOGRAPH is designed for creative people on the go. With its conveniently slanted 5" x 9" tracing surface and long-life fluorescent lamp (included) it can be used for hours with either its AC adapter or optional battery...

Artists Interactive Video.(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... Painting the Figure in Watercolor, from ARTISTS INTERACTIVE VIDEO, brings viewers into a simulated classroom setting for maximum learning and hands-on participation. Instruction on each tape includes handling of the watercolor medium,...

Crizmac Art & Cultural Education Material's.(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... Renowned clay artist Josefina Aguilar is the newest addition to CRIZMAC ART & CULTURAL EDUCATION MATERIAL'S Featured Artist Series. Fantastic Figures: Oaxacan Ceramic Folk Art takes you to the home studio of Josefina where she, with the help of...

Scratch-Art Co., Inc.(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... Create dramatic shimmering silver or gleaming gold scratchboard art with Scratch-Brite[R] Scratchboards from SCRATCH-ART CO., INC. Simply scratch with a scratchknife or metal tool of your choice and create drawings that glow against a velvety...

Delphi Glass.(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... Mosaic Mesh from DELPHI GLASS takes the difficulty out of making mosaic walls, floors, ceilings and other difficult-to-reach areas. It can be used to create mosaic designs from the convenience of your classroom. Using the mesh is simple. Lay it...

Staedtler.(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... With a touch of novelty and whimsy, STAEDTLER introduces its newest writing instrument, the Dazzelites[TM] Light-Up Pen. This fun and functional ballpoint pen is sure to be a hit with young and old alike. A writing instrument for everyday or...

3M.(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... Refrigerators, walls and doors in homes across America are mini-art galleries, in which tape, tacks or pins display a child's lovingly created artwork. But for grownups who delight in displaying drawings, but aren't crazy about tape marks and...

Faber-Castell.(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... FABER-CASTELL introduces the PITT[R] Artist Pen Studio Box to provide artists with a complete set of the company's popular brush style pens. The Studio Box contains 24 PITT[R] Brush Pens in basic, landscape, grey and terra colors. These pens...

You see ... its me!(Cover Story)
June 1, 2004... Our school system has a special program in which a small number of high achieving fourth- and fifth-graders are selected to participate in one extra 40-minute art class per week. What a rich opportunity to explore art ideas that might be...

Final assignment: dazzle me with your skills.
June 1, 2004... Over the years I've adopted a strong belief that, although it's interesting to give my drawing students a little quiz concerning terms such as value, chiaroscuro, lifting, and the grades and intensity of graphite, it's far more important to...

Lovely lady liberty.
June 1, 2004... Our school was preparing for a first-time, all-school event. I guess that you could say it was a little World's Fair. The theme was celebrating cultures around the world. "Many Countries, One World" was one suggestion for a theme title. ...

Artquarium installation.(Integrating the curriculum)
June 1, 2004... Summer fun and learning! This is what this lesson is all about. At our school, we enjoy seven weeks of Educational Summer Programming every year. To keep our special-needs students focused, interested and motivated, the summer is centered on a...

Breezy palm trees with mixed media.
June 1, 2004... Florida is home to over 120 species of palm trees, many of which grow just outside our art-room doors. The wind often makes the fronds dance and sway. When I suggested going out to draw them, my fourth- and fifth-grade students--always up for a...

They came two by two.
June 1, 2004... After drawing contour-line shoes, flowers and bicycles from observation, it was time for my third-grade students to draw more complex compositions. I wanted this next picture to be a balance between observation and imagination/memory. A...

Creative pastel plants.
June 1, 2004... As a finale to my sixth-graders' drawing unit, I placed a plant from the library on the table and asked the students to draw the plant on 12" x 18" gray construction paper. I wanted the students to try to fill the entire paper with the plant...

Painting from the heart.(art across the Curriculum)
June 1, 2004... There's something about the American South that seems to breed great stories, and Charles Shannon (1914-1996) whose painting, The Lover, below, is at the center of more than one of them. Problem is, not all stories have the happy endings we...

Classroom use.
June 1, 2004... THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT STAN HERD * Stanley James Herd was born in 1950 to a farming family of southwestern Kansas. He grew up watching his parents, grandparents and neighbors communing with the land as if it were a living thing. These rural...

Clip & save art notes.
June 1, 2004... three-dimensional innovation ABOUT THIS ARTWORK Iowa Countryside was created in celebration of the Iowa's Sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary. Stan Herd planned a composition that reflects the style of the famous Midwestern artist and...

Duane Hanson portraits from the Heartland.(Learning from Exhibitions)
June 1, 2004... Upon encountering one of these extraordinarily realistic sculptures, the typical reaction of a museum visitor unfamiliar with Duane Hanson's work can be among the most interesting and amusing events one might witness in a museum or gallery. ...

Parental portraits.
June 1, 2004... Someone once said, "Two of the most engaging roles in life are being a child's father and being a father's child." This poignant statement sparked an art experience for my kindergarten and first-grade students. Because drawing portraits is...

Young artist.(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... Art is very important to me. When I am creating an artwork, I feel peaceful, free and joyful. I feel like I can do anything I set my mind to. Sometimes I like to go out on my front porch when it is raining. I bring my easel and draw while...

Roses, roses!(Clay corner)
June 1, 2004... My elementary artists bubble with excitement when they observe a large block of firing clay on my cart. There's something special about creating a unique three dimensional form from a chunk of clay. I have experimented for many years with...

Over the Line: the Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence.
June 1, 2004... OVER THE LINE: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence (2001; $50), edited with an introduction by Peter T. Nesbett and Michelle DuBois. University of Washington Press, P.O. Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145 5096. Published after his death in 2000,...

2004 guide to summer ordering.
June 1, 2004... 2004 guide to Summer Ordering ARTS & ACTIVITIES' comprehensive directory of sources of art and craft supplies and equipment, schools, publications and services... a ready reference for teachers, administrators and purchasing agents....

Styrofoam.(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... In the spirit of the recent Mars exploration, blast off to the STYROFOAM Web site at www.styrofoamcrafts.com for complete instructions to make your own solar system. The selection of educational and imaginative children's craft projects on...

Liqui-Mark[R].(shop talk)
June 1, 2004... Young artists can create cool effects on dark paper with Metallic Colored Pencils from LIQUI-MARK[R]. These pencils can be used alone to create dazzle on all colors of paper or used to add a hint of shimmer and depth to artwork created with...