Arts & Activities articles from March 2004

Arts & Activities archives from March 2004

Editor's note.(Editorial)
March 1, 2004... If dynamic drawing projects are what you desire, look no further! This month we have packed the magazine with some great lesson plans that will help excite your students about drawing--whatever their age or skill level. The frog on our...

Sketchbooks: How Artists Use Them.
March 1, 2004... Video/20 min./ $29.95. Level: Elementary through High School. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025, (800) 255-8629, www.crystalproductions.com. This short video shows many practical ways in which students of all grade...

Fashion Design Drawing Course.
March 1, 2004... (2003; $21.95), by Caroline Tatham and Julian Seaman. Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 250 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, NY 11788. Secondary-school students are attracted to fashion design activities. After all, it is at this age that...

Colored Pencil Explorations: How to Mix Media for Creative Results.
March 1, 2004... (2002; $28.99), by Janie Gildow. F & W Publications, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236. This is a book appropriate for high school and college-level students interested in furthering their illustration skills. Individual...

Create Your Own Artist's Journal.
March 1, 2004... (2002; $24.99), by Erin O'Toole. North Light Books, 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236. How simple it would be! All students can keep journals. It would encourage observation and the recording of visual impressions. It's a very...

Blick art materials.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... BLICK ART MATERIALS presents a newly designed generation of presses for classroom or studio printmaking. Stronger, sturdier and wider than Blick's popular 906, 999 and Master Etch presses, the new models are easy to use and perfect for...

Renaissance Publications.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... Recently released by RENAISSANCE PUBLICATIONS is The Art of Drawing, Part I: Essential Skills for Lifelike Drawing, a VHS or DVD home-study course by American artist/educator/author Larry Gluck, founder of the Mission: Renaissance schools in...

Sakura.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... SAKURA, the inventor of gel ink, announces the introduction of its newest craft tool--"Glaze"--the first pen of its kind offering raised lines and glossy lettering for "writing you can feel." More of a craft tool than an everyday writing pen,...

Sanford Corporation.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... SANFORD CORPORATION'S Colorific[R] brand of children's coloring products, encourages today's kids to "Color with Attitude." Colorific features some of the latest technology along with fun, innovative approaches to help kids creatively express...

Colart Americas, Inc.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... The Start Sketching Pocket Book, from COLART AMERICAS, INC., is the perfect traveling companion for anyone who likes sketching and drawing. The Book contains nine Start Sketching pencils in assorted degrees, from a soft, smudgy 6B to a smooth,...

Sargent Art, Inc.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... SARGENT ART, INC. has developed a new erasable colored pencil for young artists who like to have fun changing their minds and improving their work. These school-quality colored pencils are pre-sharpened, non-toxic and feature color coordinated...

Crizmac Art & Cultural Education Materials.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... Inspiring Journey: Lewis and Clark through the Eyes of the Artist, a new two-part videotape from CRIZMAC ART & CULTURAL EDUCATION MATERIALS, presents a visual journey that converges history with art as it shows works by artists both from the...

Coyote Creek.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... Art Lessons for Children video series, by COYOTE CREEK, is used in both schools and homes and allows children to create beautiful works of art using readily available materials. Instructions on a wide variety of mediums and techniques include...

Painting the Landscape in Pastel.
March 1, 2004... (2000; $21.95), by Albert Handell and Anita Louise West. Watson-Guptill Publications, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. In the introduction to this book the authors observe that "pastels" are made with exactly the same pigment used to make...

Tropical rain forest frogs.(cover story)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2004... The sixth grade at our school studies a different topic each year as an interdisciplinary unit. The core subject areas infuse the selected topic into their daily curriculum for an extended period of time using unique methods. When I found out...

Coil around composition.
March 1, 2004... Composing something on that blank sheet of paper is a daunting challenge. Nonethless, I am forever amazed by my students (and tell them often how brave they are) who see something and then create a dimensional drawing or painting from just...

A bright approach to paper batik.
March 1, 2004... I have always liked doing both fabric and paper batiks. Nevertheless, my past attempts have led to work that looked dull and dirty. As an artist, I have always been drawn to the element of color. Oil pastels provide a wide range of intense...

An observational drawing project.
March 1, 2004... From around the fourth grade, children become interested in drawing realistically. Developmentally, this is sometimes called the "pseudo-realism" or "intellectual realism" stage. They are ready to draw what they observe, but they usually lack...

Type faces.(pixel Palette)
March 1, 2004... Today's typography is much more expressive than it was even 10 years ago. The digital revolution has made experimenting with type quite fashionable. Desktop publishing software such as QuarkXPress, Pagemaker and InDesign permit type to be...

Classroom use.
March 1, 2004... THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT KE FRANCIS * Francis is currently chair of the art department of the University of Central Florida. He has had more than 25 one-man exhibitions. Prestigious museums such as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; The National...

Clip & save art notes.
March 1, 2004... Ke Francis (American; b. 1945). Tornado Hay House, c. 1982. Mixed-media construction; 56 1/2 x 23". ABOUT THIS SCULPTURE This sculpture in a papermaking exhibition? It hardly seems possible, with the obvious use of wire and wood, not...

Joan Miro: pure color, shape, line and space.
March 1, 2004... Last summer I visited the Joan Miro museum in Barcelona, Spain. I was particularly impressed with his paintings of animals. They were simple in form, well-balanced and used pure colors. Perfect inspiration for a lesson plan! As a prelude...

Art reflects art.
March 1, 2004... An art project for my second grade class that would enhance a unit about light posed a real challenge. Light and shadow was a possibility, however, we had already done that. After some consideration about what light might encompass, I decided...

At Sentinel Ranch: Michael Hurd, Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth.(Walking through History)
March 1, 2004... Bring your sketchbook and/or camera when you visit Sentinel Ranch in The Hondo Valley, which is located at the foot of the Capitan Mountains in southeastern New Mexico. The artist in you will compel your eyes to wander over the shadows that...

Young artist.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2004... I have been doing art ever since I can remember, which would probably be 3 years old. Paper and pencil are probably my favorite art mediums, but I also like working with clay. I'm not that good with paint, but it's fun to use. I like art, it...

Block-playing artists.
March 1, 2004... Building with everything around--foods, pillows and pots and pans--is a part of children's art history. The instinct to build with all forms becomes unappreciated as kids get older and enter a conceptual and less physically oriented world. ...

Scratch-Art Co., Inc.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... SCRATCH-ART CO., INC.'s Chunk-O[R] Crayon is a colorful, nontoxic blend of crayon particles that combine to produce multicolored lines and designs. These large crayons are easy for children to manipulate. Lift-lid box contains 12 crayons, four...

Dover Publications.(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... A user-friendly guide to creating comics, You Can Draw Cartoons from DOVER PUBLICATIONS, presents an abundance of valuable pointers that both beginning and experienced cartoonists will appreciate. Generously illustrated, its tips on techniques...

Fiskars[R].(shop talk)
March 1, 2004... FISKARS[R] Deluxe Double Sharpener is the perfect addition to the popular, ever-growing line of student products. It features a dual-sized sharpener, stay-shut lid, and comes in today's hottest transparent colors. It has two different sized...

Summer art experiences.
March 1, 2004... SOUTHWEST Canyon country! Experience some of the most gorgeous scenery in the U.S. in this artistic and cultural journey in our great Southwest: a real insider's overview--fabulous landscapes, a slice of American history, demonstrations,...