Arts & Activities articles from May 2003

Arts & Activities archives from May 2003

Editor's note.(review of issue)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... We hoped to receive a good response to our call for "It Works!" entries, and we were not disappointed. Dozens of firsthand accounts of how Arts & Activities works for our readers poured in from such places as Temple, Texas, Altoona, Pa.,...

Greek Art from Prehistoric To Classical.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... Tote Box: CD-ROM, lesson plans, slides, etc./$65. Level: Middle through High School. Yale University Press, P.O. Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520, (203) 432-0964. This handsome resource package was a group effort published in association...

Symbols of Islam.(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... (2002; $14.95 (Canada $22.95)) by Tanja Al Harari-Wendel. Sterling Publishing Co., 387 Park Ave. So., New York, NY 10016. More than 1 billion people are Muslims; more than 20 million Muslims live in Western Europe and the United States....

How to Grow as an Artist.(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... (2002; $19.95) by Daniel Grant. Allworth Press, 10 East 23 St., Suite 510, New York, NY 10010. How does one "grow as an artist"? A friend laughingly responded: "You make better and better art!" Of course, growth and recognition as an...

Know the Artist (Set No. 4).(art posters)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Set of 8 Posters/Teacher's Guide/ $49. Level: Middle School/High School. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025, (800) 255-8629. This fourth set in the Know the Artist poster series includes Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Red...

Light of the Gods.(Video Recording Review)
May 1, 2003... Video/28 min./$19.95. Level: College. Public Media/Home Vision Entertainment, 4423 W. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60640-5802, (800) 826-3456. Produced by Seven League Productions in association with the National Gallery of Art, this...

Crizmac Art & Cultural Education Materials, Inc. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... CRIZMAC ART & CULTURAL EDUCATION MATERIALS, INC.'s "Featured Product" offers Internet customers discounts, coupons and free gifts. Only available online, the "Featured Product" will change monthly to offer educators a wide range of specials....

Scratch-Art Co., Inc. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... Three-D-O's[R], from SCRATCH-ART CO., INC., is an economical material to use for three-dimensional art. Round die-cut foam "buttons" with pressure-sensitive adhesive on both sides help create pictures, posters and displays that literally stand...

Sargent Art, Inc. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... SARGENT ART, INC. has introduced five painting mediums that enable artists of any age to enhance their projects. These mediums are designed to give an artist more control over their work and the ability to vary the surface finishes and visual...

American Art Clay Co., Inc. (AMACO[R]). (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... AMERICAN ART CLAY CO., INC. (AMACO[R]) has recently introduced two new wheels: the Brent EX Wheel and the Brent ie Wheel. The EX is a special edition model with a heavy-duty one and one-half horsepower 15-amp motor with the power to center over...

Paragon Industries. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... Free kiln-related pointers are available via e-mail from PARAGON INDUSTRIES. About every two weeks, Paragon sends information on firing and maintaining ceramic and glass kilns to those interested in receiving them. Topics have included...

Duomatrix, Inc. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... DUOMATRIX, INC. introduces Matrix NEO, a new polymer-based gypsum casting system that is suitable for many applications including producing architectural and decorative elements, reproducing sculpture and creating a variety of special effects....

North Light Books. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... Published by NORTH LIGHT BOOKS, Painting on Rocks for Kids includes easy-to-follow pictures and instructions showing kids how to turn stones into works of imaginations to decorate their room, make doorstops or bookends, or just to paint for...

American Art Clay Co., Inc. (AMACO[R]). (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... Wireform[R] is a specially manufactured metal mesh that is pliable enough to mold, yet sturdy enough to add structure to clay and modeling materials, from AMERICAN ART CLAY CO., INC. (AMACO[R]). Wireform is perfect for the many modeling and...

Klutz. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... From author Sherri Haab and published by KLUTZ, Making Mini Books is a complete guide to making fun miniature books, packed with ultra-clear instructions for creating more than 20 types of tomes. Projects range in complexity from simple,...

Maval Publishing. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... Author Kathy Sabbath Oravecz announces the launch of her book, The Frog and the Footbridge, published by MAVAL PUBLISHING in both English and Spanish. This charming full-color picture book is about the Impressionist artist Claude Monet, his...

Elmer's[R]. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... ELMER'S[R] has taken drawing to a new dimension with its best-selling "3D Washable Paint Pens," available in 12 different varieties. The 3D product dries raised, making artwork literally "pop" off the page. The pen applicator makes the product...

L&L Kiln Mfg., Inc. (shop talk).
May 1, 2003... L&L KILN MFG., INC. is introducing a new line of Easy-Fire top-loading electric kilns designed to be easy to purchase, easy to operate and easy to maintain. These new kilns include ceramic element holders which protect the firebrick and the...

Young artist: Wynn Greene.(eighth grade student discusses art appreciation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... I have enjoyed art since I was in Japan. The reason why most of my art looks Oriental is because I like that style of painting--mostly of nature. I am a very visual person. When I look at art depicting nature, it is calming for me. I feel...

Life-size sculptural heads: a lesson in three-dimensional design. (Cover Story).(art project)
May 1, 2003... According to Professor Dee Schaad, head of the art department at the University of Indianapolis, "There is nothing more three-dimensional than the human head." Which is why he believes that sculpting one is a perfect lesson for...

Imagination visualized with wire. (artful Inclusion).(art project)
May 1, 2003... In the fall of 2000, I attended "The Arts for Children Program," which was a 15-hour class that provided me and other educators training to teach academic and social skills to children with disabilities. The focus of the class was on how the...

Plaster people ... a la George Segal.(art project)
May 1, 2003... Those of us who are art educators know that it is often a challenging task, inventing new ideas that will both inspire and challenge our students and lead them toward new heights of creativity each year. As an art educator, I believe it is...

Looking into space. (Integrating the curriculum).(art project)
May 1, 2003... In 2000, two great projects came into alignment and looked toward space. The JASON Project presented a curriculum called, Going to the Extremes, with the main focus on the International Space Station. The Mars Millennium Project asked students...

The beginning that begins again ... and again ... and again and again.(art project)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... "It's a sort of inner vision. It is seeing with a spirit that is timeless. It is love that is felt so instensely that the artist has to record it to give it back to humanity; for love is not only getting but giving." --William Zorach. Art...

Classroom use.(profile of artist Katsukawa Shuntei)
May 1, 2003... THIS FACE The face in this wood-block print by the Japanese artist Katsukawa Shuntei occupies only a very small part of the design, yet it is clearly the focus of the composition. The sharply drawn lines of the face and the intense stare...

Clip & save art notes.(discussion of Katsukawa Shuntei's The Warrior Egara no Heita Battling with the Giant Serpent)
May 1, 2003... Katsukawa Shuntei (1770-1820). The Warrior Egara no Heita Battling with the Giant Serpent, late 18th-early 19th century. Print; Oban size. Courtesy Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Great Britain. THIS PRINT This print depicts an event...

Srange brew. (on the Art Career Track).(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... I had my junior and senior graphic-design classes look at beverage bottles to try and discover what makes an effective label. This labeling is closely linked to graphic conventions adopted by the wine and champagne producers of Europe. Almost...

Basic metal plate jewelry construction.(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... I wanted my eighth-graders to experience jewelry making but my art room, like many of your middle-school art rooms, is not equipped with soldering stations with acetylene torches and pickling solutions. Nevertheless, there are many...

It Works!(art project web site)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The "It Works!" call was sounded last June and, wow, did our readers respond! From across the nation testimonials poured in, warming our hearts and providing visual proof that what we do here at Arts & Activities is worthwhile indeed. The only...

"Designing the Matwork on Your Art ... or the Artwork on Your Mat".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Rubin Steinberg, March 1999 Usually I get ideas from articles in Arts & Activities and then take them in my own, original direction. But this project was so unique that I tried it just the way it was! I loved the idea of the composition...

"Close to Mosaic Drawings".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Paul Zabos, September 2002 This article attracted my attention initially because I always do an involved pen-and-ink project with my high school Art I students. Also, I have taught beginning art students how to use a grid in their...

Fall Into Autumn".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Geri Greenman, September 1999 After reading your magazine early one fall, I was greatly inspired. What followed was a watercolor-painting and color-theory lesson based on nature's fall colors. I originally created this lesson in 1999....

"Developing Images on Clay ... a New Approach".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Harriet Gamble, December 1999 To say I was "fired up" to try this idea seems very appropriate! The article was thorough and serviceable, so that I made only a few modifications. Besides dinner plates to be used as "molds" or support...

"Master Pieces: Picasso Collage".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Marcia Gibson, October 2002 For Halloween, 2002, we decided to dress up as famous paintings and use our costumes as the focus of our art lessons. We chose the work of artist Pablo Picasso, as we felt his portraits made interesting...

"Pass the Salt, Please".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Monica Bishara, October 1992 This has to be the most consistently successful project that I have taught. Students who don't always feel good about their art, smile with the results. I have taught this in fourth grade to students who...

"Trompe L'oeil in the Loo".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Ted Barlag, June/Summer 2001 After reading the article I thought this would be a great project for my Art III students. Our 30-year-old high school was built with an open school plan, having no inside classroom walls or outside windows....

"Cardboard Loom Weaving".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Cynthia Cox Farris, December 2001 This article inspired me to try a weaving project with my fourth graders. I liked the way the photos in the article showed different techniques, rather than the boring striped patterns so often found on...

"Figurative Departures from Realism".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Geri Greenman, October 2002 Wow, what an inspirational lesson! What a great lesson to help start the year... mixed media, abstraction, dark and light values, proportions and cropping. I knew my eighth-graders would love this. I was a...

"Looking at Faces from a New Angle".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Mary McNamara Mulkey, March 2000 I used this project as part of my Pablo Picasso unit with fourth- and fifth-graders. We talked about Picasso's abstract style and then created our cubistic "crazy" faces. I emphasize to my students that...

"Self-Portrait Sculpture".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Geri Greenman, May 2002 I tried out this sculpture assignment with my fourth-graders. Besides the figures themselves, what really intrigued me was the environment the students had created for them. Instead of making a self-portrait,...

"Falling for Clay Leaves".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Christine Kernan, October 2002 This project was an incredible success with my second-grade art classes. I only amended the lesson a few times. To save time I collected a variety of leaves in the morning. Instead of laying the clay leaves...

"Sadie-Sadie and Dashing Dan".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Susan Kropa, November 1983 Twenty-three years ago when I began my career as an art teacher, Arts & Activities saved my life. I dug through old issues and eagerly awaited new issues to find fresh ideas that aligned with my curriculum. I...

"Faces for a Basis".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Caroline Schwarting Smith, October 1997 My fifth-grade students have great success with this project, and the results receive unbelievable comments. I introduce it as a portrait collage rather than a mask-making project. I search through...

"Levels of Emotions".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Marcia H. Buban, October 2001 I have always felt that a great art lesson transcends age levels and this lesson has proved just that. As I started a leave replacement at an elementary school, I struggled for a way to get to know the...

"Royal Portraits".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Helen Randall Evensen, September 1982 The pages are yellowed and torn, but my 20-year-old copy of "Royal Portraits" has proven over the years to be a source of one of my most popular and rewarding art activities. My second-graders are...

"What Would You Store in Your Jar?".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Karen Skophammer, April 1996 This particular project on drawing jars and their contents struck me as a great way to expand my basic drawing lesson, the first project I teach my fourth grade students in September. I begin with a lesson we...

"Bon Voyage: Travel Posters".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Smedley C. Manion, April 1994 Traveling is fun, whether you actually go to a new destination or just imagine what a new place might be like. I asked my students to think about places they had been that were special to them or to dream...

"Line, Shape, Color".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Geri Greenman, March 2002 My seventh-graders had just studied contour drawing, so it was natural to try this idea. I changed the chalk pastels to oil pastels, however. The blending was amazing and when it went over the dried glue lines,...

"Jointed Clay Figures".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Esther L. Cannon, April 1991 Every winter I do a clay unit with my students. In the fall, we had done some projects around the idea of puppets made from varied materials such as socks and bags. I decided to continue the theme and do clay...

"A Pledge is a Promise".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Susan D. Cornett, October 1992 When "A Pledge is a Promise" appeared in Arts & Activities in 1992, I used the idea with my fourth-grade students for Flag Day. Although they came out great, I did not use the project again until September...

"Aspen Trees".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Elaine Canfield, October 2002 This lesson was a "realistic" success with my second-grade art classes. The students viewed and discussed the landscape artworks of Claude Monet and Winslow Homer. We added cool color and a textural...

"Student Silhouette Designs".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Bill Brittain, September 2001 I had been searching for a fun way to introduce the elements and principles to my seventh-grade art classes and your September 2001 issue with this lesson in it was perfect! Every student was successful and...

"Printmaking, It's Elementary!".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Andrew Wales, November 2002 For months, I pondered how to give our elementary students printmaking experience. Pieces of ideas floated around in my mind. As I read the November issue of Arts & Activities, the pieces came together into a...

"Repetition Makes an Impression".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... "Repetition Makes an Impression," by Paula M. Slemmer, September 1999 "Falling into Winter," by Carolyn Lang Harrington, October 2000 "Aspen Trees," by Elaine Canfield, October 2002 I'm sure everyone saves their copies of Arts &...

"It's a Fine Season for Masks".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Patricia Kennedy, October 1999 I had the pleasure of receiving Arts & Activities magazine as a gift from another teacher. What follows is the introduction to my lesson that I had adapted from your magazine and subsequently submitted to...

"Playing With Positive and Negative Space".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Angela Wilkins, September 2002 I decided that the striking-looking animal-stencil designs created in this article could be adapted to teach my fourth- and fifth-graders about complementary colors. We started by discussing the idea of...

"Fall Fun Leaf Prints".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Anne Hamilton, October 1996 This article got me thinking about printmaking projects I was developing at my elementary school. I didn't have metallic paper, but I liked the idea of black prints atop autumn colors, so I modified the...

"Primarily Paper".(art project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... "Primarily Paper," by Paula Guhin "A Figurative Departure from Realism," by Geri Greenman, October 2002 Our "musical collages" were inspired by two projects from Arts & Activities, the first of which used a variety of papers and the...

"Ancient Egyptian Portraits".
May 1, 2003... by John P. Richards, November 1995 This is an absolutely magical lesson that I have used many times since its publication. It is a wonderful painting lesson that all of my students have loved and have had great success creating. I have...

"Getting Acquainted is the Name of the Game".(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Helen Randall Evensen, September 1998 With the start of each school year, it is a struggle to remember my students' name. It is especially difficult when you have four of each grade, and having 20-some students in each classroom makes it...

Spring catalog showcase.(Buyers Guide)
May 1, 2003... AARDVARK CLAY & SUPPLIES The most comprehensive ceramic supplies catalog available. Over 250 pages of clays, glazes, kilns, potter's wheels, equipment, tools, books and everything else for ceramics. From K-12 and beyond. Aardvark has what...

Errata.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2003... ERRATA: In the April 2003 issue, text was missing from Creating Chemigrams in the Classroom (p. 45) and the word "contained" appears in paragraph nine where it should read "contaminated." The correct article is available on our Web site:...