Arts & Activities articles from May 2004

Arts & Activities archives from May 2004

Editor's note.(Editorial)
May 1, 2004... With the Olmec-inspired sculpture on our cover and H.C. Westermann's "Burning House" at the center of the magazine, this month we're asking you to join us as we head into the world of dimension. The variety of techniques is enticing. Whether...

How does art define you?(arts update)
May 1, 2004... The Bubel Aiken Foundation[TM], which works with integrating special-needs children into everyday situations with the proper staffing and guidance, is currently running a visual-art contest for students with disabilities from all 50 states and...

Imprint on the world.(arts update)
May 1, 2004... Speedball[R] Art Products' 2004 annual "Imprint on the World" contest, open to students and teachers, is underway. Participants are encouraged to submit artwork using block printing or screen printing methods and Speedball's art products....

Very special Arts Festival.(arts update)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... June 9-12 VSA Arts, an international organization that provides opportunities in the arts for children and adults with disabilities, will host the 2004 International VSA Arts Festival at venues around Washington, D.C Held every five years, the...

UniKeep design awards deadline coming soon.(arts update)
May 1, 2004... UniKeep[TM] is saying thank you to its rapidly growing number of loyal users by sponsoring a contest by which contestants can create and submit a custom cover design for one of the many sizes of UniKeep binders. Entries are to be submitted in...

NFAA Arts Recognition and Talent Search (ARTS).(arts update)
May 1, 2004... Through the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) Arts Recognition and Talent Search (ARTS), high-school artists from all over the country have the opportunity to share in a 83 million college scholarship package through the...

Spirit Taking Form: Making a Spiritual Practice of Making Art.
May 1, 2004... SPIRIT TAKING FORM: Making a Spiritual Practice of Making Art (2002; $18.95), by Nancy Azara. Red Wheel/Weiser Books, 368 Congress St., 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02210. This is a book that marches to a different drumbeat. It does not address...

Art and Intimacy: How the Arts Began.
May 1, 2004... ART AND INTIMACY: How the Arts Began (2000; $29.95), by Ellen Dissanayake. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA 98195. Ellen Dissanayake has authored a number of books that provide insights into the nature of art and art-making...

Take 5: the Art of Sport.
May 1, 2004... TAKE 5: The Art of Sport. Set of five Art Prints/Teacher's Guide/$44. Level: All grades. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025, (800) 255-8629. This new set of five posters continues Crystal Production's tradition of...

Mister Rogers' Play Time: Encourage Your Child to Create, Explore and Pretend with Dozens of Easy-To-Do Activities.
May 1, 2004... MISTER ROGERS' PLAY TIME: Encourage Your Child to Create, Explore and Pretend with Dozens of Easy-to-do Activities (2001; $12.95), by Fred Rogers. Running Press, 125 South 22nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19103-4399. Art-education scholars may...

Vent-a-Kiln Corp.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... Place-A-Vent, an efficient solution for removing and ventilating fumes produced by soldering, welding, brazing, laser cutting, and similar operations, has been announced by VENT-A-KILN CORP. Described as an economical, energy-efficient fume...

North Light Books.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... In Painting on Rocks for Kids, published by NORTH LIGHT BOOKS, "rock artist" Lin Wellford shows kids how to create amazing creatures, incredible toys and wild gifts for their friends and family. With easy-to-follow pictures and instructions,...

Leaning Post Productions.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... LEANING POST PRODUCTIONS announces ArtWebsite, an advocacy tool through which to share the accomplishments of your art program via the Internet. ArtWebsite is installed on the server that hosts your school Web site. Teachers can log in from...

Creative Paperclay[R] Co.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... Delight[TM] is a new air-dry modeling compound from CREATIVE PAPERCLAY[R] CO. This soft, nontoxic material is easy to shape or mold. It's super clean to work with and picks up detail beautifully. The material holds its form when it is being...

Smooth-On, Inc.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... SMOOTH-ON, INC. announces the release of two new mold making and casting videos offering step-by-step instructions in easy to understand format. The first video, An Introduction to Mold Making and Casting, introduces the viewer to the basics of...

Scratch-Art Co., Inc.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... Create pictures and posters that really stand out with Three-D-O's[R] from SCRATCH-ART CO., INC. These round, 1/2" x 1/4" thick die-cut circles with double-sided adhesive backing enable artists of all skill levels to create three-dimensional...

Loew-Cornell.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... One of the keys to a successful three-dimensional project is the preparation of the surface and final finishing touches. For wood of rougher surfaces, that means sanding before painting or other embellishment, and sanding again between coats of...

Kids can press.(Shop Talk)
May 1, 2004... Stuff for Your Space, from KIDS CAN PRESS, is a great book for young interior decorators who want to make their space their own. They will discover how to choose a theme, the surprising power of color, the joy of working with found objects and...

Camlin North America.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... CAMLIN NORTH AMERICA is offering a new service for school and school-district purchasing professionals, as well as people purchasing for after-school programs and independent art programs. Available on request at www.Camellia-Art.com is a...

Delphi Glass.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... Concrete Brush-A-Way Paper, available from DELPHI GLASS, is a concrete retarding paper that enables you to cast stepping stones, using three-dimensional objects, such as glass nuggets, rocks, or textured glass. The objects are adhered to the...

Running Press.(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... Create simplistic geometric designs or wild spiraling multi-dimensional schemes with the Roger Burrows Images Coloring Kit, the newest addition to the successful Images series from RUNNING PRESS. By combining 45-and 90-degree angles with...

Fredrix[R].(shop talk)
May 1, 2004... FREDRIX[R], producer of archival-grade artist canvas for the professional painter, announces the introduction of a totally new and revolutionary product for the watercolor artist. Fredrix Watercolor Canvas is made of 100 percent cotton and is...

The big heads: subtractive sculptures that know it all.(Cover Story)
May 1, 2004... Subtractive sculpture presents many challenges to the best of sculptors. I chose to introduce my Art I students to carving through the eyes of the Olmecs. That is how "The Big Heads" lesson was born. The students began by researching,...

Fanciful footlights.
May 1, 2004... Artists have the unique ability to see things and present them in new and unusual ways. This is perhaps the one talent that helps make artists such unique, special people. Common everyday objects, occurrences, spoken words and visual images are...

The world is my studio: an interview with Kathy Tacke.(Interview)
May 1, 2004... Kathy Tacke is an elementary art teacher and working artist--one with a passion for her work, her students and for life. She sells her creative and whimsical Friendly Plastic[R] jewelry at art and craft shops and fairs using KAT Tracks as her...

Classroom use.
May 1, 2004... THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT H.C. WESTERMANN * Horace Clifford Westermann (1922-1981) was born in Los Angeles and grew up in West Hollywood, Calif., where an interest in art-making was fueled by the glamour of a burgeoning young film industry. As...

Clip & save art notes.
May 1, 2004... H.C. Westermann (American; 1922-1981). Burning House, 1958. Pine, brass bell, tin, glass and enamel; 42 1/4" x 11" x 15". ABOUT THIS ASSEMBLAGE In the 1950s, H.C. Westermann and his wife Joanna lived in Chicago in a rented apartment on...

Need some relief? Try these plaster portraits.
May 1, 2004... Portraits are always a challenge. My second-graders already experienced creating portraits by drawing on paper. We needed something fun! So, I decided to try a new approach, with students working on relief sculptures together the first art...

Sculpting in black and white.
May 1, 2004... Pick three numbers, any numbers between one and nine. Remember them. Is this some kind of magic trick? Well, the results might took like magic, but there's really nothing tricky about this project. With these three numbers, you and your...

Singing the blues in New Orleans.
May 1, 2004... Ever sing the blues because you're looking for new materials and techniques? Necessity was the mother of invention when I discovered a new use for a product other than its intended purpose: blue board, an insulation material made of...

Good grief, it's a gourd.
May 1, 2004... Throughout history, sculptures have been created for various reasons and in various mediums. Memorial sculptures are made to honor a famous or important person or event. Religious sculptures and sculptures honoring the dead are commonplace in...

Shelf artists.(Children's art diary)
May 1, 2004... When the stacks of art-education magazines finally outgrew our home, my daughter Ana and I set out to haul them to my school office. On the way, we stopped to purchase steel shelves on which to organize the collection. When we arrived at...

Floral surprises.(Teaching art with Art)
May 1, 2004... Flowers are so beautiful that it is not surprising artists have painted them for centuries. Sometimes they are shown growing in fields and gardens, and sometimes they have been cut and arranged in vases as still-life objects. Throughout the...

Young artist.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... I have been interested in drawing for as long as I can remember. I tried portraits, landscapes, cartoons, superheroes, animals, and I even tried making a papier-mache mask. My favorite medium is pencil. It is my favorite because ii is...

Spring Catalog Showcase.(arts & activities[R])
May 1, 2004... 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...