Arts & Activities articles from November 2003

Arts & Activities archives from November 2003

Editor's note.(Editorial)
November 1, 2003... Come with us this month as we "navigate the path to peerless prints." For those of you teaching high school there are two great projects to try. First, our Cover Story, "Monoprints on Clay" (page 17), explains a process by which images can be...

In the pursuit of excellence.(dear editor)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... Thank you for the valuable information your magazine offers. I recently returned to school to earn a master's degree in art education. My decision stemmed from my desire to teach others about the various ways to express their creativity....

Inappropriate artworks?(dear editor)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... Nudity and violence. Two art reproductions I can't use in my classroom (May 2003, pp. 26 and 30-31). Of all the artworks Zorach did, why this one? I have a whole folder on him, as a Maine artist. Can't put this one in there. There's enough...

Questionable quality.(dear editor)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... I just received my second issue of your magazine and, although I am thrilled to have a new and refreshing place to look for art projects for my elementary art students, I have to say I'm surprised at the level of quality produced by the art...

Natural Impression: Taking an Artistic Path Through Nature.
November 1, 2003... (2002; $19.95), by Carolyn A. Dahl. Watson-Guptill Publications, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. For Carolyn Dahl, the nature-print provides a new way of seeing the world. She observed that "even Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by...

Whistler: the Gentle Art of Making Enemies.
November 1, 2003... Video/50 min./$29.95. Level: Higher Ed. Home Vision Entertainment, 4423 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60640, (800) 826-3456. This 19th-century American artist, is viewed from several angles in this enlightening video. His early years at...

Making Monoprints.
November 1, 2003... Video/18 min./$69. Level. High School and Above. Lucerne Media, 37 Ground Pine Road, Morris Plains, NJ 07950, (800) 341-2293. This video shows how to make full-color, one-of-a-kind prints using a variety of techniques, including natural and...

Stamping with Style: Sensational Ways to Decorate Paper, Fabric, Polymer Clay and More.
November 1, 2003... (2002; $14.95), by Katherine Duncan Aimone. Lark Books, 50 College St., Asheville, NC 28801. This is a book that opens wide the possibilities for the use of stamping techniques. It outlines ways for using readymade stamps as well as...

Crystal Productions.(shop talk)
November 1, 2003... Included in CRYSTAL PRODUCTIONS' Fall 2003 Art Education Resources catalog is Hokusai: The Art of Printmaking, part of the Masterpiece Children's Art Video Series. This program features this Japanese artist and his work, and integrates social...

Staedtler, Inc.(shop talk)
November 1, 2003... STAEDTLER, INC. now offers classroom-sized packaging of its most popular art supplies. Products offered in Class Packs are Mastercarve Artist Carving Blocks (pictured below), Lumograph Drawing & Sketching Pads, Karat Aquarelle Watercolor...

Hunt Corp.(shop talk)
November 1, 2003... Teachers across the country are invited to register online to enter the BOSTON[R] School Pro[R] "Surprise Supplies" sweepstakes sponsored by HUNT CORP. Eight winners will receive a package of classroom products valued at $250. The package...

Birdcage Books'.(shop talk)
November 1, 2003... BIRDCAGE BOOKS' art games are winning awards and being sold in the world's major museums: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the London National Gallery, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Louvre, Musee d'Orsay and many others. Each game includes a...

Inovart.(shop talk)
November 1, 2003... For over 20 years, INOVART, manufacturer of products and supplies for printmaking, matting and framing, lettering and calligraphy, drawing and crafts, scratchboards and tools, and light boxes, has served the needs of teachers and artists with...

Young artist.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Creating art is my favorite thing to do. It's wonderful to make pictures that express myself. I enjoy the process of making my pictures and sculptures, and seeing the art that I have made always makes me feel proud. My favorite media are...

Monoprints on clay.
November 1, 2003... Cathedral High School, a private Catholic college-preparatory high school in Indianapolis, has over 1,000 students and a very active art department. All students are required to take two fine-arts credits for graduation and many take more....

Acrobatic snowmen: printmaking in action.
November 1, 2003... My fourth-graders experimented with gesture drawing using charcoal. Drawing lines quickly and loosely to capture movement, we did gesture drawings of one another. We focused on the movement of the figure, not on what the person gesturing...

H'andy Warhol prints lead to 15 minutes of fame.
November 1, 2003... Children love the bright colors that made Andy Warhol's "Pop Art" so eye-catching and exciting. They are also intrigued by the idea of elevating and raising everyday objects to the status of art. This fun and simple art project introduced my...

Durer decoded.(art across the curriculum)
November 1, 2003... At first glance, this engraving seems like a typical depiction of the Madonna and Child. We observe Mary benevolently looking down at her son, but quickly the details begin to intrude. As the details become more and more curious, they begin to...

Classroom use.
November 1, 2003... THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT CHRYSSA * From its beginnings, America has been populated by immigrants, many of whom have been artists. More so than now, outstanding American artists were born elsewhere and earned their reputations after arriving...

Clip & save art notes.
November 1, 2003... Chryssa (American; b. 1933). The Gates to Times Square, 1966. Welded stainless steel, neon and Plexiglas; overall, 120" x 120" x 120". Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, Gift of Mrs. and Mrs. Albert A. List, 1972. ABOUT THIS...

Printmaking on a budget.
November 1, 2003... Middle-school students love printmaking. It has continually been the most popular technique I teach. 1 routinely teach foam engraving to my seventh-graders and linoleum carving to my eighth-graders, however sixth grade has been an unending...

Six-legged Celebration: a Frankensteinian conglomeration of bugs!
November 1, 2003... Having been a district-wide gifted-education coordinator, I spent many years intertwining art into all subject areas of the academic curriculum. Now returned to the art room, I find myself reversing the process and weaving the very same...

Multiple originals.
November 1, 2003... During the second semester of the freshman art-introduction course at our school, we offer a unit in printmaking. Printmaking is one of very few units we cover in these fundamental courses that doesn't have an intermediate or advanced...

Art show posters.
November 1, 2003... High-school art shows are an important annual event in the school calendar. Each year, one of Confederation High School's most talented senior design students is given the responsibility of creating and printing 100 copies of a dynamic art-show...

Animal groups.(Teaching art with art)
November 1, 2003... Numbers of animals, such as bears and sharks, live solitary lives, but a great many more live in groups of various sizes--including humans. While individual animals may be a challenge to draw, paint or model, artists face additional problems...

Goya: Reality and Invention.
November 1, 2003... Video/25 min./$19.95. Level: Higher Education. Home Vision Entertainment, 4423 North Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60640, (800) 826-3456. Produced by the National Gallery in London, in association with the Hayward Gallery's recent exhibit...

Visual Storytelling: the Art and Technique.
November 1, 2003... (2003; $24.9,5), by Tony Caputo. Watson-Guptill Publications, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. As a high-school student in the 1940s, I was interested in cartooning. Drawing comics served as a source of great pleasure and satisfaction....

The Artful Journey: a Spiritual Quest.
November 1, 2003... (2002; $24.95) by Maureen Casey, Raymond Fox, Jacqueline Penney. Watson-Guptill Publications, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. The authors of this book state that "keeping a journal is not intended to save time, but rather to savor time."...

Arts in Education Aid Council, Inc.(shop talk)
November 1, 2003... ARTS IN EDUCATION AID COUNCIL, INC., encourages parents and educators to visit its Web site (www.aieac.org) every other month for current news and links to arts-related sites. The Arts in Education Aid Council updates the Web site regularly...

Leaning Post Productions'.(shop talk)
November 1, 2003... Create your own multicultural teaching "Museum" on a classroom computer or school or district network with Artsite, LEANING POST PRODUCTIONS" new software program for grades 7-12. Access, select and organize images and descriptions from art Web...

M.M. Newman Corp.(shop talk)
November 1, 2003... A lightweight wood burning tool that can burn a variety of fine lines and intricate patterns is available from Hot Tools, a division of M.M. NEWMAN CORP. The Hot Tool WB-1 Woodburner features a heating element placed directly under the tip to...

Help for classroom teachers.(dear editor)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... For a recent class assignment, I read the "Funny Faces" article in your November 2000 issue. Since I am currently pursuing a degree in elementary education, I thought this article was very enlightening. I've often wondered how I could...

You bet "it works!".(dear editor)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... Wow! "A&A It Works!" is great! I got sooo many great ideas from the original articles and this one. It is wonderful to see how different teachers interpret the same lesson. I am already adding three of the activities from "A&A It Works!" in my...