Arts & Activities articles from October 2003

Arts & Activities archives from October 2003

Editor's note.(Editorial)
October 1, 2003... There is no need for art class to be spooky--especially when you have at your fingertips the great art projects in this issue! There is a haunted house on our cover, but don't be frightened--our classroom-proven ideas will rescue you from any...

Young artist will get framed.(arts update)
October 1, 2003... The Deck The Walls Kids Masterpiece Contest is open to children under the age of 13. According to Connie Williams, Chief Operating Officer of Deck The Walls, "Children are prolific artists and we want to celebrate their creative spirit... the...

Kiln Maintenance Seminar.(arts update)
October 1, 2003... Paragon Industries will hold a Basic Kiln Repair & Maintenance Seminar Oct. 3-4, 2003 at its Mesquite, Texas factory. It will focus on basic electrical theory, troubleshooting, kiln maintenance and repair. Seminar fee is $90. For more...

Sydney's Star invention.(arts update)
October 1, 2003... Sydney's Star, written and illustrated by Peter Reynolds, is the story of a young inventor mouse who dreams up a wonderful invention, which turns out to be more unpredictable and amazing than she ever imagined. This tale is sure to inspire...

Linoleum Block-Print Contest winners on view.(arts update)
October 1, 2003... Blick Art Materials has announced the 2003 winners of its Linoleum Block Print Contest, which is held annually. Prizes have been awarded to five students in each of the three following grade-level groups: fourth through sixth grades; seventh...

Online products sweepstakes.(arts update)
October 1, 2003... Teachers nationwide are invited to enter the BOSTON[R] School Pro[R] "Surprise Supplies" sweepstakes, sponsored by Hunt Corporation. Eight winners will receive a package of classroom products valued at $250. Teachers may register online at...

The Encyclopedia of Papermaking and Bookbinding.
October 1, 2003... (2002: $24.95) by Heidi Reimer-Epp and Mary Reimer. Running Press, 125 South 22nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. Papermaking and bookbinding are frequently neglected activities in middle- and high-school programs. This is all the more reason...

Light and Shade: Barron's Art Handbooks.
October 1, 2003... (2001; $9.95). Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 250 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, NY 11788. Three broad areas are included in this small-sized, compact publication: Historical Background; Concepts of Light and Shade; and Techniques and...

Days of the Dead Art Prints.
October 1, 2003... Set of 12 prints/$29.95. Level: All Grades. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025, (800) 255-8629. This Portfolio Prints set includes 12 colorful selections that tell us of the historical and cultural background behind the...

Making and Keeping Creative Journals.
October 1, 2003... (2002; $16.95), by Suzanne Tourtillot. Lark Books, 50 College St., Asheville, NC 28801. This book deals with two important activities: the craft of making books and the practice of journal-keeping. What is important to stress is that these...

Easy Papermaking.
October 1, 2003... Video/24 min./$14.95. Level: All Ages. Greg Markim, Inc., P.O. Box 13245, Milwaukee, WI 53213, (800)453-1485. Arnold Grummer, long known in relation to papermaking, uses the three kits that he has produced commercially to demonstrate the...

Rit[R] Dye.(shop talk)
October 1, 2003... With a little imagination, RIT[R] DYE can help you create colorful and imaginative crafts for every season. In their quest to find and showcase the best, the makers of Rit Dye are launching their year-round "Are you Crafty?" contests, rewarding...

Marvelous Marianne's[R] SavvySoap[R].(shop talk)
October 1, 2003... MARVELOUS MARIANNE'S[R] SAVVYSOAP[R] collection gets a nod from artists nationwide for her Brush and Hand Cleaner. The cleaner is packed with special botanicals to neutralize paints and ink fumes, quickly and easily removing the toughest oils,...

Master Magnetics, Inc.(shop talk)
October 1, 2003... Magnetic sheeting will spark students' and teachers' imaginations. MASTER MAGNETICS, INC. (The Magnet Source[TM]) has added premium colors to its established line of 5" x 8" flexible magnetic sheeting. Customers can now choose from Holographic...

Lamp products.(shop talk)
October 1, 2003... LAMP PRODUCTS, manufacturer and distributor of the USA-made Flex Flo[TM] Dispenser, has announced that it is now taking e-mail orders for its popular "12/set," and will also provide information and names of vendors selling the dispensers. The...

Delphi.(shop talk)
October 1, 2003... DELPHI has released an entire supply catalog devoted to glass-fusing, bead-making and jewelry. Featured products include a beautiful palette of fusible glass, comprehensive instruction books and videos, molds of all shapes and sizes,...

Crizmac Art & Cultural Education Materials, Inc.(shop talk)
October 1, 2003... CRIZMAC ART & CULTURAL EDUCATION MATERIALS, INC. announces the publication of the comprehensive, fully illustrated guide, Wycinanki: The Art of Polish Papercutting, and its companion poster. The Wycinanki: The Art of Polish Papercutting...

Watson-Guptill.(shop talk)
October 1, 2003... Paper for All Seasons, published by WATSON-GUPTILL, features a collection of more than 60 easy-to-make paper designs, two-dimensional and three-dimensional gifts, seasonal decorations and stationery for holidays and special occasions. Using...

Scratch-Art Co., Inc.(shop talk)
October 1, 2003... Shade-Tex[R] Rubbing Plates, from SCRATCH-ART CO., INC., create countless patterns on paper, foil, even clay! Textured designs are molded right into flexible and sturdy large plastic rubbing plates. Fun and easy to use. Instantly adds...

Mohawk Paper Mills, Inc.(shop talk)
October 1, 2003... The Ultimate Cover Collection, by MOHAWK PAPER MILLS, INC. now features Superfine and Navajo, the brightest uncoated paper lines on the market, adding to their already existing range of premium ultra-heavy-weight covers for digital printing....

Young artist.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... I have liked art since preschool, where I spent a lot of time painting. Once, when I was about 5, I looked down at the sweatshirt I was wearing and drew the picture on it without taking it off to look at it right-side up. My morn was impressed....

Eye candy.
October 1, 2003... A real treat for my beginning drawing students was a color-rendering assignment using Prismacolor[R] pencils on illustration board. The assignment was actually a kind of self-portrait because each student had to bring in his or her favorite...

Picasso's posies.
October 1, 2003... A gift of flowers sends a wonderful message of friendship and love. These K/1 students were inspired by Pablo Picasso's bouquets to create their own colorful bunches of posies. This one-hour lesson gave them a chance to experience watercolor...

Getting down to the roots in art.
October 1, 2003... "We're studying language in art class?" This was the overall reaction in my introductory and advanced Art courses. I explained to the students that improving vocabulary is a new all-school curriculum goal. Every course would somehow incorporate...

Explode into abstraction.
October 1, 2003... Sometimes we forget that our old lessons, things we've tried before, can lead to new discoveries. A lesson done many years ago, long forgotten, can gain new life with a new group of children. Such was the case with "Explosion in the Bottle...

Cat on a rug.
October 1, 2003... Cats have always been popular in works of art. The ancient Egyptians made wooden figures, furniture and jewelry in shapes of cats, and you can find renderings of cats in just about every period of art history. Cats are also the subject of this...

Classroom use.
October 1, 2003... THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT JEAN TINGUELY * Throughout his life, Jean Tinguely was an energetic showman who was regularly playing jokes on people and was very dramatic in public. He didn't like authority and opposed all forms of force. He saw art...

L'Avant-Garde, 1988.
October 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Jean Tinguely (1925-1991). L'Avant-Garde, 1988. Dimensions: 250 x 250 x 250 cm. Donation Nikki de Saint Phalle. Courtesy Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland. Photograph by Christian Baur. [C]2003 Artists...

Clip & save art notes.
October 1, 2003... Jean Tinguely (1925-1991). L'Avant-Garde, 1988. Dimensions: 250 x 250 x 250 cm. Donation, Niki de Saint Phalle. Courtesy Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland. ABOUT THIS SCULPTURE The two greatest problems of showing the work of Jean...

African American works on paper.(Learning from Exhibitions)
October 1, 2003... African American artists who flourished for the most part since the 1930s are featured in this fine traveling exhibition. The collection of Wes and Missy Cochran of LaGrange, Ga., highlights 75 works on paper by 64 influential artists who...

The point of many returns.
October 1, 2003... For many art students, one-point perspective is the easiest concept to master. The recipe for this visual success is notoriously simple: Take one fixed point on the page, add a few ruler-assisted straight lines and voila--a floating box or a...

Teaching, writing and making: an interview with Richard Zakin.(Clay corner)(Interview)
October 1, 2003... Richard Zakin is a celebrated ceramic artist, a full professor at State University of New York College at Oswego, and the author of four of the most well-respected books on ceramics, as well as dozens of articles. Although Richard always knew...

Trees: naturally inspirational.
October 1, 2003... There is nothing so inspirational as the beauty and stature of a tree. Poets Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost painted trees in words: "Forever cherished be the tree...," "Stopping by Woods Oil a Snowy Evening," "The Birches." Visual artists...

Home chore artists.(Children's art diary)
October 1, 2003... Dear Art Teacher, Please list all the home chores you hate to do on the side of this paper. Do you have enough room? Let's talk about those chores with which you need help, but over which you have to bargain with your older kids who ask, "How...