Arts & Activities articles from October 2007

Arts & Activities archives from October 2007

It's a wonderful colorful world.(arts update)(Sakura of America's 13th annual CrayPas[R] Wonderful Colorful World contest)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Sakura of America has announced the 13th annual CrayPas[R] Wonderful Colorful World contest. Student work is to be submitted in three grade divisions: Grades K-1-2, 3-4-5, and 6-7-8. Entries will be judged based upon creativity, emotional...

Unilever International Schools Art Project.(arts update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The Unilever International Schools Art Project (UISAP) encourages young people worldwide to create a painting, sculpture or small installation on a given theme. Over 120,000 children have taken part since the project's inception. The initiative...

Picturing America awards announced.(arts update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The awards have been announced in Picturing America[TM], a pilot project of the We the People program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The...

Last call for youngARTS 2008!(arts update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... youngARTS[TM], which identifies and rewards exceptional student artists from across the nation, is accepting applications for its 2008 awards program. High school seniors or graduates who will be 17 or 18 years old this Dec. 1 are encouraged to...

Edwin Ziegfeld Awards.(arts update)(United States Society for Education through Art)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The United States Society for Education through Art (USSEA) Edwin Ziegfeld Awards honor leaders who've made significant contributions to national and international art education. Two awards will be presented during the NAEA Convention in March...

The Story of Art: Pocket Edition.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... THE STORY OF ART: Pocket Edition (2006; $19.95), by E.H. Gombrich. Phaidon Press, Inc. I chuckle in remembering the publication of "big-little books" in the 1930s. Many children's classics were published in an abbreviated, small format:...

Malick Sidibe: Portrait of the Artist as a Portraitist.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
October 1, 2007... MALICK SIDIBE: Portrait of the Artist as a Portraitist. VHS or DVD/ 8 min./$125 (video rental, $35). Level: University. First Run/Icarus Films. This brief look at Malick Sidibe's photographs from over a 40-year period shows us both social...

The Storm: Students of Biloxi, Mississippi, Remember Hurricane Katrina.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... THE STORM: Students of Biloxi, Mississippi, Remember Hurricane Katrina (2006; $18.95), compiled by Barbara Barbieri McGrath. Charlesbridge Publishing. It was about 30 years ago that I drove through Biloxi, Mississippi. I have vague...

Phaidon Press.(shop talk)(Plot summary)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... 30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creatitvity Across Time and Space (out Oct. 1) follows Phaidon's highly successful The Art Book. This compendium offers a fresh perspective on the whole of art history and presents 1,000 masterworks in...

Krylon.(shop talk)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Encourage creativity with Squeeze Art[TM] squeezable paint. There are three mix-and-match finishes, each in a variety of colors. Nontoxic and washable with soap and water. Apply paint directly to a variety of surfaces from the handy 1-ounce...

Crayola.(shop talk)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The new Color Explosion drawing system stimulates young artists' imaginations as they create one-of-a-kind art with one color-reveal marker and special sheets of black paper. Color Explosion markers glide smoothly over the black surface to...

Blue Orange Games.(shop talk)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Unique, award-winning and Earth-friendly (two trees are planted for every one used in creating these games), Blue Orange Games' wooden games have distinctive designs and colors, and some of them have been featured in the modern art museums of...

The Color Wheel Company.(shop talk)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The new Magic Palette[TM] Mixing Guide "takes the guesswork out of mixing color." These working tools are for artists of all experience levels, and will expand the artist's color palette and increase his or her confidence in using a broader...

Jonti-Craft Inc.(shop talk)(Sproutz)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... A line of eco-friendly early-learning furniture called Sproutz[R] is now available. All Sproutz products are made from 100-percent recycled wood waste featuring a formaldehyde-free resin. The Sproutz line includes over 40 of the most popular...

Prentice Hall, Inc.(shop talk)(American Encounters)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... American Encounters examines the intersections among cultures and populations, as well as the influences and borrowings that have enriched and vitalized America's collective cultural heritage. Rather than present separate traditions, the book...

On Air Video, Inc.(shop talk)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... A new, full-color, 63-minute instructional DVD for teenagers and adults interested in the bindery arts is now available. Bookbinding: A Traditional Technique informs viewers of the materials needed, and takes them step-by-step through the...

Paragon Industries.(shop talk)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Priced for beginners, the portable 120-volt FireFly kiln will fire glass, silver, porcelain and stoneware. This small kiln has an 8" square x 4.5" high interior, is rated to 2350 degrees F and is switch-operated. The FireFly comes with a...

Barron's Educational Series.(shop talk)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... With detailed instructions, Computer Cartoon Kit leads budding cartoonists through creating comics, including scripting, storytelling, composition and distribution to both Internet and print publishers. A CD, which features over 100...

Day of the dead: gracious, not gruesome.(Cover story)
October 1, 2007... Halloween at our school has always been a time for celebration. Paper bats and witches hang from the ceiling, decorated pumpkins vie for prizes, and costumed students and teachers parade through the halls as classes prepare for an afternoon of...

A paper-bag haunted house.
October 1, 2007... After 30 years of teaching, this is one project that I can't change or stop doing! At the end of September, I tell my students the next project they are going to do might be their favorite, might take the longest and might be the most fun to...

Composite school portraits.
October 1, 2007... As art teachers, we are often called upon to supply school images that can be used for public relations purposes at very short notice. This particular exercise can be very useful for that situation. It requires students to take a visual...

Box artists.(CHILDREN'S art diary)
October 1, 2007... My son Jacob waited for his new cello; Ana just wanted the shipping box. When the instrument finally arrived and was ceremoniously unpacked, my daughter Aria staked her claim by moving inside the box with her pillow, Game Boy[R] and snacks. The...

Clip & save art notes.(Biography)
October 1, 2007... ABOUT THE ARTIST Volumes of text have been written about the life and work of the 19th-century Expressionist artist Vincent van Gogh: his early life in Holland and strong religious upbringing; his decision to become a painter at the age of...

Classroom use of the art print.
October 1, 2007... Vincent van Gogh (Dutch; 1853-1890). The Red Vineyard at Aries, 1888. Oil on canvas. The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THINGS TO KNOW * Vincent van Gogh was born in Groot-Zundert, the...

Awesome autumn cut-ups.
October 1, 2007... Fall is the perfect time of the year to create boo-tiful kaleidoscopes. Your students will find this engaging activity so much fun it's almost scary! If Halloween is off-limits at your school, consider a harvest theme using motifs of colorful...

Bigfoot fairy tale.(LITERATURE in the ART ROOM)
October 1, 2007... I am constantly looking for new three-dimensional art activities, so when fellow art teacher Pat Green showed this particular paper-strip portrait project at one of our art meetings, my interest was piqued! What a fabulous idea: making a...

Romare Bearden memory collages.
October 1, 2007... With children's busy schedules, it's not often they get to reflect on a memorable time in their young lives. In this unit, my sixth-graders had an opportunity to return to a special event they experienced and re-create it in the form of a...

Op art nature scenes.
October 1, 2007... The Op art movement started in England in the 1960s as part of the modern art movement. The main premise of modernism was to create something "new." Op art did this by creating an optical illusion on a two-dimensional surface. The result was an...

Young artist.(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The reason I love and enjoy art so much is that it is fun and something that expresses yourself and what you like. I have a great passion for art because it takes time and patience to do it, but in the end you look back at it and know it was...

Outstanding O'Keefe-Inspired art.(Georgia O'Keeffe)
October 1, 2007... Welcome to the first lesson in this year's "eARTh... It's got ART" yearlong curriculum series! We begin the school year in the continent of North America. As students enter the art room, they immediately are excited to begin their year of...

The turkey bowl.(CLAY corner)
October 1, 2007... Most projects I do with my students are a variation of a project I find online or in publications like this one. Nevertheless, inspiration sometimes strikes unexpectedly and I am amused and delighted with the results. And, it is always a...

Tried & true tips for art teachers: there's more to paper ...
October 1, 2007... Often taken for granted, paper is an elemental part of art making. Thankfully, it's readily available in a variety of colors, textures and surfaces for whatever our needs might be. These qualities are the reason why we choose paper as a vehicle...