Arts & Activities articles from September 2006

Arts & Activities archives from September 2006

Letter from artist Judy Chicago.(dear editor)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Thank you for "A Dinner Party of Their Own: Tribute to Judy Chicago" (Feb. 2006), a project based on my work of art. I am deeply gratified that my work has been so meaningful. Over the years, there have been many school projects in which...

New ideas always welcomed.(dear editor)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... You're the best, Arts & Activities! "Tribute Smocks" (June 2006) is the kind of article we can use. Thanks. You have a fantastic art-education magazine--love it. Lots of new ideas are appreciated and the "Clip & Save Art Prints" are essential....

Tips for art teachers.(dear editor)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Have you ever thought of including a half-page of "art tips and/or suggestions" written by veteran art teachers? A beginning teacher would greatly benefit from this! There is so much learned knowledge that veteran art teachers can share. ...

The kids care!(dear editor)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... A first-grader said to me during class, "Drawing makes you smart." I responded, "You're 100% correct. You should be superintendent of the school, superintendent of the state... the world. I agree, drawing does make you smart!" This is at a...

Paula's project captivates.(dear editor)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Thank you for the inspiration for a project I did with my kindergarten artists. I discovered Paula Guhin's project, "Captivating Collagraphs," in the November 2004 issue. Even though the project was designed for older students, I adjusted it...

Guidelines for submission.(dear editor)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... I love your magazine! I've been subscribing for years and am ready to contribute. How do I go about submitting an article/lesson and recommending a "Young Artist"? Gina Melton Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. Our Writer's Guidelines,...

The Great Art Robbery.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
September 1, 2006... [VHS/CD/VISUAL] THE GREAT ART ROBBERY. CD-ROM: Windows and Macintosh/ Price: $29.95. Level: Grade 4 and above. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025; (800) 255-8629; www.crystalproductions.com. Your students will become...

Getting To Know ... All About Art: Line in Art; Color in Art; and Shape & Form in Art.(Brief article)(Video recording review)
September 1, 2006... [VHS/CD/VISUAL] GETTING TO KNOW... ALL ABOUT ART: Line in Art; Color in Art; and Shape & Form in Art. Three DVDs or VHS/17-26 min. each/$24.95 each. Level: K-4. Gettingtoknow.com, 30 E. Huron, Ste. 4410, Chicago, IL 60611;...

How Art Made The World: A Journey to the Origins of Human Creativity.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... [PRINT] HOW ART MADE THE WORLD: A Journey to the Origins of Human Creativity (2005; $29.95), by Nigel Spivey. Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. This is a book written as a "companion" to the BBC/PBS television series...

Framing Education As Art: The Octopus Has a Good Day.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... [PRINT] FRAMING EDUCATION AS ART: The Octopus Has a Good Day (2005; $23.95), by Jessica Hoffmann Davis. Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027. Increasingly, teachers and administrators are being called upon to...

Binney & Smith.(shop talk)
September 1, 2006... BINNEY & SMITH's Crayola Dream-Makers is a tool for teachers as well as a meaningful method of learning through the visual arts for students in grades K-6. Colorful, creative standards-based curriculum ideas are offered in several resource...

Ed Hoy's International.(shop talk)
September 1, 2006... ED HOY'S INTERNATIONAL's 2006/2007 35th-Anniversary Catalog is said to be bigger and better than before. This comprehensive catalog offers over 11,000 supplies and 3,000 styles of glass. There's always something new--every working day of the...

Acme United Corp.(shop talk)
September 1, 2006... ACME UNITED CORP.'s Wescott[R] 5-inch Soft Handle Blunt Scissors has won Learning Magazine's 2006 Teacher's Choice Award. In addition to classroom supplies, a nationwide panel of teacher-judges also rate a variety of school-related...

Jonti-Craft, Inc.(shop talk)
September 1, 2006... JONTI-CRAFT, INC.'s Low Single Mobile Storage Unit with hardboard back is designed with smaller children in mind. Heavy-duty, triangular caster brackets make the unit mobile and increase its overall strength. Fifteen-inch depth provides maximum...

Paragon Industries.(shop talk)
September 1, 2006... PARAGON INDUSTRIES recently released the Blue Bird, a new glass bead kiln. It is a digital front-loader with two 10" wide x 2 3/4" doors that accept bead rods. The kiln anneals glass beads and figurines to relieve stress during cooling. The...

Know the Artist, Set 7.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... [VHS/CD/VISUAL] KNOW THE ARTIST, Set 7. Eight Posters and Teacher's Guide/$49. Level: Grade 4 and up. Crystal Productions, P.O. Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025; www.crystalproductions.com. Beautiful in color, rich in information and details...

Royal & Langnickel Brush Mfg.(shop talk)
September 1, 2006... Vibrant colors and smooth application make ROYAL & LANGNICKEL BRUSH MFG.'s Big Kids Choice[TM] Tempera Cakes great for home or classroom use. They can be used to create colorful works of art on paper, poster board or any other surface that...

Elmer.(shop talk)
September 1, 2006... ELMER'S has created a way to say yes to painting with its no-mess, instant drying Paintastics[TM] paintbrush pens, available in a variety of vibrant colors. Children can now paint with confidence and adults can watch without worry because the...

Let's use our art eyes!(Cover story)
September 1, 2006... At the beginning of the year, in order to introduce my kindergarten students to the concept of observation, I have them try to use their eyes as an artist would when looking at the world. They are asked to look at the world around them more...

A color study through design.
September 1, 2006... Color. We live with it and expect it to be there. It makes our life safer, more exciting, more pleasant. But, where does it come from? How do we get so many colors? We begin our study by observing the colors around the room. We look at...

Symbols in art.(introduction to the 2006-07 CLIP & SAVE art prints)
September 1, 2006... In the Egyptian picture language known as hieroglyphics, the profile of a standing man with arms reaching upward symbolizes praise and welcome. With this image in mind, we welcome you to another year of the Clip & Save Art Prints series with a...

Clip & save art notes.(Aztec Calendar Stone)
September 1, 2006... ABOUT THIS SCULPTURE The Aztec Calendar Stone, also known as the Sun Stone, is a massive, circular, carved sculpture created by Aztec craftsmen in the middle of the 15th century. Historians estimate that it was completed around 1479,...

Classroom use of the art print.
September 1, 2006... Aztec Calendar Stone from the Great Pyramid at Tenochtitlan. Collection of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City, D.F., Mexico. THINGS TO LEARN * The Aztec people used hieroglyphic symbols in their writing and art. The...

Young artist.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... I began to draw in pre-school. I remember one drawing I did in summer camp. It was a cool green and red picture of a friendly dragon on Mars. Now that I'm in the third grade, I like to draw Garfield because he's a fat cat with a bad...

Memento many.(art ACROSS the CURRICULUM)
September 1, 2006... Think about still-life painting, and you will probably think about fruit and flowers. Most still-life paintings depict something that is (or was) alive until plucked and placed as a prop for a painting. In the case of Still Life with Universal...

The "value-able" possibilities of brown paper bags.
September 1, 2006... Sitting on the couch one late-summer afternoon, I was repeating to myself"... the value scale... the value scale... the value scale.... " I was trying to come up with new and challenging ways for my Art I and Art II students to test their...

Stroking sea horses.(art education)
September 1, 2006... Always looking for a new way to spark my elementary students" interest in art at the beginning of the year, I was inspired by a wonderful sea-horse exhibit at an aquarium I visited during summer vacation. From the huge colorful banners...

Chagall-inspired drawing.(Marc Chagall)
September 1, 2006... Anyone who has teenagers or teaches them knows that at times (okay, almost all the time), they're reluctant to share information and reveal their feelings about things they have experienced. My goal here was for my teenaged art students to...

Cool shoes.(art projects)
September 1, 2006... Each year, I look for an enjoyable way to teach warm and cool colors to my fifth-grade art classes. I decided to incorporate a shoe-drawing lesson into a project I call "Cool Shoes." The students loved the idea. I put a note in our faculty...

Embracing new technology ... or how a computer program changed my life.
September 1, 2006... Never seems to fail: the new semester has started and on the third day, you get a new student. Followed by another on the fourth day and two more on the fifth. After a thorough introduction to the first assignment on day two, the class is...

Art education conferences 2006-2007.
September 1, 2006... Following is a listing of conferences being held in the coming year by art education associations and others throughout the country. For more information or to register, please contact the individuals whose names, addresses, phone/fax numbers,...

Tried & true tips for art teachers: getting to know you ...
September 1, 2006... The beginning of the school year is a whirl of new students--learning names, thinking about whether your planning is "tight" and, of course, the inevitable Sunday-night jitters before school actually starts. All of these concerns have never led...