Education Closet!

Here at the Columbia Art Center we have had the privelege of working with Susan Riley, a passionate Arts Integration Specialist.  Her blog http://educationcloset.com/ is full of fantastic ideas and information.  Be sure to check it out!

Easy Marbling Techniques

Marbling is one of those fantastic art techniques that can be difficult to teach in the classroom.  The chemicals and the space required to achieve the beautiful effects are just a couple of the obstacles in teaching this to children.  That's why these Easy Marbling Techniques compiled on http://www.kinderart.com/ are so exciting!  Click the link to check out some amazing artwork as well as interesting ways of developing a lesson around the deceptively simply marbling substitution! 

Multicultural Art

KENTE CLOTHS - A lesson from http://www.kinderart.com/

Grade: 2
Age: 6-8

Submitted by teacher Amy Shapley

Objectives:

• Students will learn the history of Ghanaian Kente Cloths.
• Students will practice using geometric shapes to design their own Kente Cloth strips.

Vocabulary:

• Kente:
• Ghana:
• Geometric:

What You Need:

• Items for demonstration - Kente strips and fabrics, caps and key rings, etc. using Kente symbolism, pictures, great resource website http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/kente/top.htm
• 18x4 inch strips of good quality white paper
• pencils
• rulers
• red, green, blue, black, and yellow tempera paint
• paintbrushes
• water cups and paper towels

What You Do:

1. Present lesson:

• Who: African Americans, Africans, anyone who celebrates African heritage
• What: Kente Cloths, strips of fabric woven by hand in the colors that represent Africa.  Red - Life and Blood; Blue - Innocence; Green - Mother Africa, Mother Earth; Black - People and Unity; Gold - Strength and Fortune
• Strips are sewn together to make cloth.  Always woven from cotton threads.
• When: Celebrations - weddings, births, graduations, ceremonies to bring in new leaders; Whenever you want to respectfully show your African heritage.
• Why: To symbolize African culture.
• Where: Most examples from Ghana, worn in Africa, America, and wherever people show African heritage.

2.  Discuss the difference between geometric and organic shapes and lines.
3.  Direct the students to design geometric patterns of stripes, squares, diamonds, triangles, etc. on the paper strips.
4.  Distribute trays of paint, brushes, water cups, and paper towels. Remind students that the colors are very important in Kente cloth, so they should do their best to keep the colors clean and not muddied.  
5.  When the strips are dry, it is sometimes very effective to use a black marker to outline the shapes and stripes. It gives the paper an embroidered look. This is your choice.
*Note: This project looks really cool using pieces of colored yarn and glue instead of paint! Just substitute tagboard for the white paper.

Recommended Reading: "Kente Colors" by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate

Texture and Pattern Collage

Grade Level: 4th
Time: 3 hours, broken into 2 or 3 sessions
Objective: Students will learn about rubbings, pattern, and collage and will get a chance to share a piece of artwork with a partner.
Materials Needed:

• One large sheet of white paper (per student)
• 2-3 pieces of white typing paper (per student)
• One ebody pencil (per student)
• Crayons
• Scissors
• Glue
• Construction Paper
• Magazines
• Paint
• Rulers
• Examples of patterns (i.e. Quilts, Adinkra Cloth, Batik)

Instructions:

1. This lesson corresponds with a lesson teaching geometry.  Prior to the art lesson, the students will be learning about shapes and patterns.
2. Students will begin by making rubbings of interesting textures in and around the classroom using the white typing paper and the ebony pencil or crayons.
3. They will then create a border for their collage on the big sheet of heavy white paper.
4. Using their texture rubbings, construction paper, markers, and other materials student will begin laying down a pattern on their large sheet of paper (show examples to help guide the pattern making process). - End the first session without completing project.
5. During the second session students will switch the project they were working on with a partner.  The partner will pick up where the other left off, using their own imagination to create different patterns.  

Vocabulary:
texture - surface character or visual feel of an object relating to tactility
collage - a picture made up of layering of different materials
pattern - made up of repeating shapes or ideas
repetition - use of the same visual element a number of times in the same composition
color - quality and quantity of light both reflected and absorbed by any object
balance - feeling or sensing of equality in weight, attention, or attraction of the various visual elements within an artwork as a means of accomplishing unity
harmony - causing each feature of an artwork to show visual connections with other features which causes them to be seen as integrated members of the whole
shape - 2D flat object or area which stands out from the space next to or around it because of a defined boundary or because of a difference of value, color, or texture
symmetry - balance in a composition
asymmetry - lack of balance in a composition

Evaluation/Assessment:
After the project, the students will show their works and say one thing they liked about it, and one thing they didn't.  The students will identify the patterns in their and each others works.  Have them properly critque the strength of each composition using the newly learned vocabulary.


*This lesson plan was taken from a webpage that is no longer available*    

A Me, Myself and I project...

BODY COLLAGE (from http://www.kinderart.com/recycle/) - Written by Andrea Mulder-Slater
Grade: K-6
Age: 4-10

What You Need:

• Large paper bags OR a large roll of craft paper
• Pencils
• Crayons, pencil crayons
• Old magazines and photographs
• Fabric, yarn, buttons
• Glue
• Scissors

What You Do:

1. Cut open two large paper bags and tape them together until you have a size that is a little longer and a little wider than yourself.  Or you can use a large section of a craft paper roll.
2. Lie on the paper and have a partner trace around your outline.
3. Cut out the body shape.
4. Find pictures in magazines that show things that you like.  Cut them out and paste them to your body outline.  These could be anything from pictures of animals to computer games, cars or musical groups.
5. Draw your face, shoes, etc. using pencil crayons or crayons.  You might also with to glue pieces of fabric onto your collage.
6. Hang your collage on a door.

Here at the Art Center we've modified this project a number of times for different lessons.  Once we outlined the kids and gave them fish tails to turn them into mermaids.  Another time, with older kids, we used it to do a lesson about bacteria and germs.   They filled their outlines with different "bugs" in their organs like stomachs and intestines.  Sounds gross, but they had a blast!  There is something immediately enjoyable about a project that allows for laying on the floor on a giant piece of paper...

Meaningful Integration

"In essence, tapping into the arts is not a supplement, but a viable ally for learning and motivating across the curriculum." - Angela Bunyi

Angela Bunyi is an educator who advocates for arts integration.  Through personal and professional experience she has encountered the many benefits of multi-faceted education.  The "Art" of Meaningful Integration is an article that highlights some key elements of arts integration and lists some fantastic lesson planning materials.  Be sure to check out more at Angela Bunyi's bio page on Scholastic.com. 

Art Teacher Websites

Here are some splendid Art Teaching Resources that could benefit any teaching curriculum!  Full of lessons, visuals, and inspiration.


Teach Kids Art

http://teachkidsart.blogspot.com/  - A website full of art lessons, classroom management ideas, and beautiful examples of kids work!


Modern Art 4 Kids

http://modernart4kids.blogspot.com/ - Specifically geared towards more contemporary art lessons with loads of pictures.





Painted Paper

http://paintedpaperintheartroom.blogspot.com/ - "Painted Paper" is about as colorful as it gets!  Full of photos and lesson ideas.






Definitely give these websites a look.  All three blogs are maintained by teachers who have great classroom enhancement solutions and ideas! 

Principles of Design

Building off of the previous post, here is a list of the Principles of Design: Rules for using the elements of art to produce certain effects based on how viewers react to visual images.   These principles apply directly to Visual Art, but variations of these principles can be applied to all the arts as they are viewer based.  Like a scientist in a lab you must learn to combine the elements in different ways to make exciting new discoveries!

Rhythm
a. Repeats elements to create the illusion of movement.
b. Visual rhythm is perceived through the eyes.
c. Created by repeating positive spaces separated by negative spaces.
d. Five kinds of rhythm - random, regular, alternating, flowing, and progressive.

Movement
a. Deals with creating the illusion of action or physical change in position.
b. Used in art to control the way a viewer looks at a work of art.

Balance
a. Deals with arranging visual elements in a work of art equally.
b. Visual balance results in the viewer feeling that the elements have been arranged in a satisfactory way.
c. Types of balance - formal (symmetrical), and informal (asymmetrical).

Proportion
a. Concerned with the size relationships of one part to the whole and one part to another.

Variety, Emphasis, and Unity
These principles are used in design to create interest and appeal and to allow the artist to further express ideas or feelings in their art work.

Emphasis - stresses one element or area in a work of art to make it attract viewer's first attention.
Dominant - element first noticed   Subordinate - elements noticed later
Techniques used for creating emphasis on a specific element(s): contrasting colors, bright colors vs. low intensity colors, difference in size and shape.
Focal point - area that first grab your attention.
Techniques for creating focal points in a work of art: contrasting colors, bright colors vs. low intensity colors, difference in size and shape, isolation, location, convergence, uniqueness.

Variety - uses difference or contrast to balance and unify objects.
Examples of contrasting characteristics - wide/thin, straight/curved, freeform/geometric, rough/smooth, dark/light, bright/dull

Unity - allows viewer to see the combination of elements, principles and media as a whole.
Techniques used to create unity in a design: harmony - objects relate to or agree with other objects (i.e. repeated elements, similar color or shape), simplicity, repetition, proximity, continuation - objects are arranged so that a line or edge of one shape continues into a line or edge of another shape.

The Elements

The elements are the building blocks of our natural world.  "The Elements of The Arts" provide a similar foundation for the art world.  The following lists of the "elements" can help give the basic structure needed for a work of art or a piece of music.   

The Elements of Visual Art:
Line (Open), Shape (Closed), Color, Form (Three-Dimensional), Texture (Rough, Smooth), Value (Light to Dark), Space (Positive or Negative)

The Elements of Dance:
Body (What), Space (Where), Time (When), Energy (How)

The Elements of Poetry:
Language/Imagery (Word Pictures), Rhythm/Music (Sound Elements), The Five Senses (Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste, Smell), Form (Particular Vessel to hold words), Voice (Individul Personality, Attitude)

The Elements of Storytelling:
Emotion (Reflections of Inner Attitude), Movement (Physical Expression), Inflection (Voice Variations), Sound (Sensory Intonations)

The Elements of Puppetry:
Planning (What, When, and Where), Teamwork (Working Together), Space (Where the story takes place), Character (Making/finding an object and giving it life), Language (Sounds or Dialogue), Movement (Giving Life to Objects)

The Elements of Music:
Pitch (High - Low), Duration (Long - Short), Dynamics (Loud - Quiet), Tone Color (Quality of Sound, Voice, or Instrument), Form (Organization), Texture (Melody - Harmony)

The Elements of Theatre:
Space (Where you Perform, Where Action Occurs), Time (When in History, Period of the Day), Imitation (Reproduction of Thoughts and Ideas), Action (Movement of People, of Story), Language (Use of the Word - Written/Verbal), Energy (Intensity)

Design in art, is a recognition of the relation between various things, various elements in the creative flux. You can't invent a design. You recognize it, in the fourth dimension. That is, with your blood and your bones, as well as with your eyes.
David Herbert Lawrence

Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.
Charles Eames

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/elements_2.html#ixzz1HQh6htxp

Amazing Animal Alphabet

This lesson originally appeared on the Sanford-ArtEdventures website.  It is not up and running at this time, so I will post a link when available!  This lesson can be used to enhance basic writing exercises or even biology lessons such as classifications!

 

Try This: Amazing Animal Alphabet

Create a page about your favorite letter of the alphabet.  Or get together with friends to make a page for each letter of the alphabet and make a whole book!

You Will Need:

- alphabet books to look at such as Graeme Base's Animalia (optional)

- a dictionary (optional)

- sketch paper

- drawing paper

- pencil and eraser

- crayons, markers, colored pencils, or watercolor pencils

Step 1: Brainstorm

If you like, go to a library or bookstore and look at some alphabet books for inspiration.  Graeme Base's Animalia is a great one.  Notice how authors and illustrators make interesting works of art about the alphabet.

Now choose a letter of the alphabet and brainstorm a list of words that start with the letter you chose.  A dictionary can be very helpful.

Combine words to write silly sentences about your letter; "Humming hares hammer in hard hats.  Hairy horses hike happily.  Hilarious hippos have hiccups."

Choose your favorite sentence to illustrate.

(example: "Proud Peacocks Preening Perfect Plumage" from Animalia)

Step 2: Sketch

On scratch paper, make a sketch illustrating your sentence.  You can include other objects from your list that start with your letter too.

Step 3: Final Drawing

Draw lightly with a pencil to make a final drawing of your alphabet page on drawing paper - don't forget to include the poem!  You can draw over your pencil with a thin black marker, if you want a dark outline.  Write a key of the hidden words that start with your letter on the back of your drawing. 

13 Rules for Artists

How to Challenge Yourself and Stay Creative

Amy Ropple, Parker Middle School in Reading, Massachusetts

Made by Grade 8 Art Elective, Spring 2003

1. Do something new each time you make a piece of art.

2. Try new materials and processes.  Don't limit yourself!

3. Keep an open mind.
4. LOOK around you.
5. Don't get upset about the artwork you make.
6. After mastering one way of working with an idea, try doing it a different way - you might get a better result.
7. Try never to do the exact same thing twice.
8. Learn background information and do research about the idea you are interested in working on.
9. Keep the fun of art alive!
10. Get opinions from others.
11. Do something original.  Copying is for learning only.  Use your own ideas in your art.
12. Practice = growth.
13. Stay focused.

Teen Arts Integration

 If you're interested in a more challenging lesson this Colonial Arts: Weaving project is perfect for teens with good dexterity.  It takes a lot of patience and time, but the finished product is beautiful and functional!  The pouch that is made can be used to hold an ipod, cellphone, or other small objects! This and many more projects can be found at http://www.art-rageous.net/.

The Elements of Art

The Fox Valley Symphony is a surprisingly helpful resource for arts integration.  Their PDF The Basic Elements of Art contains 17 pages of lessons, images, and activities. Also listed on their website are other arts integration resources like the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's amazing website for kids http://www.dsokids.com/.

Once Upon a Time...

Once you have checked out some of the awesome bookmaking pages I've linked to, this Invent a Book lesson plan can be easily paired up with one of them!  Posted by Sherri Osborn on About.com Family Crafts.

Art History, Math and Other Ideas

The following links are some excellent resources for Egyptian studies, art history, and math!

Huntsville City Schools
Elementary Art History Lesson Plans

artfactory.com
Ancient Egyptian Art Lessons

Glen Bledsoe Egypt Web
Hieroglyphic Alphabet

Neferchichi's Tomb
Writing with Hieroglyphics

River Deep Interactive Learning
Quilted Math

Watercolor Lesson Plans

Using paint in a classroom isn't always feasible but with a few watercolor trays, cups of water, and small brushes a whole world of opportunity opens up.  Here at the Columbia Art Center we love to use watercolor in many of our lesson plans.  Kids love the vivid colors and we love the easy clean up!  The following resources could easily work in any classroom.  Definitely give watercolors a try if you haven't already!


Watercolor Techniques for Kids
The Aurora: Inspiration for Art and Poetry
Sumi-e Painting
Moods with the Weather (can be modified to use watercolor).

Printmaking Lesson Plans

Teaching the process of printmaking can be a gateway to a diverse set of lessons.  Printmaking can be made to teach geometry, social studies, even literature if structured the right way.  One such lesson plan in printmaking is from the Oracle Education Foundation: ThinkQuest.  It covers the Hawaiian tradition of Kapa Printing on cloth.  How to do Kapa Printing uses simple supplies and instructions and could easily be modified to discuss many different types of cultural fabric printing.  A lesson that takes this same idea a little further is from Art On-Air, a show that runs on Kentucky Educational Television.  This Tessellations Lesson takes the basic idea of stamping and broadens it to explore tessellation design.   Both of these websites are fabulous sources of many different arts integration lesson plans.

Also, be sure the check out the websites listed under "Arts Integration Resources" all of which contain a large selection of diverse lesson plans and ideas!

A Story on a Vase

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA has a fantastic website that offers numerous resources for educators.  Even if you can't get out to L.A. to visit the museum their Education page offers tons of information about their collection and exhibitions.  A Story on a Vase is a full lesson plan that combines Greek Mythology, illustration, and vase painting with images from their own collection.  Be sure to take advantage of this fabulous website!

Papermaking Video

Need a little help with the Papermaking Process?  Check out this video How to Make Paper with Lisa Jo Rudy
Below the video is a "transcript" that includes the instructions and supplies needed!

Another helpful resource is B_Zedan Flickr Step-by-step photos .  It has many detailed photos of the papermaking process!

Plantable Paper

Spring will soon be upon us!  And this lesson plan is perfect for the warmer weather that is on the way!  It's Plantable Paper! by Martha Starke.  Once you've created the amazing plantable paper you can plant some in the classroom and watch it bloom! 

Be sure to check out Martha Starke's Etsy shop!  It is full of Beautiful "Pulp Art".

Nature Print Paper Lessons

Nature Print Paper is a really neat product that can produce photographic images without the use of a camera or toxic chemicals!  All you need is sunlight and a basin of water to "expose" the images.  We've used it here at the Art Center plenty of times with lots of great results.

The link below is an in depth lesson plan for using Nature Print Paper to learn about Atmospheric and Space Physics!

PDF File: University of Colorado at Boulder: Space Weather Education

Batik Lesson Plans II

Here is another great lesson plan from http://blogs.scholastic.com/arts/ that teaches about the art of Batik without using hot wax!  This lesson plan uses a different resist mixture.  Strategies for Arts Integration: Handmade Batik Pillows

Check out their website for more great "Strategies for Arts Integration"!

Journaling and Book Making

We love making our own sketchbooks here at the Art Center and we always love finding out more about Bookmaking and Journaling.  Booklyn Artists Alliance is a fantastic resource for traditional book binding techniques both complex and simple.  The accordian book is almost as simple as it gets!  As for journaling, it doesn't get any better than Carol Zika's Artful Journaling!  Be sure to check out her website! http://artfuljournalingzikastudios.blogspot.com/

Journaling/Bookmaking Resources:
The Kennedy Center: Arts Edge; Lewis and Clarck: Artful Recordings
Jamie Butler - The Basic Binding of Books: A Tutorial
readwritethink - Rebecca Manery, Chicago IL. "Cosmic Oranges"
Bright Hub: The Hub for Bright Minds - Creating a Bond with Nature: Making a Nature Journal
Smithsonian Education: Introduction to the Nature Journal (PDF)

Graphic Design Lesson Plan

Design a Community Flag is a fantastic lesson plan provided by Education World: The Educator's Best Friend .  The website is full of great ideas, lessons, and resources.  The flag lesson plan is one of our favorites here at the Art Center!

Drawing Lesson Plans

Sometimes a basic drawing lesson is all you need to come up with some great projects!  The website Drawing With Children by Harmony Art Mom provides printable lesson plans and ideas from "Drawing with Children" by Mona Brookes. 

" This lens will help you gather the supplies needed to use this book with your children. I will also share some easy to use lessons to go along with the book that will help you and your children practice your skills in your nature journal. I have made all the lessons printable so see the end of each lesson for a button to print the information out to use with your children.

Even if you are not going to use the lessons for your nature journal, you will find lots of great ideas and videos to get you started drawing anything you want with this book's help."

Be sure to check it out!

Adinkra Textiles

To supplement the previous post about Batik Lesson Plans, I thought I'd add some information about African Adinkra Symbols.  Traditionally Adinkra patterns are created with a resist method, similar to Batik, but a simple stamp-making exercise can easily replace the typical resist methods!  Photos of the stamp-making process can be seen on our flickr!

Adinkra Resources:
Adinkra Symbols
Adinkra Cloth Lesson Plan
Adinkra Cloth Powerpoint

Batik Lesson Plans

Batik is an ancient wax-resist dying technique used to create gorgeous intricate patterns on fabrics.  Although the use of hot wax may not be an option for children there are some great alternative Batik methods that can bring this exciting technique into the classroom!  The following instructions are from the "Watercolor Batik" lesson from Paint! Art & Activities for Kids by Kim Solga.

Batik Mixture: 1/2 cup flour + 1/2 cup water + 2 teaspoons alum (found where spices or medicines are sold)
In a blender pour the 1/2 cup water and slowly sprinkle in the flour and alum.  Once fully mixed, put the mixture into a squirt bottle (such as a ketchup bottle) and use it to create patterns and designs on your fabric.  Let it fully dry before adding watercolor.  After watercolor has dried the batik mixture can be peeled off and Voila!  Beautiful Batik Fabric! (In the example shown the watercolor was done first.  The patterns were made with the Batik mixture and once dry the entire fabric was sprayed with black india ink.  When the mixture was removed the watercolor that was added first shows through!)

Batik Resources:
Batik Lesson Plan PDF - Karen Siler, Glen Allen Elementary School
Batik Lesson Plan PPT with Images - Karen Siler, Glen Allen Elementary School
Towards Classifying Classical Batik Images - Dr. Veronica S. Moertini

Benefits of Paper Making in the Classroom

Paper Making: Custom Hand-Made Paper is a website that offers some great paper making resources and ideas.   

"Whether homeschooling or teaching in a classroom setting, teachers can get a lot of mileage out of a single paper making lesson. Making our own paper teaches us things from nearly every subject and helps us make sense of our world. Imagine if math teachers could have their students make rulers, or music teachers could make instruments in class–what a gateway to knowledge!" 

Check out their 10 Benefits of paper-making in the classroom for more.

Arts Integration Workshops

Arts Integration uses fine and performing arts to enrich the studies of all disciplines.  In engaging students both physically and mentally one can increase student motivation, improve problem solving skills, and help to build broader multicultural understanding.  To bring this kind of enhancement to your own classrooms the Columbia Art Center is the perfect setting for introducing educators to the Arts Integration approach to teaching. 

An Arts Integration Workshop at the Columbia Art Center includes instruction in four foundations: papermaking, watercolor, artful journaling, and printmaking.  Each technique will be demonstrated by experienced artists and teachers and can be applied to any curriculum to enhance the learning experience.  Also included are refreshments and lunch. 

For more information please contact:

Monica Herber - Daytime Program Coordinator and Art Camp Director

Telephone: 410-730-0075

Fax: 410-997-2902

monica.herber@columbiaassociation.com

Columbia Art Center

6100 Foreland Garth, Columbia, MD 21045

http://www.columbiaartcenter.org/
http://www.columbiaassociation.com/

Pictures!

Images from two different Columbia Art Center Arts Integration Workshops have been posted to Flickr!  Check out the different "Sets" to see each different workshop offered.  Any Set with LINKS as a preface contains photos from our Second Arts Integration Workshop.  Post questions here if you have any! 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artconnectionhoco

A work of art is a world in itself, reflecting senses and emotions of the artist's world. 
- Hans Hoffman

What is Arts Integration?

Arts Integration uses creativity and artistic endeavors to enrich the studies of all disciplines.  In approaching a lesson from multiple angles and engaging students both physically and mentally one can increase student motivation, improve problem solving skills, and help to build broader multicultural understanding.  Incorporating Dance, Music, Theater, and/or Visual Arts into other academic studies has been shown to improve student engagement, encourage better attendance and increase graduation rates.  In the pursuit of bringing this kind of enhancement to classrooms throughout Howard County and beyond this blog will be frequently uploading lesson plans, images, articles, and workshop dates and information.  The following links provide more in depth information about the advantages of Arts Integation. 

Arts Education Partnership

Arts Integration: The International Organization on Arts and Disability

Arts Every Day

Arts Connection

Please stay tuned for up-to-date information, ideas, and inspiration!

Everything in the universe has rhythm.  Everything dances. 

- Maya Angelou