I know that this artist’s name (German origin) is pronounce “Pfaal” instead of “Fawl,” but I couldn’t resist shining a spotlight on him this week—for artistic ...
I often happen upon an artist’s name and think, “Aha! I’ve never posted about this artist, and his/her work is awesome.” That’s what happened yesterday when I crossed pat ...
Monarch Migrations
Keriann Kirkeng
One year I was researching Dia De Los Muertos/The Mexican Day of the Dead to incorporate in a unit I was creating and I became fascinated with its co ...
I'm just back from a great trip to Tacoma, Washington, to present Embracing Art for Social Change at the Washington Art Education Association Conference and thought I would share a few photos. My keyn ...
“It is time for a different, formal defense of nature. We should offer up not just the notion of being sensible and responsible about it…nor the notion of its mammoth utilitarian and fina ...
My significant other and I just had a redo of our vacation in Provincetown that did not end up happening in July. So, in honor of that, I’m presenting Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011), a tr ...
Persistence. Does that concept play a part in your teaching? For your students? For yourself? Persistence is the ability to stick with something, to continue working, to try harder, to not give up. I ...
I’ve posted before about how the idea of abstraction has been around since the earliest art produced by humans. However, somehow in the West we think that Western artists “invented” ...
In most of my lessons, I like to start off with some simple hints for my students. I leave subtle clues around the room throughout the weeks leading up to a project, such as a book that suddenly appea ...
Monday, October 1, 2018 | Harrison Dodge and Kala Phelps
I collaborated with my student Harrison Dodge, who wrote most of this article. When planning this Boxed Humans project, I wanted to give my students freedom to create pieces that reflected their own d ...
When Santa Clarita Valley’s Education Foundation asked me to act as art director on their annual Children’s Literature and Arts Festival committee, my first thought was, “How fun!&rd ...
My reference to the word “Turning” has to do with the changing colors of leaves in the now-upon-us autumn season. Instead of focusing—in gloomy fashion—on the end of summer, ho ...
When we talk about art that reconciles political, spiritual, and social beliefs all in one pertinent statement—and I’m certainly not talking about ancient Assyrian art, Jacques-Louis David ...
Elementary, middle and high school teachers and their students are encouraged to participate in the Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest, an integral part of the14th annual Endangered Species D ...
When planning this “Boxed Human” project, I wanted to give my students freedom to create pieces that reflect their own developing styles. The goals for this project were for students to ex ...
As autumn is right around the corner, my mind drifts back to one of my favorite pastimes in my hometown, Chicago. I would walk for hours in the various neighborhoods near where I lived looking at the ...
