Blogs

Curator's Corner

Welcome to May! Charles Burchfield

Monday, May 6, 2024 | Karl Cole

To welcome the wonderful month of May, let’s look at the work of an extremely unique artist who sought not only to capture what he saw in nature, but also what he felt: Charles Burchfield. He is ...

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Curator's Corner

International Dance Day 2024

Monday, April 29, 2024 | Karl Cole

I cannot think of a more joyous April sendoff than art that features dancing in celebration of International Dance Day. The International Theater Institute began International Dance Day on April 29, 1 ...

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Curator's Corner

National Poetry Month: Tang Yin

Monday, April 22, 2024 | Karl Cole

April is National Poetry Month in the United States. This celebration of literary pursuits was begun by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996. The celebration encourages anyone connected with bo ...

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Davis Desk

The Mission Continues: A New Editor-in-Chief

Wednesday, April 17, 2024 | Nancy Walkup

My first art education article was published in SchoolArts in April 1989, titled “A Guide to Planning an Arts Festival.” I was in my first teaching position, and I clearly remember how exc ...

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Curator's Corner

Seeing Stars: Vija Celmins

Tuesday, April 16, 2024 | Karl Cole

The recent eclipse gave me a hankering for some art that is space oriented. I naturally thought of these prints by Vija Celmins. I’ve always been amazed by the patience that her brand of re ...

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Article

Co-Editor’s Letter: Contemporary Art

Monday, April 15, 2024 | James Rees

As you read the articles about contemporary art in this issue and share the associated projects with your students, keep in mind that you’re not discarding the teaching of traditional artists an ...

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Article

Put-Together Patterns

Monday, April 15, 2024 | Sue Liedke

When a Sean Scully exhibition came to Philadelphia, I was excited to introduce my students to his bold, large-scale work. The paintings we looked at were massive—wall-sized panels featuring brig ...

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Article

A Contemporary Creative Process

Monday, April 15, 2024 | Ruth Byrne

I love heading outside and teaching landscape art en plein air, but last year my landscape plans were given a contemporary twist through the work and artistic process of painter, writer, and teaching ...

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Article

Exploring Alternative Mark-Making

Monday, April 15, 2024 | Frank Juárez

This project came at the perfect time, after my Drawing Intensive students had completed a large-scale realistic drawing assignment. I wanted to give them the freedom to experiment in their mark-makin ...

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Article

Tondo-Inspired Abstract Paintings

Monday, April 15, 2024 | Sunnylee Mowery

Anyone studying contemporary art will notice that many modern visual artists use adaptation in their work. Adaptation can be a difficult concept for young artists to grasp. It has become so ubiquitous ...

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Curator's Corner

Gem of the Month: Paul Sérusier

Tuesday, April 9, 2024 | Karl Cole

The “schools” of Pont-Aven and Le Pouldu in Brittany, France, were artist colonies even before the “star,” Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), showed up in 1886 and 1889, respectiv ...

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Curator's Corner

National Garden Month: Amer Fort

Monday, April 1, 2024 | Karl Cole

I can’t think of a more appropriate month for National Garden Month than April, when we are fresh from winter and want to go outside and see flowers. April was first declared National Garden Mon ...

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Curator's Corner

Documenting Child Labor: Jacob Riis

Monday, March 25, 2024 | Karl Cole

If we think that only adult women have played an important role in American history, then we are sadly mistaken. Before child labor laws were passed in the United States (1 September 1916), young wome ...

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Curator's Corner

Gem of the Month: Kumi Sugaï

Monday, March 18, 2024 | Karl Cole

Abstraction was not an invention of Western artists in the early 1900s. The following definitions indicate that abstraction has been part of art throughout the world since the cave paintings of pre-hi ...

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Article

Unwanted Artwork Olympics

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | Annie Zirin

I have a rule in my art room that students are not allowed to throw their “mistakes” in the trash. If they are working on a piece and decide they don’t like it, it goes in the Unwant ...

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Article

Collaborative Learning through Design

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | Janine Campbell

This collaboration was developed during the 2020–2021 school year, when the pandemic made working together a challenge. With the implementation of Google Docs and Google Drawings, the barriers t ...

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