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Paper Microbes

Thursday, November 9, 2023 | Kasmira Mohanty

Students decided to go in the opposite direction from the enormity of space to explore the world of microbiology. Based on this decision, I introduced them to the paper sculptures of Rogan Brown. The ...

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Light the Dark

Wednesday, October 4, 2023 | Monique Dobbelaere

Tasks that may have become routine can always be refreshed, and using black light is a fantastic way to do that. Begin by sharing visual examples and the prompt for students to choose a subject for an ...

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Davis Desk

Visibility

Tuesday, September 19, 2023 | Julian Davis Wade

An article I recently read offered this advice, “publicly displaying students’ art engages parents, arts education advocates, and the community in conversations about the importance of art ...

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Article

American Sign Language and the Arts

Monday, September 11, 2023 | Monique Dobbelaere

American Sign Language (ASL) is kindred to the arts as it is a visual language. Combining the arts and ASL is one of many ways you can create an inclusive climate in your school community while celebr ...

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Article

Retro Fun with Parody

Monday, September 11, 2023 | Michael Kerr

We start by discussing where we see satire and parody in pop culture. Students naturally wind up talking about “Weird Al” Yankovic or SNL (Saturday Night Live) Weekend Update—things ...

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Alter-Ego Books

Thursday, August 3, 2023 | Trish Klenow and Slater Mapp

What if there was a way to connect all of the beginning art exercises like perspective, value scale, and faces into a cohesive story? What if there was choice and depth from day one of your first art ...

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Contorted Portraits

Tuesday, May 9, 2023 | Wendi Sparks

Using oil pastels, my Advanced Drawing students tackled portraits with vibrant color and expressive style. My strategy for helping them work with bright colors is to first research examples of differe ...

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Article

Postmodern Portraits

Tuesday, April 11, 2023 | Trish Klenow

When creating a great postmodern portrait, embrace the cellphone, the selfie, and TikTok. They are ever-present resources for this generation. We’ve come a long way since glamor shots at the mal ...

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Article

Light Painting Portraits

Thursday, March 9, 2023 | Rebecca Cauchon Sutphen

Students love to explore photography through light painting (also called light drawing or light graffiti), a technique of moving a light source while taking a long-exposure photograph. Recently, my ad ...

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Article

Prepare Yourself

Thursday, February 9, 2023 | Betsy DiJulio

In years past, for the last quarter of the school year, I assigned students in my drawing, painting, and printmaking classes one final project that was ambitious and appropriately demanding, usually a ...

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Article

Oodles of Doodles

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 | John Zilewicz

Recently, I was swiping through Instagram when I stumbled upon an art style called Doodle Art. Doodles are defined by Wikipedia as “simple drawings that can have concrete representational meanin ...

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Article

Manipulative Photomontage

Wednesday, October 5, 2022 | Christina Pinton

I present the challenge of gathering imagery (royalty-free images and their own photographs) and manipulating them to produce an imagined landscape. Students’ landscapes may include figures, bui ...

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Article

Making a Scene

Monday, September 12, 2022 | Cristina Pinton

In our AP photograph class, I start one of my favorite projects in the middle of the woods at sunset. Why? Dramatic, eerie fading light! Students are armed with a soft box (a type of photographic ligh ...

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Article

Design with the Cell Phone in Mind

Wednesday, August 3, 2022 | Eric Gibbons

For this lesson, I wanted students to create and photograph an artwork that would become the wallpaper for their cell phones. They could express their personal interests if it was school-appropriate. ...

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Article

Exploring Oneself through Artmaking

Tuesday, May 10, 2022 | Ben Hoffman

As a high-school art teacher and practicing artist, I explored this question with my students: “How does an authentic studio practice connect us to ourselves, to one another, and to the world ar ...

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Article

Connecting with Identity and Place

Monday, April 11, 2022 | Abby Birhanu and Lori Santos

Adolescents are on a quest to discover themselves through their social relationships. For this lesson, we wanted to expand their quest to include a connection to place and community. Elements of Indig ...

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