Fine Art Friday: Louise Nevelson, How to Make Art on a Tight Budget
“I fell in love with black; it contained all color. It wasn’t a negation of color… Black is the most aristocratic color of all… You can be quiet, and it contains the whole thing.” (Louise Nevelson) What do you get a one year old for his birthday? I”m not an expert when […]
What Homeschoolers Need to Know about Applying to Art College
During my senior year of high school I was struggling with depression and battling an eating disorder, all why attempting to decide where I wanted to go to college. I knew that I wanted to be an art teacher, but the options of where to study seemed endless. I could go to a 4 year […]
Fine Art Friday: Andy Goldsworthy
As with all my work, whether it’s a leaf on a rock or ice on a rock, I’m trying to get beneath the surface appearance of things. Working the surface of a stone is an attempt to understand the internal energy of the stone. Andy Goldsworthy My brother, who teaches elementary physical edu, […]
Do You Know What You’re Doing?
There are a lot of elementary kids… there are a lot kids…. there are a lot people that live in my neighborhood, and they actually come outside. Something very different from when my husband and I lived in Mechanicsburg. Peca, our Shiba Inu, loves to go outside when all of the kids are walking […]
There’s so much to do … and then you need to teach
Sometimes life is complicated, because we make it that way. And sometimes it’s complicated just because it’s life. Most weeks your to do list is longer than humanly possible, and somehow you forget, that every week that passes, without you crossing everything off of the list, somehow you don’t die, your kids don’t starve ,and […]
17 Emotions of being an Art Teacher
Overwhelmed at the teetering pile of projects waiting to be graded. Heartbroken at the sight of cracked, melted ceramics pieces as you open the lid to the kiln, now to break the news to the students. Tired from explaining why art matters, and because you never get enough sleep….. Because…. All those projects, […]
What kind of Loom is Best for You
click. click. click. I watched her move those needles rapidly and with precise rhythm, and with even more amazement I watched that ball of beautifully soft yarn transform from a ball into a sweater, blanket, scarf, a mini sweater for my doll named Allison. I had to learn how to do it, and so […]
Inside the classroom: How to get your students talking about art
You spend hours writing lessons plans. You work to challenge your students, to teach them to love art, to understand and use new techniques and to have a love for art history, but some days you feel like you’re drilling them, and it seems that the rigor of lesson leaves them lacking confidence swimming a […]
One Step to end the Marking Period with Ease
When I first started teaching I would dread the end of each marking period. Suddenly student after student would be asking for extra credit, and wanting to know what I gave them a ” C”, never wanting to claim that they may have played a role in the grade that they earned. Then reports cards […]
Who is the best artist ever?
Who is the best artist ever? That’s not an easy question to answer, and if you asked 10 people you would likely get 10 different answers. It’s a hard question, but it’a question that students in my AP Art History class are currently trying to tackle. ( it’s more a lesson in learning how to […]