7 Gift ideas: How the Bear Met the Bee
As you’re working on getting all of your holiday gifts crossed off of your list, here are a few ideas of who to give the book, How the Bear Met the Bee, to. Anyone with elementary-age kids, bonus points for those that love animals. Make a donation to your local library. Elementary school art teacher […]
How to Prepare for Scholastic Art Awards
As you’re researching and planning for college, you’re also likely looking for ways to earn scholarships. Have you considered entering your work in the Scholastic Art Awards? How to get started Look at previous award winners to get a sense of the caliber of work submitted: dwriting.org/gallery, and here https://www.artandwriting.org/gallery/awards Narrow your search and view […]
Where Does a Story Start?
Where does the story come from? How do you find your inspiration and ideas?These are not easy questions to answer and the process cannot be boiled down into a simple list, but I will attempt to allow you to peek into the window and get a glimpse of the process. My children both have enjoyed […]
10 Steps to Revision
Nobody likes revision. Revision is often viewed in negative terms. We often think of revision as an indicator of failure, because we have to start over or make adjustments to our work. Revision isn’t bad, it’s a natural part of the creative process. Over a year ago I started working on illustrations for a children’s […]
Plagiarism and Appropriation in Art
AP Studio Art data reflects that a large group of students was caught plagiarizing or inappropriately appropriating works of art. While many quickly jumped to conclusions about students being lazy or taking advantage of online learning due to the pandemic, there is a more important and meaningful conversation to have about cheating. Do students understand […]
Materials Inspire
In a previous post, Materials Matter, I discussed the connection between the materials that you select to create your work and the message that you’re trying to convey. Synthesizing materials, processes, and ideas, is something that students often don’t think about, but is an important part of the art-making process. Even more important if you’re […]
Materials Matter
Do you think about the role that your material selection plays in communicating your ideas? When Meret Oppenheim, created Object, in 1936, choosing to cover a teacup and saucer in fur, caught viewers’ attention. The artist’s choice of materials changed how the object was viewed and used. I don’t know about you, but I don’t […]
What AP Studio Art Course is Right for Me?
AP 2D Design vs. AP Drawing When you’re thinking about taking an Advanced Placement studio art course, you may find yourself confused when you try to determine if the 2D or Drawing portfolio is right for you. The first thing to do is to ask yourself if you’re interested in having photography as part of […]
How to use Reference Images in your artwork
Before we talk about how to use reference images, let’s start by talking about what a reference image is. A reference image is one or more images that you’re looking at to help guide a work of art that you’re creating. You may have reference images that you took or ones that you found. Today, […]