In the vibrant world of art education, fostering a sense of community among students is paramount. Beyond the strokes of a brush or the lines of a pencil, lies an opportunity to cultivate collaboration, camaraderie, and connection. One innovative way to achieve this is through the power of a community mixed media art project that harbors the unique experiences and shared memories of every student in the art classroom. Scrapbooking at its base is just plain fun. As a classwide endeavor it becomes not only a means of artistic expression but also a vehicle for reflection, celebration, and bonding ..read more

Perspective is a funny thing. We can choose to see life from any angle. A situation can be seen as a total disaster or as an opportunity for growth. People are no different. Students roam the hallways with all kinds of labels – they may as well be pinned to their shirts. “This student works SO hard” and “This student is a waste of space”. Better yet, “This student won’t do anything, don’t waste your time.” I heard a student referred to as a “Blinking Potato” once. The best part about exploring classroom management? These aren’t labels given by students. These are teacher given labels.  Pl ..read more

It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of relying on assumptions about those interacting within our art classrooms. Whether it’s presumptions about a student’s abilities, behavior, or interests, these preconceived notions can inadvertently stifle creativity and hinder genuine connection. I’ve come to realize that pivotal moments arise when we consciously choose to defy these assumptions. Throughout my journey as an art teacher, I’ve encountered numerous opportunities where I could have succumbed to the noise of assumption, but instead, I opted to take action. It’s these deliberate choices tha ..read more

The Fabulous Class Opener: Greetings to a World of Creativity The Door. I stop whatever I’m doing and I stand there. Outside. As they enter, I am speaking to them one by one, complimenting a new haircut, a particularly artsy outfit, or just telling them to “get in here, we have fabulousness to attend to!” In my art classroom, fabulousness is the only goal, and everything emanates from this one goal to create an environment that allows for every student to be creatively unique. This blog will further explore alternative class-opening techniques, ensuring your students start each session with a ..read more

Learning to draw with Negative Space is key to a strong foundational skill set for young artists.The Art Element Space – Negative Space – is so important when it comes to observational life drawing. We use Negative Space to see, discern and render objects. This space gives us the ability to assess relationships between objects in a composition, and draw them with accurate scale and proportion. This is the one time the word “negative” isn’t a bad thing. This drawing skill is Tool #3 in the Drawing Tool Box – Skills #1 and #2 are Line Drawing and Drawing with Shapes. Each drawing technique build ..read more

Free Template & Tips for A Successful Absence Planning for a Substitute Stress Free Planning for a substitute art teacher is a CHORE. How many times have you said or hear a fellow teacher say, “It’s more work to be OUT of school than it is to be IN school!” I learned early on that having a rock-solid sub plan made my life so much easier. Whether your absence is planned or unplanned, the following tips and Substitute Teacher Template will bring peace to all future absences. A Little Backstory (It’s short, I promise) When I finished my teaching degree in 2008 the bottom had just fallen ..read more

How to gets art kids motivated, interested, creating, and confident, can be a REAL challenge. The apathy on the art room battlefront is palpable. This has to be (in my humble opinion) the biggest challenge for any art teacher at any grade level. We fight constantly against the forces of evil – CELLPHONES, class interruptions, chatting, tiktok, Instagram, bathroom breaks, hormones, I could go on and on (I’m sure you could too). And now we are fighting post-pandemic fallout. I have a solution that I promise you, it WORKS. I have heard from so many teachers who have tried it and had ama ..read more

In the beginning of my Art Teacher journey, teaching colored pencil techniques to beginners meant passing out some cool images of holiday ornaments and posting a two week deadline and waiting for the magic to happen. Oh, it happened alright…but it wasn’t magic. It was 3 kids out of 30 doing amazing work and the rest of the class limping along, complaining about how hard it was, or breaking pencils and ruining piece after piece of paper…”Can I start over?”  The magic quickly became mania and I decided to formulate a plan for success. For all students. Of all skill levels.  The Scaff ..read more

This Disco Ball Painting checks all the boxes for student engagement in middle school and high school artists. Teaching Acrylic Painting to beginners. Always daunting (for me anyway) at the start. There are so many factors that go into teaching painting successfully. From setup to cleanup, art classroom procedures alone can make a person feel very overwhelmed – and this is before the actual painting begins! Essential Questions for Teaching Painting How do I distribute supplies? What supplies do I even use? What brand of paint? What kind of Brushes? What about Storage? How soon do they clean u ..read more

The Importance of Relevant Art PD Art Workshops that provide relevant training for educators are an absolute must. Especially in the post-pandemic era. More than ever before, people are being placed in teaching positions that they are not equipped for – and not just Art Teachers. It’s happening across the board. These teachers need support in the form of training in their field of study, as many of them have little to none. I have received countless emails from teachers expressing thanks for not only the workshop content, but the practical resources as well. I’m talking about the basics – how ..read more