Art Teacher Finds—Say Cheese!

While doing my weekly food shopping recently I came upon a familiar face in one of the refrigerator cases. "Why Vincent, what are you doing here? I will have to take you home with me."  Thankfully this conversation took place silently in my mind. 

Vincent joined me as I sprinkled this yummy cheese on top of soups, pasta, and added the rest to a quiche. I never thought I would find an art teacher cheese, but here we have it! Have you encountered any art teacher finds lately? Tell me about them in the comments below.

Vincent van Gogh Giveaway!

I recently found this wonderful graphic novel all about Vincent van Gogh and his years spent in Arles. It was created by a Dutch artist/author named Barbara Stok, and her simple and brilliant visuals are a joy to read. Here she talks about her inspiration:

"I chose the last couple of years of his life, the period he lived in the south of France, because it’s an extremely interesting time. There was a lot going on: he made his most beautiful paintings, he dreamed about setting up an artists’ house, there was the tragic incident with his ear and, finally, he went to a mental institution. He had hopes and dreams and big disappointments, but in the end he found resignation and consolation in his work and in nature."

 So now I want to share— literally!
Welcome to latest Positive Space Giveaway! Woo hoo!

To enter: please become a member/follower of my blog if you haven't already, and then leave a comment below with a favorite van Gogh anecdote. Maybe it's the first time you viewed one of his paintings, your favorite or most successful art lesson. Perhaps you dressed as him for Halloween one year? Hmmmmmm? Too bad you can't see the candles on my, err, I mean his hat. One winner will be chosen from the comments, so make sure you leave a way for me to contact you within your comment!

The giveaway is open to residents of the 50 United States (and DC), ends on August 15th, and will ship within one week. Read it yourself, share with a friend, and depending on what age range you teach, share it with your students. I would suggest high school only. Caution: nudity, some naughty language, and the ear is dealt with—enough said.

Good luck my art teacher friends, and hope your first days of school run smoothly! And well wishes to all of my online family!

My New Favorite TV Commercial

There's a new TV commercial airing sponsored by HGTV, Sherwin-Williams, and Lowe's featuring some very familiar faces. Have you seen it? Take a minute to watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XznR_UIpyB4

Great Art Sites for Kids—Kerpoof!

Kerpoof Studio is one of my kids' favorite sites on the web for drawing and making art. Kerpoof is owned by the Disney company, and though not everything there is available for free (they require a monthly subscription fee for complete access) there are great features that are free that should not be passed up!

Try the Make a Drawing page with a sophisticated and easy to use paint program. Children can see colors being added to their palette and how they mix, and they can choose settings for the transparency and size of their pen.

On the Make a Picture page, children select different backgrounds to start with and then they get to add elements to create their art in a collage style. I happened to find a couple of pages base on famous paintings. As elements are selected, facts are given about the artist and his work. 

I hope you get a chance to play at Kerpoof!

Our Trip to the Getty Museum

Part of my recent trip west included a trip to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The last time I was there my girlfriend took me to the Getty Villa, and it was incredible. But while I was there I found out that van Gogh's Irises was at the Getty Museum and I was determined to see it!

My opportunity arrived this month, and of course I went with family in tow. When we entered the main galleries, my daughters were excited to see a large Giacometti sculpture. They were tugging on me, and shouting "Mom, Mom, it's Giacometti!" I have to say, this was a great moment. We had created sculptures inspired by Giacometti, and they were proud to be able to recognize it, and to get a closer look.

 We checked the daily schedule and my older daughter found that the museum was offering a family sketch class, so we signed up for it. The theme was nature, so we were guided through a gallery of tapestries to sketch, and then out into the gardens of the museum. It was great fun, and the museum provided sketch books, drawing and watercolor pencils for us all to keep. It was such a great experience and so generous of the museum. Bravo Getty!

And yes, I did get to see van Gogh! Along with other great painters like  Pissarro, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne and Monet. It was a great day for art, family and children. I can't stress enough how enriching a trip to a museum can be! Make time to visit and enjoy it with children.

Van Gogh Sunflower Weaving

The idea for this lesson plan came from Family Fun Magazine online. I was interested in the project for its application of weaving and 3-D art. It is also nice for my small studio because the children make and take their looms home as part of the sunflower. I had a template for them to trace and cut to create the petals of the flowers on their paper plates.

We read the book titled 'Van Gogh and the Sunflowers' to learn more about his life and inspiration. Then I used the lesson to help them create their own sunflowers. They got to decide when they had weaved enough to create the centers. I also had photo reference available for the shape and color of the leaves. 

I gave this lesson to my older and younger students, and have to say that it was more appropriate for the older kids (grades 4-8.) But since my classes are small, I was able to guide the younger ones to create great flowers too! It was also just a great project to send home to brighten up this cold, snowy winter we are having. Have a look:

The Google Art Project

 I am completely blown away by the Google Art Project just released online! I frequent museums and believe that viewing paintings in person is a worthwhile experience. But when I can use Google to walk into the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and view one of his paintings so closely that I can melt right into the brush strokes, it is a good day to be alive! And imagine the people who don't have the mobility or means to travel the world for the luxury of these experiences. If you haven't visited yet, make sure you do! Check out the Visitor's Guide and Behind the Scenes offerings as well.

http://www.googleartproject.com/

Van Gogh in Clay

I got this idea from an issue of Family Fun Magazine, in which an art teacher was asked to share her favorite lessons. We used 6x9 art boards, and non-drying modeling clay in primaries, green and white. I thought this idea was brilliant alternative to an actual oil painting. The children get a real tactile sense of it by applying clay to the surface of the board and mixing their own colors by blending the clays together— this also helped it to warm up and become more pliable. My whole family helped to practice this lesson. My husband who is an art director and has a degree in illustration couldn't wait to try it! I always need to try out lessons before I teach them and in doing so have been having so much fun getting messy, and producing art without worrying too much about the final product. I guess the rule about the process being more important than the product can apply to adults as well!