Book Review: Sharpie Art Workshop for Kids

Do you use Sharpies in the art room? They can be a great component of so many art projects, from informal doodles, to elaborate long-term drawing projects. A friend and fellow blogger, the amazing art teacher Kathy Barbro at Art Projects for Kids has just released a wonderful book titled Sharpie Art Workshop for Kids, in which she shares a multitude of art lesson ideas using these awesome markers!

The featured projects could serve as a great jumping-off point for a more experienced art teacher, or a great beginning for someone who home schools, or just wants to get more creative time in with their kids. Kathy begins with the basics of color theory, the elements of art, and things to have in a well stocked art room. She takes advantage of the fact that Sharpies can be used on many surfaces, and creates projects on canvas, cardboard, tin cans, CD cases and more. She also draws inspiration from animals, world cultures, and art history.

You can find this amazing item wherever cool art books are sold, like here at Amazon! Make sure you take a peek inside to see projects, supplies, and templates. This is a great addition to the art room library.

Thanks Kathy for sharing a copy for me to review here at Positive Space! Congratulations on being published.

My Art Book: Animals Winners

Thanks to everyone who entered the My Art Book: Animals give-away. I loved reading all of the comments about your favorite animals! My three lucky winners have been notified and a copy will be mailed out to you soon. Congratulations to Marcia, Pat and Katie! I'll be posting some of my experiences with the lessons in this book soon.

Book Review: Let's Make Some Great Art

Laurence King Publishers has sent me another great offering for review. Let's Make Some Great Art by Marion Deuchars is an art-themed coloring and activity book filled with drawings, activities and even lessons in art history.  I really enjoy its hand-written text and friendly visual style.

Artists such as Picasso, Mondrian, da Vinci and more are featured with exercises inspired by their works. There are projects in all types of media from collage, to sculpture, to painting and drawing— and all of them are FUN! This would be a great art workbook for home-schoolers, or a resource for art lesson ideas and simple sub plans. I hope you get a chance to check it out!

Bubble Writer Winner!

Thanks to everyone for entering for a chance to win the book  How to be the Best Bubble Writer in the World Ever! by Linda Scott. Ashley, you are the winner! Congratulations.

Please check back soon for more posts, lessons, and perhaps another giveaway...

Bubble Writer Give-Away

A few posts back I shared a review and artwork made by me and the kids for  How to be the Best Bubble Writer in the World Ever! by Linda Scott. This is a brilliant workbook style book that introduces us to and guides us through the world of the bubble writer. I hope you've had a chance to do some bubble lettering art of your own. If you haven't and need a little guidance, here's your chance. I've received a second copy of this awesome publication and will be giving it away to one of you!

 Please leave a comment on this post with a way to contact you to enter. One entry per person. I will select a winner at random on or about September 5th. Good luck everyone!

Bubble Writing Review!

Laurence King Publishing contacted me and asked me to check out some of their upcoming books for use on my blog. The first I received was How to be the Best Bubble Writer in the World Ever! This is a brilliant workbook style book that introduces us to and guides us through the world of the bubble writer!

It is great for kids and adults alike. It can also be quite addicting! Author Linda Scott suggests minimal materials and a fun attitude to begin you on your journey. Oh, and she reminds you that there are no rules when it comes to bubble letters and creativity! The first three types of bubble letters are the foundation, so to speak, and then you can venture on to the more complex.

Use this workbook to create fun doodles, complete pieces of sketchbook art, or even design your own alphabets! Typography and design, pattern, color, composition—all of these themes are inherent in art lessons designed for children, when using this book as a guide. Here are some things we tried in class at the studio, using just pencil, black sharpies, and crayola markers:

Name Assignment: the students and I  went over the 3 basic bubble alphabets (freestyle, block, and shaded block) and created an art piece based on our first names.

Typeface Design: we designed our own bubble alphabets using our favorite animals as inspiration.

Comic Words: and for my manga/comic students, we used Scott's alphabets to illustrate examples of emotional dialogue.

Check out this video of Linda Scott demonstrating her genius! Thanks to Linda for such a wonderful book, and to Debra at Laurence King Publishing for sharing it with me and my students.

How to be the Best Bubble Writer in the World Ever! on Vimeo