Art Teacherin' Extravaganza!

Hey, y'all! If you follow me on Instagram or you have signed up for my email newsletter, then you've heard the big news: I'm throwing an Art Teacherin' Extravaganza! I'll be sharing more details here but if you just wanna jump on board and reserve your spot, go ahead and do so here!

 I've been working on putting together this experience for the last couple of months although, to be honest, it's been on my mind for years! So often there are not professional development opportunities for art teachers or when we do have them, they don't offer what it is we really need and want: hands-on creating! Here's a little more:

But, really and truly, the real reason I created this extravaganza is that I want to see you. I want to spend time with you. I know in my bones...IN.MY.BONES...how lonely teaching art can be. I spent the first ten years of my teaching career carrying around that shadow of loneliness. I know I've chatted about it at length on my podcast which you can hear here:



Knowing of my experience with loneliness, I wanted to carve out a time for you and me this summer to spend time together, meet other like-minded folks, make new friends and, best of all, create! Here's where the extravaganza will be held:

Montgomery Bell State Park has so much to offer! There's canoeing, fishing, hiking, swimming, horseback riding and much more. This might just be a great little vacation for you and your family this summer. While you are hanging with me, they could explore the park and all that is has to offer. Not to mention that Nashville is just 45 minutes away and is a buzz with stuff to do! For those attending, I'll be creating a list of my favorite things to share with you soon so you can plan your trip!

The Inn at the park has a very limited amount of rooms set aside for attendees. However, there are a ton of hotels just five miles down the road in the town of Dickson. I included a list of those hotels here. I'd recommend getting in on Thursday night so you are ready for everything on Friday morning. I'm working on creating a Facebook group for attendees to chat with friends and meet potential roomies to lower the accommodation costs.

 

I tried my best to think of every question you may have but I am sure I've forgotten something. So feel free to drop me a line! You can email me at artteacherin101@gmail.com. Love to hear from you and, hopefully, see you real soon!

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In the Art Room: My Favorite Oil Pastel Projects, Hacks and Techniques

Okay, today I'm talking and sharing all about every art teachers favorite art supply: the oil pastel. In this week's podcast, I'm not only excited to share our sponsor Creativity Street's Oil Pastels but also my favorite hacks, my four favorite kinds of oil pastels (from fluorescent to water-soluble) and my favorite lessons. I'm also talking about how to clean oil pastels (yes! you can clean them!) and also how I easily remove the paper wrapper and store these babies. You can hear it all right here! 

I don't often repeat lessons but when I do, it's this first grade hit! We call these our Royal Self Portraits and they are a great use of both oil pastels and water-soluble pastels. Check out the full lesson here. 

My second graders truly are super heroes and it shows in this project! Fluorescent oil pastels were used in the background of this Vincent van Gogh inspired sky and it really pops with a watercolor wash. Lesson here!

Y'all need some of them sub plan things? I got you right here...and your kids will learn about a contemporary artist too! 

Nothing like oil pastel pattern-y landscapes, says me. The pop-up houses with puffy paint also made these a huge hit with the kids. Lesson right here!

Speaking of puffy paint...do y'all use it in your art room? My kids are HUGE fans. I admit, I love the stuff too. But, back to oil pastels. We used them once again to create a great textured resist for this piece. 

Can you guess what household item we used for this piece? Guess you'll have to take a listen or click the link to find out! Video tutorial included! 

These kindergarten pigeons bring me so much happiness! Lesson with video right here!

Speaking of kindergarten, I know they can be a struggle but I got you. I have so many kindergarten lessons on this blog! Just search kindergarten in the search bar or try this fun lesson on for size. 

I mention several different scraffito projects in the podcast episode and this is definitely one of my favorites. More here. 

Need another mental health day? Boo-boo, I hear you. Here's another sub plan favorite! 

First grade and kindergarten love this pattern-y landscape lesson. More here!

Have you checked out my Glow Gallery?! AH!! So fun, see it all and learn all about it here. 

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In the Art Room: Heather Galler-Inspired Hot Chocolate Paintings, Part 1

Hey, y'all! I started a new lesson with my first graders this week. They are really enjoying it and I thought your students might as well. So I quickly created a lesson video for you, if you are interested. In my art class, we learned more about the artist Heather Galler and looked at her work, her love of pattern, color and bold line designs. Afterward, we spent our first thirty-minute art class sketching together in our sketchbooks in preparation for the following day's painting. 

The next day, we sat on the floor (see last photo) and, using an ink-filled bingo dauber, we drew these masterpieces together. No pencils first, we just dove right in. My students were excited by the results and I can't wait to see how they go about adding color with oil pastels and watercolor paint. 

Here is a quick lesson video I created for you and your students if you are interested!

And here's me hanging out with a class of first grade masterpieces. I didn't intend to match their work but when one of them pointed it out to me, I had to laugh. I do love me some black and white! 

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DIY: Paintbrush Gnomes! Or Santas! Or Bearded Dudes! Your choice!

Last weekend was our annual art teacherin' Christmas party where we do a little drinking, dining, ornament swapping and crafting. Exactly two days before I was to host the event, I had no idea what we were gonna make. Nothing like procrastination to get the wheels turning, right?

 I have exactly a million old crusty paintbrushes that I just cannot bear throwing away. So, with those in mind, I decided to have our craft be Paintbrush Gnomes! Or Santas...or bearded dudes resembling my husband. Whatever you wanna call them, it doesn't really matter. I mean, look at this epic cuteness. And, good news, they are so super simple to make. Here, let me show you how:

One thing I failed to mention in the clip is that I created the faces, popped them into the toaster oven, painted and then put them back in to speed up the paint drying process. Probably not something I would recommend unless you got that heat down on to a low 200 and you keep a close eye out. Nobody wants their kitchen smelling like burnt gnome hair.

 Here's a little peak at the brushes created at my craft night before they went into the oven. So cute!

 And here's how they looked when they came out! Also what I didn't share in the clip is that the yarn was added by just yarn bombing the part above the ferrel and attaching with hot glue. 

 I love how silly and fun each one came out, don't you?

 And so you can make them all year round, call 'em Paintbrush Gnomes! I want to make them into the new Quiet Critter for my art room. Noiseless Gnomie, if you will. 

So if you need a fun craft for winter break, here you go! Have fun, y'all!

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In the Art Room: Weaving with First Grade

Teaching weaving was one of those things I dreaded my first year teaching. I got a C on a weaving project in college because I was certain that my professor would never notice that I'd missed a warp string, causing a large runner to snake it's way through my weaving. So when I saw weaving in my curriculum, I was not thrilled. 

It also didn't help that I had a first grade boy shout, "I'm NOT WEAVING. It's FOR GIRLS."

Here's the funny part: days later, he was the best weaver in class and years later, I wrote a book on fiber arts for kids. Go figure! 

Last week, my first graders and I spent a couple of art classes learning about abstract art. We enjoyed listening to Peter and the Wolf while using our oil pastels to create a line for each character in the symphony. The following day, we listened to the whole record while using watercolor paint to create. You can see a similar lesson here. And if you'd like to see the lesson I taught for abstract painting last year, here you go:

After our day of painting, we turned our paintings into looms for weaving. Here is how we did just that:

 If you would prefer to see more of a blog post on this, visit this! Also, this video might show more about paper weaving:

Or this!

When introducing weaving, this giant paper loom comes in so handy! I made it years ago from laminated bulletin board paper. 

And in just 30 minutes, my students had completed their weavings! It was a record!

 I love them with their abstract paintings. Now...dreaming of ideas of where we take these next. 

I've done a variety of weaving lessons with paper weavings from owls to hearts. Be sure and click on those links for more ideas!

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In the Art Room: Top Ten Favorite Winter Art Lessons!

 On my way in to school this morning, IT SNOWED! Well...it "snowed" Tennessee style. It looked like a blizzard of dandruff bits but for us in the South, that means a lot! It put me in the mood for all things winter and so I thought I'd put together a list of my Top Ten Favorite Winter Art Lessons. If you follow the link on each of these, you'll find a video for most and a lesson for all. Let's go!

 SNOW GLOBE CITIES! This lesson was a hit with my fourth graders last year. They really loved working on their buildings that were inspired by famous places from around the globe...get it, GLOBE?! yeah, it's okay, they didn't get it either. 

 PENGUIN LOVE! My first graders created these last winter and they made our halls so cute, cuddly and happy. We went big with these guys and my students could not have loved it more!

 KINDERGARTEN SNOWMEN! This lesson was pretty similar to the first grade one in that the background involved learning how to paint overlapping spiral lines. 

 WATERCOLOR WINTERSCAPES! My third graders are getting ready to work on these tomorrow! We paint ours on cardboard pizza rounds, inspired by the artist Jen Aranyi. 

 KINDERGARTEN WINTER LANDSCAPES! The smallest of artists made the snowiest of artwork! Follow the link on more lesson details. 

 HOT CHOCOLATE TIME! My second graders were inspired by the artist Heather Galler to create these delicious cups of hot cocoa. I'm thinking I need to bring this lesson back soon! 

 FAUX STAINED GLASS WINDOW! My fourth graders created these fun pieces inspired by stained glass windows. They even learned how real stained glass windows are made, check out the video!

 PRINTED MITTENS AND HAT SELF-PORTRAIT! Oh, these second grade selfies were a hit! This is another lesson I think needs a repeat this winter. 

LOOKING FOR MORE LESSONS AND INSPIRATION? Well, then, just head over here! I've got plenty more. Happy wintery creations! 

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Early Finishers, Part 3

 Ah, yes. Early finishers. I have spoken so much on this here blog about my early finishers area that I thought I'd do a little bit of a recap...and share with you my latest addition! But first, you might want to check out this podcast episode as I cover the biggest question I get: How do you get kids to slow down and not rush to (what I call) Early Finisher Land? Take a listen here:

One of my early finisher options is reading...and my wee library has NEVER been touched. It makes me so sad! The other day, I found this adorable wooden house at the thrift store. I decided to paint it and add my art room collection of stuffed animals. Now the kids have the option to "read to a stuffed friend"! I'm hoping this inspires more visits to this spot. 

To see more of my Early Finishers Land, you should click on over to these here linky-loos: 

Early Finishers, Part 1

Early Finishers, Part 2

Or you can check out this video:

And if you'd like to watch more about Sketchbook Town, here you go:

 I'll keep you posted on how this goes in my art room! Here's hoping my students want to read to these sweet fuzzy friends!

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