Cassie Stephens: art lesson

Showing posts with label art lesson. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Line Designs with Chalk and Glue!

At this point, I feel like I'm spamming my own blog with LINE lessons! Just for a recap, I'll add links to them all right here:

* Line Sculptures

* Line and Shape Paintings

* All About Me Line Portraits

I'll be sure and do a Best Line Lessons post soon but if you are looking for more ideas now, see THIS review of my fave line lessons here!

And if you are looking for all of my Larry the Line lessons, see the end of this post!

Before we dive into the lesson at hand, let me just share my LOOOOVE of lessons with black glue! Now for some of these, I didn't know about this epic time-saving hack and I MADE my own black glue with ink and Elmer's Glue All. It's a REAL DRAG, lemme tell you: the bottles clog, the ink spills, the glue leaves a permanent mess because of the ink...it's all such a pain. I will say...the end result of the black glue versus this hack is better but not so much that it's worth the hassle.

Here's some of my very favorite black glue lessons:

* Abstract Faces Inspired by Sandra Silberzweig

* Black Glue Tigers with Chalk

* Black Glue Abstract Fish

* Stained Glass Trees

When we use chalk, this is our set up: a divided tray with warm and cool colors and black, gray and brown removed. These divider trays were donated to the art room from a hospital...so I can't tell you exactly where they are from. BUT I do love that they keep the colors separate.

We also use a tissue for cleaning our finger AND a laminated color wheel.

I always get so many questions on where I got the color wheel...I found it online YEARS ago and I couldn't tell you where. So...I made one for you! You can download it here.

And now for the lesson! Here you go:

I know art teachers tend to have a love/hate with chalk pastel (I just call it chalk)...it's messy and often the artwork smears. BUT I love the stuff. The colors are bold and bright. And if you use a color wheel and really teach the kids about analogous colors, I think you'll find it fun to teach. I use that same color wheel method you saw in the video for every chalk lesson.

For my VERY favorite chalk lessons and more of my tips and tricks, visit here!

When studenst are done with their chalk lessons, I will often spray their work with an aerosol hairspray like Aqua Net from the dollar store. It will dull the work a pinch and can leave little speckles of spray but...it works pretty good. As long as the artwork is not man-handled much once complete, the spray works fine.

And, OF COURSE, if you don't have my book on LINE and SHAPE already, now's the time to get 'em!

You can find Larry the Line here.

And Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes here!

Let's Learn Shapes: Organic Shape Exploration

Hey, y'all! I'm coming to you this week with two new fun lessons with a focus on SHAPE! I'm super stoked about these and how they tie in with my book Alfred the Ape Knows His Shapes. Now, you don't need my book for the lesson as I share some images from the book in the video but...it would really suppliment the lesson for sure!

For this project, you'll need the following supplies:

* Paper cut to 8.5" X 11"; I like to use 80 lbs mixed media paper

* Watercolor paint; I'm using Prang's new Color Wheel Palette!

* Cup of water (I love these no-spill cups!)

* Paintbrushes

* Transparency Film (not necessary but fun to draw on!)

* Permanent markers

The focus of this lesson (and the one I'll be sharing in the next couple of days) is SHAPE. In particular, the difference between ORGANIC and GEOMETRIC shapes. In this lesson, the artists will be creating an organic shape painting while learning a fun watercolor technique called Wet-On-Wet.

By the way, my book explores ALL things shape! I wrote it because...while there are a lot of books on shapes they seem to focus namely on teaching the names of shapes. Often, they seem geared to ward a very young audience. I wrote this book with the second grade curriculum in mind and all of the knowlege that children that age should know. To take a look inside my book, watch the video or...visit here!

I was recently sharing with some art teachers during a virtual PD (did you know that I host those? Yep! You can always contact me at cassieart75@gmail.com to learn more!) and we were talking about 'early finishers'. For this lesson, students who finish painting early can always...create another painting! I like to offer smaller papers for my early finishers. This saves paper and, if students are given a smaller brush, they are also forced to WORK smaller!

Often, I'll ask my early finishers to be 'art helpers' and ask their friends "do you want some help?" before assisting them on their work. Some students love the help of their friends while others prefer to work independently. It's important that students have that choice.

Just a couple of thoughts on those early finisher friends!

Going on a SHAPE walk, especially outside, can be fun when introducing organic and geometric shapes. Or! Just press pause on my video and let the students see if they can identify the difference between the two.

Personally, I think the paintings without the lines are a lot of fun! My students LOVE the wet on wet watercolor technique. It's also great for teaching paintbrush control.

Of course, a great book for that would be....The Paintbrush Ballerina!

Don't forget I have a TON of free downloads that go perfectly with this book!

Not sure about using watercolor paint with your students or looking for some tips on how to improve your watercolor game? Then...check out this blog post! I cover it ALL!

Now no matter what the thickness of paper, unless you are using watercolor paper (and who has the budget for that?!), it's gonna wrinkle. This is why I keep a thrift store iron in my art room to stack and flatten the artwork. Just a hot tip of ya, in case you too are a little wrinkly (I blame the children for each of my wrinkles).

Now, once the paintings are complete and dry, the kids could draw directly on their artwork OR...they could use transparency film.

I like the transparency film because the slick surface is super fun to draw on AND....if the kids draw something they don't like, you can 'erase' the lines with a dry erase marker! Just trace over the lines with the dry erase and wipe off with a tissue. Boom! It's gone!

WARNING! I made the error of not making my paper the same size as the transparency film...so don't make that mistake! Be sure and cut the paper to a 8.5" X 11" before letting the kids paint. Trust me! It will make things a whole lot easier.

Have fun and stay tuned for the GEOMETRIC shape lesson.

Oh! And!

Just a reminder that I'll be at NAEA next month, signing and selling my books. Hope to see you there!

How to Draw (and Paint!) Gingerbread Houses!

Hi, friends!

Coming to you with a new, fun and wintery lesson just in time for the holidays. Here's a How to Draw (and Paint!) Gingerbread lesson that you and your artists will love. Added bonus: this one comes with a FREE download! Just check it out below. But first, the video:

Because I know you may be short on time (and attentio span), I thought it would be fun to do this lesson a copule of different ways. One, why not make 'em little? By folding a square of paper in quarters, you end up with four little squares for practice drawing your houses. When finished, I used watercolor pencils (my new fave!) for a quick painting project.

This idea sheet will break down the steps easily! So you and your artists can either follow along with me as I draw in my video OR...they can simply use the drawing sheet! You can find it for free here!

Now, I've not played around with these watercolor pencils from Prang very much until recently. I was VERY suprised how bright and colorful the colors were once paint was added. I did like that the set of 10 pencils came with a paintbrush too. It was the perfect size for this activity! AND...I was even able to add color and paint to the popsicle stick frames!

I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday!

If you are still hunting around for the perfect Christmas gift, I have some super fun books that you and yours may enjoy! I've been packing the up and getting them out as the orders come in so they make it in time for the holidays. Now's the time! Here's a link to my books.

Stay cozy, friends!

Creating a Give Thanks Painting!

Hey, friends!

If you are looking for a fun painting project that encourages artists to consider the idea of giving thanks, then have I got one for you! I created this lesson for my friends at Prang and I used some specific supplies BUT this lesson can easily be adapted to what you have on hand. So, let's talk about it! For this lesson, I used:

* Prang's 9" X 12" canvas boards that come in a pack of 3 BUT 9" X 12" white paper would work as well! I prefer Mixed Media paper as it is thicker and can hold the paint.

* Tempera paint is what I'm using in the video. Acrylic paint also works well on canvas although I would not recommend it for use with children. It stains clothing and dries quickly. If you plan to do this project on paper, then tempera paint, tempera cakes and watercolor would work well. If you'd like some tips and tricks on using tempera paint with children, check out this video here. And my recommended supplies for painting with children can be found here.

* Ink-filled bingo daubers are legit my fave thing in the art room. You can buy daubers here. For more lessons using bingo daubers, I have tons here.

* Paintbrushes and a cup of water.

* Chalk for drawing. Select a light color like yellow, peach or light blue that can easily be erased with a tissue if need be.

Now, one thing I was not expecting was how long it took the ink to dry on the panel before I could start painting. Just a heads up that you'll want to make sure that the ink is totally dry before painting as it could smear.

However, if you are using the bingo dauber on paper, it will dry immediately. So you should be in good shape!

When I have done a similar lesson with students in the past, a few didn't understand the concept of making the letters stretch. The reason we do this is to create separate shapes that students can fill with color. You might want to make sure they have your stamp of approval before going over their chalk lines with ink.

Okay, here's the lesson:

Have fun!

Now, stay tuned. I have a couple of variations of this lesson coming soon. Until then!

Looking for a fun drawing sheet instead? Here you go!

And for another, look no further then here!

Sunflower Still Life Collage

Hey friends! Today I'm sharing with you a fun sunflower still life lesson that is the perfect review for lines and shapes...while introducting collage and monoprinting! This lesson is perfect for your 1st grade and up...and I'm going to share with you a bunch of alternative art supplies just in case you are on a cart or don't have the supplies I am using on hand. So, like many of my videos of late, I'll walk you through a 'teacher talk' at the start of the video to help you think through how you can best make this lesson work for you. Here you go:

Before we dive in, I do want to share...my book, Art Teacherin' 101, has been sold out for the last month. I'm happy to say that I now have it back in stock! If you have been waiting to get a copy or just want to find out more details on my book, you can find it here.

I'm so excited that my book has sold 10K copies! It's so amazing to think that I've been able to share with so many incredible art teachers. A big thanks if you have ordered a copy! And...just so you know...I sign all copies before packing them up. That's right...my books are packed and sold by yours truly. I'm an independent book publisher and seller. If you ever have any questions about that, feel free to reach out!

And now...back to the lesson:

To begin, I used my tempera paint filled bingo daubers! You can pick up your empty daubers here. And my preferred paint (and supplies) are here.

Knowing that not everyone has bingo daubers or the time to fill them, in the video, I share a couple of alternatives. Students could use tempera sticks to create their line papers or...they could paint the lines! So even if you are on a cart or short on supplies, I got you.

This lesson could be done on 9" X 12" paper as the final result or, my preference, 12" X 18" paper. I like the larger format only because it allowed more room for the bigger flower prints.

For the flower prints, I would recommend using a pizza pan. I got a class set at Dollar Tree for $1.25 each and use them ALL THE TIME. We print on them so much!

By the way, if you are new to using tempera paint with students and are looking for some pointers, I got you covered right here!

I would split this lesson into three days:

Day #1: Creating the line papers! Do a Line Review with my friend Larry the Line, of course!

Day #2: Flower Printing! You could include a shape review here! In the video, I talk about both organic and geometric shapes. Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes would come in handy here!

Day #3: Collage it all together! On the final days of this lesson, it's time to create a collage! If students need a reminder on how to use their scissors and glue...well, I think I can help!

AND...if you are looking for a way to have a Calm and Focused art class, you may want to check out my tips here...and my book that kids LOVE to hear while they work...here!

Have a great week, friends!

(EASY!) Abstract Shape Painting!

Hi, y'all! I know, I can hardly believe it either: two blog posts with two lessons in one week?! What can I say, when the ideas start rollin', it's hard to stop 'em!

So, truth be told, every since I started adding slightly diluted tempera paint to my bingo daubers, I've been coming up with all sorts of fun art lessons! I have several 'in the can' and I'm working to bring them to you and your artists as fast as I can. To always stay up-to-date on my free video lessons, you may want to join my email list! You can do that here.

Like my most recent videos, I'll start this one with a bit of a Teacher Talk to walk you through the prep for this lesson. I would say this project is appropriate for kindergarten through 3rd grade, depending on what it is you hope to cover with your students. Meaning, if you find that you have older students who need a simple project to remind them of your painting procedures, this may be it! And if you have younger students who are ready to dive into the land of shapes, this one's for you.

OF COURSE, the best book for the job is Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes! This book covers EVERYTHING...I really wanted to create a book that wasn't your basic baby shape book like so many out there. I wanted to dive in to organic, geometric, the difference between a form and a shape and so much more!

And now, for the lesson video:

I found that for this lesson, the prep was pretty easy. I mean, filling those empty bingo daubers was not fun BUT...once they are done, they do last. You can find the empty bingo daubers here.

I also found that tempera paint works well with this project althought, tempera cakes would work too. For my favorite painting supplies including the paint trays and more, visit here.

I created this lesson because I thought many of you may be moving on from LINE themed lessons to now...shapes! If you'd like to see my Top Ten Line Themed lessons, visit here!

And in case you missed my other super fun and colorful painting lesson, see it here.

Oh! AND my cardboard line sculpture lesson! It's here.