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!

Line and Pattern Collaborative Painting!

Hey, friends! I'm coming to you today with a lesson that has been rolling around in my head for a while. I know this time of the school year, so many of us focus on LINES and I thought this painting project, that could serve as a school-wide collaborative, would be perfect!

Like my more recent lesson videos, I'm doing a little bit of a teacher-talk at the start of the video to walk you through the prep process. There isn't much but I do think it's important. 

By the way, for A TON MORE line lessons, check out this blog post!

Okay, let's dive in! 

For this lesson, you'll need:

* 9" square paper

* 9" square template if creating a collaborative mural

* Paint-filled bingo dauber, 1 per 1-2 students

* Tempera paint

OF COURSE you're gonna need a copy of my book, Larry the Line, right?!

I find that templates work great and just make one per table! Then the kids can add the tick marks so they know where to start and end their first lines. I think the mural would work best if those first lines were all the same. I decided to use a dark blue.

I've been using the Prang Tempera Paint and really loving how bold and bright the colors are. Looking for a crash course in using tempera paintin the art room? Check out my Top Ten Tips for Tempera Paint here!

If you do this lesson and post on social media, please be sure and tag me, I'd love to see what you and your artists create! Please do not rewrite this lesson and sell on TPT as your own...I hate to say that every post but, it happens!

Have a great week, friends!

The Coolest Cardboard Sculpture Lesson Yet!

So I admit, the title of this here blog post is a little self-congratulatory but...WOULD YOU LOOK AT THIS SCULPTURE?! And tell me that it's not super duper fun!

This lesson is one I came up with while i was playing around with cardboard for THIS cardboard sculpture lesson. While tinkering, I realized I could connect the cardboard to make faces...or busts. Then I even made little people (lesson coming soon!) and just had so much fun.

This lesson is perfect for the start of the school year when you are learning all about lines! It's a great pairing with Larry the Line, OF COURSE but also a book by my friend Barney Saltzburg, Crazy Hair Day!

The prep for this lesson involves the same supplies I used in my sculpture lesson. You'll need to cut some cardboard...but that's really about it! For links to the supplies I recommend, visit here. 

Ready to dive in?! I share some trouble shooting tips in the beginning of the video just for you. You'll see that I did struggle using cardboard squares for the head that were larger than 6" squares. That proved to be too heavy for the pipecleaner, as you can see. That's why my guy has no neck! So...when working with your young artists, keep your cardboard at 5" squares or smaller!

If working with young children who struggle with cutting the cardboard, just have a ton of bits cut for them! Allow them to glue and I really recommend Elmer's Glue All for the best stick. 

Of course, painting these would be fun (I do have a lesson on that coming soon!) but I chose to focus on lines. You do you! I'm sharing this lesson for you to take it and run with your artists!

If you are looking for the line sheet I use in the video, it's a free download! You can find it here!

Just a gentle reminder: I share these lessons because I want your students to have fun...and you to have a break! PLEASE do not recreate and/or sell my lessons on TPT. You do not have my permission and, sadly, it happens a lot. I mean, c'mon. That's just not cool.

Have fun and happy creating, friends!

My Top 10 Favorite Line Lessons!

Welcome to my Top Ten Line Lessons!

Since I have been sharing so many LINE lessons on my blog lately (with more to come, yay!), I thought I'd create a blog post with ALL of my very favorite lessons on line. Consider this your one-stop-shop for all things Line-Lesson-y!

Of course, we have to kick things off with The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Larry the Line! All my line lessons begin with Larry so if you'd like to get yourself a copy of my book, you can do so here!

To kick things off, let's start in kindergarten! Right away, we dive into all things LINE by create a line sculpture on the very first day! By the third day, we are ready to put our line knowlege to work with these lines paintings. 

Did you notice in the photo how nicely the artist was holding their paintbrush?! That's because they know all about The Paintbrush Ballerina! This method of teaching painting will totally change how your artists handle their brushes and paint. 

For a little Paintbrush Bootcamp (with free downloads!) visit here!

After these structured paintings where we paint lines across out paper, we dive in with either watercolor or tempera cakes to add color. You can find this line unit here!

This line sculpture lesson is one of my all-time faves AND it's what I teach on my first day with kindergarten artists! I also recommend this lesson if you have to do a teaching demo for a job interview. It's always a hit with kids of all ages!

To take a look inside my art room on that very first day of art, you can watch me teach! Check it out here!

Of course, if you are on a cart or simply don't feel like busting out the paint at the start of the school year (don't blame ya!), you could always do a variation of the line lesson with tempera sticks!

Then you can finish 'em off with these wild and wacky line monsters! For that lesson, visit here.  

And, of course, if you are doing collage with your students, you DEFINITELY need my new book Scissors, Glue and YOU! 

One of my FAVORITE ways to teach lines is with Line-Making Stations! My artists CRANKED out so much artwork in just a couple of 30 minute art classes. Not only did they learn all about lines but a variety of ways to create them! You can read all about that and check out the video and handouts I created for the occasion here. 
Printed lines was a fave! They really popped with black and white paint on black and white paper. Stay tuned to how we used all of these pieces of art!

All ya need is cardboard and some paint! Visit the link for the handout!

I did these stations with my first through fourth graders. Even this cutting station because, let's be honest: they all need the practice!

Here we used our ink-filled bingo dauber. If you aren't familiar, visit this link and I talk all about 'em!

For details on how these looked when finished and for some trouble-shooting tips, visit this blog post!

One year, I did a variation on the kindergarten line sculpture and made it into a school-wide project! We called them our Getting-to-Know-You sculptures!

I created a couple of totally free downloads and my students used them to create a coded work of art! These were so fun to have on display for open house. 

Here's a little look at what the finished display looked like! Tips and tricks for this lesson can be found here.

You could also...turn that sculpture into a HAT! I did my sculpture on a paper plate and then wore it like an artsy thinking cap! For the lesson video, visit here!

Once the paper sculptures are complete, your artists could try their hand at these super fun cardboard line sculptures!

Of course, modeling clay is fabulous for teaching lines. Let me share this sheet with you as well as walk you and your artists through the process here!

Keep the line sheet in a sheet protector and it's perfect as a center for those early finishers or for a line making station!

Looking for a Larry-themed lesson?! Then this new one from my blog is sure to be a hit! You can check it out (with video, of course!) here!

Whatever you do, I hope you have fun AND I hope you have a wonderful long weekend. You've earned it, friends!

Let's Create Line-Inspired Cardboard Sculptures!

The other day I was brainstorming LINE-themed lesson ideas because I know so many of us use line as our inspiration for our first lessons of the new year. AND I GOT SO MANY IDEAS! I'll be sharing them over the next couple of days so be the first to see them, you might want to subscribe to my email list! 

This project was inspired by one of my VERY favorite lessons: Line Paper Sculpture! I've done that project every year with my kindergarten...and one year, did it with the whole school. It's always a hit!

They always look so amazing. I love having these big, colorful sculptures all over the hallway walls. It's perfect for Open House.

It's made even more fun with a Getting to Know You sheet on hand so parents and family can 'read' the artists sculptures! You can find these free downloads here!

Now for this sculpture, you'll be using cardboard, ink-filled bingo daubers and pipe cleaners. There is a little bit of cardboard cutting that will need to take place on your end...so for that, at the start of the video, I chat you through the process and the tools I recommend:

The first thing you may want is one of these badboys. They are not cheap BUT...I use mine all the time and wish I would have gotten it sooner! It's a cordless cardboard cutter and I love the thing. You can find it here.

I love these cardboard scissors for cutting the notches. In my art room, I was able to get one pair per table. This would mean less notch cutting for you! But it really does go by quickly.

If you can't get your hands on that cordless cardboard cutter, than this Canary knife cuts through cardboard VERY well. I have one of these and love it!

Bingo daubers are my favorite art room tool. I talk about them and all of the lessons I use them with here. To find these, you can visit this link.

And any ole India ink will work. I found this one to be priced well. 

Of course, the inspo for this lesson was my book Larry the Line! You can find it as well as the downloads featured in the video here. 

I can't wait to see what your students create. I know they are gonna love these sculptures. So save those boxes...if your school is like mine, they are all over the hallways this time of year!