All-About-Me Line Portrait Painting Lesson!

Hi, friends!

If you are like me, you like to kick off the school year with a couple of things: a getting-to-know-you style project and...a return to the elements of art with an intro to LINE. Which got me thinking...what if there was a lesson that could combine BOTH?!

And...so here I present to you...the All-About-Me LINE Portrait! (complete with two totally free downloads!)

So now...I wanted to share with you some ways for you to adapt this lesson to other grade levels. Let's start with the younger students like first grade. For them, I would consider using this lesson with just the emphasis being on learning and drawing lines. So after creating the border and the grid, have students draw a line inside of each box. 

In the video, you might have seen me reference one of my Larry the Line downloads. You can find those here. For my book, Larry the Line, visit here!

For students in second and third grade, you may want to consider using this (totally free) download!

With this, students can draw lines that tell a little about them. When displaying their work, consider creating a large version of this sheet to hang with the artwork! It's perfect for Open House as the students can share it with their families and really spend time talking about their artwork. 

This lesson was inspired by another lesson of mine...one called Getting to Know You paper sculptures. This is a perfect tie-in! If you have other grade levels that you are looking for a lesson for, you might wanna check it out!

Teaching paper sculptures the first weeks of school is MY FAVORITE THING EVER...so I'm a big fan of this lesson, with or without the idea sheet!

I also did a version of this for when my students create sketchbook covers! For this, we used tempera sticks. You can check out those details here.

PERSONALLY...I think THIS would make an amazing sketchbook cover! I plan to share more details on that idea soon but...imagine this folded in half and filled with paper and amazing artwork. So fun!

Now, for older students, you might want to allow them to fill out their own sheet! So I created a blank version and you can download it here.

Print these on colorful copy paper and display them next to the paintings for a real pop of color!

Now let's chat supplies I used:

* Ink filled bingo dauber

* Tempera Paint

* Ice cube trays for the paint

* 12" X 18" 80 lbs paper

* No-Spill water cups

* Paintbrushes

If you are looking for some pointers when using tempera paint, check out this blog post with my top tips and tricks!

As an alternative to tempera paint, I also demonstrate how to use watercolor paint! This works well as does tempera cakes. So...if busting out the tempera paint isn't something you are in the mood to do the first couple weeks of school, you could always try watercolor for less of a mess!

Enjoy and STAY TUNED! I have a ton of LINE lessons (and more!) coming your way! The best way to stay up to date is to join my email list! You can do it here.

Let's Create...Puppets! An Interview with Furry Puppet Studio!

Zack Buchman and a friend at a Barnes and Noble event, Union Square. 

Photo: Dmitri Slepovitch

Hey, y'all! I have a fun treat for you today...

I recently had the chance to chat with Zack Buchman, the Founder and Creative Director at Furry Puppet Studio in Soho. I'm a huge fan of puppets myself, having grown up in the 80's with the likes of Sesame Street, the Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock. So I was excited to hear from Zack, see the creations of Furry Puppet Studio and share it with you!

I think he and his time would be a wonderful source of inspiration for the art room, don't you? I've included some puppet art lessons at the end of this post, if interested. 

Now, let's hear from Zack at Furry Puppet Studio!

What is a puppet design studio?

We're Furry Puppet Studio, a custom-puppet design studio in SoHo, New York. I'm the founder and Creative Director. We design and build custom puppets, creatures, mascots, and marionettes for television, advertising, music videos, and almost everything happens in-house, the foam carving, the mechanisms, the costumes. A lot of people assume this kind of work is mostly digital these days. It isn't. Every puppet we make starts as a block of foam that somebody carves by hand.

How did you get into puppetry?

I've been obsessed with puppets since I was a little kid watching Sesame Street. I actually tried animation first, but it didn't stick. I wanted to be able to touch the character, not just draw it frame by frame. I never went to college. That wasn't really a choice so much as a circumstance, and I do think I missed out on some things. But it also gave me an outsider's perspective, and it pushed me to find people who were generous enough to teach me what I didn't know.

Could you share some of the artists who inspire you and your coworkers at Furry Puppet Studio?

Jim Henson is the obvious one, but I mean that honestly. Early LucasArts games really shaped how I think about a face, Sam & Max Hit the Road especially, where the graphics were so limited that a single pixel had to decide whether it read as an eye or a nose. Beyond that, our team pulls from all over: comics, film, fashion, whatever's caught someone's eye that week.

What was one of the more challenging projects you have tackled at Furry Puppet Studio?

Building marionettes of Missy Elliott and Pharrell Williams for their "WTF" music video. Marionettes are hard. They don't move the way you'd expect, and every string has to be reverse-engineered into a personality. We had street performers with very distinct movement styles operating them, so the puppets basically had to be built around how those specific artists already moved. It was completely outside my comfort zone, and I'm still proud of how it came together.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is the one art supply you'd need to keep creating puppets?

A Blackwing 602 pencil. This is the only pencil I've been using since 2010 and I pretty much always have one on me. For no practical reason. It's my comfort object.

What's the best way for a young artist to get started on their journey into puppetry?

Start now, and start cheap. You don't need special materials. Whatever you've already got around the house can be your first puppet. Let the early ones be bad and fun. That's part of learning how the material behaves. And find people around you who know things you don't, and are generous about teaching you. Be generous back once you're the one who knows something.

Thank you so much, Zack!

I love everything that Zack had to say and I really think his thoughts on creating will resonate with our creatives!

I've done a couple puppet lessons with my students over the years and they have always loved them. I thought I'd share them today as they are tried and true...and a great jumping point for introducing your students to puppetry!

One year, we created Crocodile puppets with first grade! 

The back of the crocodile was a weaving. The tail was printed and the rest was a lot of collage! You can find the directions and details here. 

For a kid-friendly video to walk you through the process, visit here!

The base of the crocodile puppet is this folded contraption right here...and it's how we created these "Baby Dragon" puppets! Video here!

And we even created these little pop-up puppets! You can check out the video here.

And big thanks to Zack and Furry Puppet Studio for inspiring us with your puppets and creativity!

New Book Alert: My Art Teacherin' Coloring Book IS HERE!

NEW BOOK ALERT!

I'm SO excited to share my new book: The Art Teacherin' Coloring (And Activity!) Book! 

I never realized just how much I loved drawing and doodling until I wrote my book Art Teacherin' 101. That book is sprinkled with drawings that helped me share my ideas about teaching art with you in a way that felt natural to me. 

I have also created numerous doodle banners for my students to color and paint in and you can check them out here.

I even created doodle rolls for YOUR students to color and paint on and you can buy them here (they are a steal for four HUGE banners!).

So when someone suggested I create a coloring book for art teachers...I thought it was such a great idea!

I printed the book on 70 lbs paper which means you can use markers, color pencils, crayons...and I've even been using my watercolor pencils! 

Some of the pages can be used to color and hang in your art room as either decor or...not so gentle reminders that the art room is not a supply closet (ahem...see below!)...

While other pages are meant for you to jot down funny things the kids say, ways for you to reconnect with your creativity, gratitude doodles and even jotting down your favorite art teacherin' songs. 

I wanted this book to be like a warm hug from a fellow art teacherin' friend. I do hope you love it as much as I did creating it!

For the record, I do think you are much more than OKAY...but this is your reminder that okay is fine too! I know I struggled a lot with having the perfect art room or amazing lessons...it's fine to let that go. Your creativity and rest is just as important! So...it's okay to be okay!

Ahem...said reminder!

Thanks for letting me share, friends! Have a happy summer!

Art Supply Order Must-Haves for the New Art Teacherin' School Year!

Hello, friends! 

Well, it's that time of year...as soon as we are on the other side of the fourth of July, it starts to happen: the stores start stocking their shelves with back-to-school items, your school email inbox starts to come alive again and that "oh crap, what am I going to teach this year?!" sensation just won't go away. 

If it's one thing that I ALWAYS dreaded...it was that Back to School Art Supply Order! Every year, I procrastinated and every year...I learned to regret it. 

BUT NOT THIS YEAR! Just for you and your amazing artist I created a MASSIVE Back to School Art Supply order video. It's a long one so grab a snack and c'mon back...and don't worry, I've got Amazon links and a printable PDF for you too:

For a printable PDF with links, my friends at Prang (who I do work with, full disclosure) created one here!

AND for my full Amazon list, you can go here!

By the way...if you feel like you need a read to get you back into the mindset of all things art teacherin', might I recommend my book Art Teacherin' 101?!

I know I've chatted about it just a little over on social media...but I've not officially announced it here so...I wrote a coloring book for art teachers! MORE details to come (I'm so excited!) but for now, you can check it out here. I sign all books before shipping them your way!

Okay...now, time to go supply shopping! Have fun, y'all!

Let's Create a Symmetrical Butterfly!

Hey, y'all!

Not sure how things are going in your art teacherin' world but here in middle Tennessee, many art teachers are on their last week of school. BUT this lesson here is for my teacher buddies who are going strong for another MONTH. I'm coming to you this week with a beautiful butterfly lesson...and some variations. So, got more art teacherin?! I got you!

Now, this is a TRIED AND TRUE lesson that I've done for many years with students of all ages. My favorite group to do this with is...kindergarten! They always rock this lesson! 

To finish the butterflies, we often used chalk in my art room...but today I thought I'd do a different spin and share this lesson with paint sticks. So here's a break down of the supplies used:

* 12" X 18" paper

* Black tempera paint (I'm using Prang's tempera)

* Paint sticks 

Short on time? Then you can do this on colorful construction paper! Stort on paper? Use a paper bag or a even a newspaper! I'm telling you, these look stunning any way you make them. Here's the video:

You could also do these on smaller paper, like 9" X 12" but I find it works better on larger paper, especially for younger students.

Now let's talk art supply alternatives. You could do this same method of warm and cool but with chalk! You can see how I did that in this second grade lesson here. 

We left the backgrounds blank on these...which I kinda loved because they reminded me of Andy Warhol.

I was doing a little on-my-blog searching and found a couple other butterfly projects...like this clay one!

This kindergarten clay project was always a hit...we did it many years in a row!

Speaking of kindergarten...

Look at these marvelous monarchs!

I love how they look even like this! Did I mention that this is KINDERGARTEN?!

By the way....last summer, my book Art Teacherin' 101 sold out! And it was the worst time for that to happen as it seems many folks buy it for summer reading/getting ready for the new school year. I'm happy to say that I now have plenty in stock (in boxes all over my house...yes, seriously) and I'm ready to send 'em your way! 

And let me throw this out there:

I can't tell you how many book clubs I've had the honor to join in on! If you do decide to form a book club and would like me to join y'all for one of your meetings, just let me know. We can make it happen. You can always reach out to me at cassieart75@gmail.com.

Okay, have a great week, friends!