Favorite Winter Art Lessons!

It's December 1st! Which means it's time to embark on all sorts of fun, colorful and winter-y art projects around here! Today I'm sharing with you some winter-y greatest hits lessons that I've done over the years. Be sure and click on the link to each as many of these lessons have instructional videos...all free, of course! 

Let's kick things off with these black glue outlined stained-glass inspired trees my fourth graders created a couple years ago. If you need a review on line and color with an introduction into the world of stained glass, than this lesson is for you and your kiddos!

Nothing says cozy like a delicious cup of hot cocoa! My second graders created these collage paintings inspired by the artist Heather Galler. This is a lesson I did last year with my kindergarten and they used Model Magic to create marshmallows! You can find this lesson right here. 

A HUGE hit with students and fellow art teachers alike is this project inspired by the artist Jen Aranyi. Check out the video and share in your art room! 

Printmaking and portraits make for a fun collage project in this lesson I've done with first and second grade! You can check out the details here. 

These kindergarten snowmen are the cutest! And they had a blast creating them. All the details (and a video!) can be found here. 

And if you think those snowmen are cute, check out these penguins! First grade created these and they are so adorable! Another video lesson for y'all!

My fourth graders loved creating these snow globe cities. Read all about it and check out the video here. 

One thing I've really missed this year is having my students work closely together on projects like murals. We have been making it work tho! We recently created a massive school mural (oh, y'all, I cannot wait to share here!) and with some outside-the-box thinking and spreading WAY out, we have made it work. You can check out details on creating a winter mural here. 

If you are looking to add a little fiber arts to your art class this winter, you might want to try on these printed and stitched snowflakes on for size! 

Kindergarten snowy landscape collages are always a hit and cover so many lessons in painting, cutting and gluing! More here and here! 

Check out these snowflake reliefs! Always a fun one, details here. 

Need a bunch of lessons that are a little on the shorter side? Well then look no further as this blog post has plenty!

Happy creating, y'all! Stay cozy!

In the Art Room: My Favorite Chalk Pastels Projects and Techniques!

Hey, friends! We are currently up to our elbows in chalk projects in my art room and it got me thinking...I should share my Top 12 Chalk Pastel Projects with y'all AND my tips and tricks. I steered clear of chalk for the longest time because of the mess; the lack of understanding how to set the stuff and because the chalk I had on hand for my kids was, well, crap. So I'm gonna debunk all of this chalk nonsense and hopefully help you get excited to bring this beautiful and vibrant medium into your art room. In this post, I'll share my fave projects but if you want even more details, check out this podcast episode:

Sandra Silberzweig Inspired Abstract Portraits I don't often repeat lessons, but this one is a hit year after year. Follow the link to a video that you can share in your art room. 

 Symmetrical Butterfly Project with Second Grade This lesson includes a video! It was a fun project that I did with my second graders and each one was a beauty. 

Claire West Inspired Landscapes with Chalk and Liquid Starch If you've never used liquid starch with chalk before, oh boy, y'all are in for a treat! This hack is magical and I cannot wait for you to give it a go. More details in this blog post. 

Faux Stained Glass Project We did this a few years back and the results were so striking! You can find more details here. 

 Sandra Silberzweig Inspired Fish! I love Sandra Silberzweig and her work as do my students. Anytime I can share her with the kids, you better believe I'm gonna. This project did just that. Video included!

 Crayon Chalk Collaborative Working together, my students created these large pieces that were so fab. You can see all the details here. 

 Fourth Grade Fauve Portraits This project uses the chalk and liquid starch trick and the results are so vibrant. More details here. 

 Desert Landscapes with Third Grade Stencils and chalk go so well together. More details on this fun lesson here. 

 Floating Chalk Prints! Behold! This is the coolest thing you can do with chalk. Don't believe me? Check this link! 

 James Russo Inspired Animals with Chalk and Oil Pastel We're the tigers at my school so this project was just perfect. More here. 

 Glennray Tutor Inspired Marble Project This one was fun and had the kids so excited to work in the third dimension! 

Annual Ceiling Tile Legacy Project! This is a massive undertaking I do every year with second-grade students. They create chalked ceiling tiles that are then placed in the ceiling permanently. How fun is that? More here. 

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! 

In the Art Room: Color Coded Trash Cans!

As y'all know, I'm revamping and rainbow-izing the art room. NOTHING stands a chance at not getting spray painted (my hands included) and I couldn't be happier. I mean, maybe it's the paint fumes a-talkin' but don't these trash cans look so stinkin' happy?!

I actually picked these cans up a couple of years ago and was going to use them as planters (say what now?) and then never did. So in my garage they sat. Meanwhile, the art room seriously had ONE little trashcan that overflowed on the daily. So I brought in these bad boys and they are great. I have four color coded connected tables (see last pic) and I love having one trash can at the end of each table. However, what drives me bonkers is how much they seem to move around my room. I find myself constantly bumping in to them and asking "where does THIS can go?!" Now, no more. But first, lemme walk you thru how easy peasy this was!

I started by just taping the cans off. I used a painters tape called Frog as I heard it was the best. I'd had it on hand for painting the murals in my room. That took me about 20 minutes. I didn't have any rhyme or reason, just started taping.

 My tables are red/orange, yellow/green, blue/indigo, purple/magenta. I used that color combo to paint the cans. I did prime them before painting them. 

 After pealing the tape, I did some touch ups with black house paint. I know that seems nit-picky but I just knew those little color bleeds would drive me bonkers. 

 Today was a 2-hour day before winter break...it's been so nice to crank my tunes and get some stuff done! 

 My tables each have a drying rack and now a trash can at the end. 

 Color-coded cuteness!

They look like fun stained glass windows...I'm in love! I hope the kids dig 'em when they return from winter break. 

Top Ten Winter Projects for Kids!

It's that time of the year...where, if you live in Tennessee, that means it's 70 degrees one day and chance of snow the next (y'all better believe there'll be some ice cubes in my toilet, pj's inside out, white crayons on ALL the window sills and whatever else I gotta do to make a light dusting happen). With that in mind, I thought I'd share my Top Ten Winter Projects for Los Kiddos!

I'll actually be sharing more about my thoughts on holiday art and alternatives to that on this week's podcast. Y'all know I have a podcast, right? You can take a listen here and be sure and subscribe...cuz the sound of my voice is pretty close to that of angels singing (if they were being tortured, that is). 

Now, without further ado, lemme share my faves with you. I'll be linking back to the original blog post where you'll find the complete lesson (and sometimes video instruction!). Here you go!

1. Heather Galler-Inspired Patterned Hot Cocoa Cups! This is a lesson I did a couple years ago with my second graders...a lesson that we had to wash down with a cup of hot cocoa, of course!

2. Printed and Collaged Winter Self-Portraits! Need a good printmaking lesson for your kiddos? Try this one on for size. I did this lesson with my second graders but could def work for kids as young as first and as old as fourth grade. Also, if you don't have brayers and printing ink, try THIS super amazing and simple printmaking alternative that just involves markers and water!

3. Fourth Grade Faux Stained Glass Windows! Hey-hey, there's a video lesson included in this link! I LOVED this project and so did the kiddos...but I think that adding the layer of liquid starch would have made this much less messy. Check out using liquid starch with your chalk pastels here and prepare to be AMAZED! 

4. Charley Harper-Inspired Woodland Animals! Video instruction here! I can promise that there will be cuteness. Charley Harper has so many amazing animal-themed works of art that you'll find endless amounts of inspiration from him with just a quick google search. 

5. Kindergarten Starry Night Winter Landscapes! These are such a joy to watch the kiddos create! We learn all about tints, shades, Starry Night, collage and more. This is a lesson I bring back each and every year. 

6. and 7. Snowflakes and Snowflake Prints! I used to make oodles of snowflakes at the dinner table growing up...but kids don't really do that anymore. Time to change all that. What do you do with snowflakes once they are cut out? Well, you could use them as stencils and print! We printed on Gelli Arts gelli plates when we were finished cutting out our snowflakes. We printed on fabric and then learned how to sew to create these wallhangings. My third graders had a blast creating these. 

8. I NEVER get tired of Foil Relief Projects! I mean, really. Hang around this blog long enough and you'll find several versions of foil relieve. This was a fun way to create something magical with our paper cutouts.

9. Mural Making! What do you do when your music teacher needs a little bit of decoration for the music program? You put your students t work!

They'll take ownership, responsibility and have so much fun doing so!

Don't need a mural for a program but still want to crank one out? This one has something in it from every student in the school! You can find out the details here. 

10. Winter Guided Drawing! Let's be real, people: there's nothing more crazy than these last few weeks before school is out for winter break. I find that guided drawing really is a great way to calm kiddos and review the elements of art. Here are some of my faves...and if you click the link, you'll find more details.

What I love about winter themed projects as opposed to holiday art is that 1. IT'S ALL INCLUSIVE! I work at a very diverse school and I would never want anyone to feel left out. Therefore, winter art is the best route for me. 

Another bonus: there's no deadline! With holiday art, there's the pressure to get the artwork complete before the holidays arrive...but with winter art, if we don't finish before winter break, well, we'll return to it after the fact. 

Um, is there anything cuter than a winking bunny?!

MAYBE a scarf-wearing penguin! LOVE to hear your favorite winter themed projects, please share below...and if you have a blog or IG where you share your students' masterpieces, please feel free to add the link so we can all learn from your amazingness. Have a great week, y'all!