Many painters use lines to express powerful emotions. Both Vincent van Gogh and Jean-Michel Basquiat had difficult lives filled with hardship, and died at a young age. They both used art to deal with their emotions. It seems like the stronger the feelings were in them, the faster the strokes were put down in their work. In this article,…

The technique of what people today call "collage" is not new. In Victorian times, elaborate art was created from bristly horsehair as a type of collage. The modern collage dates to the early 1900s when Picasso pasted newspaper on a drawing. In 1919 Karl Schwitters, a German artist, developed collage into an art form that was as important as…

Some people only think about conservation on Earth Day. Being in the "art business" however, this author is always conscious of the many products she thinks get wasted when they could be reused, recycled, and restored--especially in a school building and art room. In this article, she describes an art lesson that allows students to paint…

This article describes an activity in which students created and designed lampshades using artists' styles. This was a unique experience because while all of the students have drawn or painted on flat canvas, none of them had done dimensional painting in this manner before. Essentially, they were planning and creating murals in 3-D. The author…

Discusses Vincent Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night" and describes a lesson where fifth- and sixth-grade students created their own version of the artwork. Explains that the students utilized four colors of Permoplast clay, using their hands and fingers as brushes and blending tools and the clay as paint. (CMK)

Describes a second and third grade art activity in which students used celery cores to create pictures in the style of Georgia O'Keefe. Explains that the students learned about O'Keefe's artwork and describes how the students created their prints. (CMK)

Presents an interdisciplinary lesson that combines art and language arts. Explains that third and fourth grade students explored the meanings of different idioms and created a picture showing the literal meaning of an idiom. Includes a list of art materials. (CMK)

Discusses a unit on the discovery of the senses that integrates art and science. Students create pictures of a "smell" using the crayon-resist process. Explains that during the second day, students "smell" their peers' paintings to determine what aroma is being depicted. (CMK)

Describes a combined occupations/art unit for fourth- and fifth-grade students. The teacher shows slides of people in various careers, students then chose two pictures of people in occupational settings and discuss them, and finally students draw self-portraits of themselves in a career they find interesting. (CMK)

Presents an art activity inspired by a workshop "Surrounded by Silk" given by Susan Skvoe in which the students create silk paintings. Explains that the students first sketch their floral design on paper, trace the design on the silk's surface, and apply liquid dye for color. Provides an easier activity for younger students. (CMK)