In this research, I explore the potential of a material-led, embodied pedagogical approach to cultivate diverse modes of thinking, knowing and becoming within a pre-GCSE curriculum. Drawing from my experiences as both an artist and educator, I acknowledge the transformative power inherent in recognising the agency of all forms of matter, whether…

The article seeks to develop a better understanding of the contribution of materiality in a discourse between a creator (content producer) and an interface, dealing with analogue and digital artefacts. Focus is in the materiality of the two different art-creation learning processes, acrylic painting and digital painting. The objective of this…

Teaching artists often find themselves working in schools and communities that are new to them, whether these are situations close to home or farther afield. This issue of Four Questions highlights teaching artists who travel extensively as part of their teaching and artistic practices and bring their expertise, energy, and creativity to…

Once, in the author's continual quest for unique and varied art projects, she was inspired by a colorful Kleenex[R] box which was covered with faces in a variety of sizes, ages, shapes and colors. What a fun idea to have her class create their own portraits using only construction paper, glue and one's fingers. As she shared an examplar rip-art…

Making paper can be good for the planet, as well as an adventure for one's students. The costs of the activity of making the pulp from recycled paper are low and it is very eco-friendly. To begin, the author showed her middle-school students several examples of handmade paper in which outdoor scenes had been developed using an additive technique.…

Art is about thinking. It requires persistence and a willingness to explore many options for solving problems. These are not quantifiable measurements but, more significantly, they rely on students' increasing development of the ability to learn through exploration, experimentation, self-questioning, and self-assessment. Using paper, scissors, and…

In this article, the author describes a lesson that evolved from being based solely on observation to incorporating images from imagination. The challenges involved in this lesson span a multiplicity of skills while encouraging students to trust and develop their own creativity. Incorporating both versions--the observed and imagined--into a single…

As art department budgets across the country continue to shrink, art teachers are increasingly on the lookout for inexpensive materials that can be used to teach a range of concepts. In this article, the authors describe a newspaper beam tower project inspired by the book, "The Wonderful Towers of Watts" by Patricia Zelver. There are many more…

In this article, the author describes a project wherein students created colorful underwater sea creatures. This project began with a discussion about underwater sea creatures and how they live. The first step was making the multi-colored tissue paper that would become sea creatures and seaweed. Once students had the shapes of their sea creatures…

How do you teach the "same old, same old" in an interesting and inexpensive way? Art teachers are forever looking for new angles on the good-old elements and principles. And, as budgets tighten, they are trying to be as frugal as possible while still holding their students' attention. Enter exploding boxes! In conceptualizing the three types of…

Illustrates several ways to keep cardboard sculptures from falling apart when moved by using a simple clamp technique. (GB)

This article examines how children's construction of relationships in exploring materials helps to explain the constructivist foundations of the Reggio Emilia approach. A quasi-naturalistic study of 12 preschool children, ages 3 and 4 years, individually exploring different kinds of collage papers reveals a range of constructivist categories…

Fifth-grade students in Houston, Texas created papier-mache figures based on book characters. (CK)