The self-portrait is a reflection of the personality in a visual, physical sense, as a concrete form, a summary of the external characteristics of the artist, but also in a psychological sense, when the self-portrait becomes a mediator of communication with the self, a medium of self-investigation. In this way, the self-portrait exists as a means…

Understanding how teachers come to know and make sense of teaching is a challenging endeavor. Uncovering elusive strands of thinking through arts-informed approaches has the potential to transform personal understandings of teacher selves and professional practice across diverse early childhood contexts (Clandinin, Downey, & Huber, 2009).…

Fauvism is a style of painting based on the use of intensely vivid colors that were not natural to the faces, landscapes and objects being painted. It was how artists expressed themselves during the first decade of the 20th century, and lasted only a short time. The artists were called "les Fauves," which means "the wild beasts." In this article,…

In this article, the author describes how her studio art students created their Pop art-style self-portraits. Students were each given a printout of a black-and-white picture of themselves that the author had taken with her digital camera. With this picture, students took tracing paper and traced a basic outline of their face, hair, and neck. They…

The author's art program includes students from kindergarten through eighth grade. In pondering the "nearly impossible," he wondered how the entire student population could work together on one art project that could be exhibited at the same time. He wanted each of his 700 students to create an original artwork that would display individual and…

Bright, shining gold, so daring and intense. Patterns reflecting the spirit of the portrait's subject, wisps of a look that intrigue the viewer. Something sultry in the eye, something shimmering on the lip... these are the works of Gustav Klimt. Klimt was Vienna's golden boy of painting. Through his use of pattern and the mosaic qualities in his…

This article describes an art project developed by the author which provides a way to further the children's understanding of Picasso's Cubism style in 3-D. Through this project, upper-elementary students learn a bit about the life and art of Picasso as they gain a firm understanding of the style of art known as Cubism, and apply clay techniques…

Animals have always been close to the heart of humankind. They appear in the earliest imagery as the very first subjects of art. Household pets are a fixture for many a family. This is true in art as well. In shifting the balance away from animals as pure symbols, the Impressionists identified them as members of the household. One of the most…

How "could" one borrow a view? The works of artist, Ray Kass (b. 1944) are as much, if not more, about the experience and process of perception and art-making as they are about the final objects he creates. Kass is notorious for not solely his art making, but also for his thinking. He thinks, he writes, he teaches, he discusses, he organizes…

This article presents the idea behind Projected Identities, an art activity wherein students fuse art-making processes and digital image manipulations in a series of exploratory artistic self-examinations. At some point in every person's life they've been told something hard to forget. Students might, for example, translate phrases like, "Good…

This article describes an activity that required students in third and fourth grade classes to create a life-size, standing self-portrait. The idea was not just to create a picture of themselves to display on a wall or board, but to make "another self" that could interact in the school environment. After completion, the life-size portraits were…

Spring Grove Public School is the center of a small, rural community, where most activities revolve around or take place in the school. With this idea in mind, the author of this article describes how, as an art teacher, she set out to create a project that would bring this to the attention of not only the students creating it, but also to the…

Provides background information on the life and career of Gerald Brockhurst, an artist known for his etchings. Includes information on his etchings. Describes the travelling exhibition of Brockhurst's etchings "Gerald Leslie Brockhurst: Etchings from the William P. Brumfield Memorial Collection." (CMK)

Describes a self-portrait unit for middle school students using collage. Students draw silhouettes and then fill these in with cut-out magazine images reflecting their personalities. Encourages students to be inventive. The college background also reflects their personality. (KM)

Describes a project used in a senior information design class where the students created their own self-portraits on rubber stamps through the use of Photoshop and QuarkXPress. Explains that the students learned about the difference between line art and continuous tone images as well as the effects of printing ink and papers. (CMK)