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…

There is a lot of creative energy between students and their art materials. In this lesson, the author discusses materials an artist may use to create a work of art--paint, a paintbrush, a palette, crayons, markers, pastels, and so on. Each student sketched a picture of themselves holding some tools that can be used in art. The objectives of this…

In this article, the author describes how students can create a stunning as well as economical mosaic utilizing fall's brilliantly colored leaves, preserved at their peak in color. Start by choosing a beautiful fall day to take students on a nature walk to collect a variety of leaves in different shapes, sizes, and colors. Focus on collecting a…

Exploring idea and media while developing skills is always an interesting challenge in the middle grades. Often, the daunting task of having to draw a self-portrait turns some students away, so the author set out to create portraits with realistic likenesses while incorporating an exploration of multiple materials and allowing an expressive…

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…

Deborah Rael-Buckley creates stunning figurative self-portraits in clay that layer "personal, cultural, historical, and biological imagery" in a narrative style. Her work provides an exciting challenge in three-dimensional self-portraits for eighth graders. In this article, the author suggests some exercises to get students brainstorming visual…

In this article, the author describes the design for her advanced oil-painting class. In this class, high-school students created a self-portrait painting and learned a glazing technique. The author also describes the students' evaluation of the class.

Rick Beck works in cast glass; his large-scale work ranges in scale from 15 inches to around 7 feet tall. His medium--glass--makes the scale of Beck's pieces very impressive. He is probably best-known for his oversized cast glass sculptures of common hardware: nuts, bolts, screws, measuring spoons, saws, eating utensils, eye hooks, wing nuts and…

Presents an art lesson that incorporates self-portraits and a familiar art technique: coloring paper with crayons, covering the colors with a layer of black, and drawing through the black to reveal the hidden colors. Explains that the students must be expressive by using the colors or concentrating on their facial features. (CMK)

Describes an art project for beginning drawing students that focuses on abstraction and the work of abstract artists. Explains that the students draw a still-life portrait of a model, but are asked to exaggerate the foreshadowing in their pictures. (CMK)

Presents a lesson in which students created three-dimensional self-portraits, using papier-mache, clay, and plaster, designed to develop their modeling skills as they learn about art history. Discusses how the students created their sculptures, offering detailed directions on creating the three-dimensional heads. (CMK)

Discusses an art project that focuses on fine arts prints. Uses three printmaking techniques: (1) stamping, (2) monotypes, and (3) intaglio (drypoint), with a focus on monotypes. Explains that the students created self-portraits using the monoprint technique by drawing their faces on a mirror and pulling the print off this surface. (CMK)

Describes a project where eighth-grade girls create self-portrait sculptures made out of papier-mache and other materials. Explains that the sculptures serve as an outlet for the students to express something about their own personal identities. Discusses in detail the process of creating the sculptures. (CMK)

Presents a personalized art activity that enables students, including those unenthusiastic students who think they lack artistic abilities, to participate in art. Explains that the students create a design or pattern within a pre-outlined silhouette. Discusses the process of creating the silhouette designs and includes an art materials list. (CMK)

This instructional resource, designed to be used by and with elementary level students, presents six portraits by master artists from diverse cultures and historic periods, as starting points for exploring various artistic techniques. Images include: "Dead King Amenophis I" (Egyptian, 1050 B.C); "Head of Neptune" (Roman, 500…