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Lesson Plans by Discipline - Painting
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Watercolor Texture Casts |
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Grades K – 4 |
Grade Level |
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 |
NEW! Artist’s Challenge Coins (ACC’s) Challenge Coins are specially designed and minted for service personnel to recognize an achievement, enhance morale, or to signify membership in (or experience on) a particular mission. Create a personal Artist's Challenge Coin (ACC) by making a small print, collage, stamp, or photo appliqué one side of a coin-shaped wooden disk, and a challenge or message on the reverse. |
K – 12 |
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 |
In Japan, Children's Day on May 5th is heralded by the appearance of flying fish: carp-shaped windsocks known as “Koinobori”. In this lesson, students design a “scale”-shaped block from soft block printing material and apply it repetitively to outdoor-safe fabric that has been cut in the shape of a fish. Add details like eyes, fins, and a tail using metallic and sparkle paint, and the Koinobori is ready to hang and “swim” through the breeze! |
3 – 12 |
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 |
NEW! Butterfield Horse Construct a high-relief horse using Activa Fast Mache and found objects. Combine a painted and collaged background with a horse made of quick mache, sticks, pine needles, leaves, and shredded papers in the style of Debra Butterfield. |
3 – 12 |
|
 |
NEW! Convertible “Canned” Sculpture Composition — the way the elements of a piece of art are arranged and relate to each other — can be difficult to grasp. This lesson plan presents an easy, forgiving way to see the effects of composition while using the dimensional works of Frank Stella as an example. The sculpture is assembled with magnets on a metal can so it can be taken apart and rearranged to see how the composition is affected — what works and what doesn’t. |
3 – 12 |
|
 |
NEW! Flower Garden Tiles Easily make flower tiles by carving clay, filling with plaster, and finishing with liquid watercolors. |
K – 12 |
|
 |
NEW! Dancing Houses Part cartoonist and part Picasso, the art of Brooklyn-born James Rizzi is highly recognizable. His playful, brilliant images created a style he described as “Urban Primitive.” Students will enjoy making a classroom cityscape of fun and fabulous construction paper buildings. A simple wire armature beneath allows the structure to be playfully positioned -— almost as if it were dancing. This project provides a lesson in movement as design principle. |
K – 9 |
|
 |
NEW! Easy-Outline Botanical Illustration Prints Although photography and modern printing processes have replaced the need for cataloguing plant life with detailed drawn and painted illustrations, botanical illustration is still a beloved art. To make an accurate rendering of a plant, students can create an impression in plaster, then trace the shape and details with colored pencil, ink, or watercolor. Mixing and shading for color accuracy and identifying the plant are some of the skills that will be learned in this exercise. |
K – 12 |
|
 |
NEW! My Daruma A traditional Japanese weighted toy, Daruma always return to an upright position. This project reveals how to weight the bottom of a plastic egg and cover with instant maché to make these symbols of success, determination, and overcoming adversity. |
3 – 12 |
|
 |
NEW! Sound Sculpture Inspired by Jean Tinguely Swiss artist Jean Tinguely created whimsical machine-like contraptions of found metal parts, known as “metamechanics”. In this lesson plan, students create a kinetic sculpture with repurposed metal hardware, found objects, and wire placed so that they deliberately move against one another. Much like Tinguely’s machines, some of the noises may be pleasant — others may not— but each will have a very unique metallic, mechanical “voice.” |
3 – 12 |
|
 |
Stain painting was a successful technique employed by Color Field artists Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis. They poured diluted acrylic color over large canvases to form “veils” of brilliant color. In this lesson, students will first learn a simple process for creating their own drawing pad, then stain and design a canvas cover for it. 
|
3 – 12 |
|
 |
Learn the anatomy of one of nature’s most fascinating creatures and make a model from some of the very materials that threaten their habitat — plastic bags and fast food containers. These colorful, sparkling jellies are even water-resistant!
|
K – 5 |
|
 |
Practice the ancient art of sumi-e painting with a modern twist! Paint with diluted wax resist, then reveal your masterpiece by applying black sumi-e ink over the top. The addition of watercolor gives the painting even more interest.
|
K – 12 |
|
 |
Have a Ball! with distorted self-portraits Observing and reproducing the distortion caused by a concave reflection is the topic of this lesson plan, as students make self-portraits inspired by M.C. Escher's “Hand with Reflecting Globe.” The canvas is a vinyl bouncing ball. Elementary ages can be challenged to create a continuous painting — with no beginning or end — then “Have a Ball!” playing with their own artwork.
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K – 12 |
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 |
In this project, students explore the beauty of texture found in a surprising place... on the soles of their shoes! Texture is all around us, and oftentimes exists right under our noses.
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K – 3 |
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 |
Tibetan wish or prayer flags traditionally are used to promote peace, compassion, strength and wisdom. Tibetans do not believe that the flags carry prayers to the gods, but rather that their messages and wishes will be blown by the wind to spread goodwill and compassion into all-pervading space. In this project, students will use a liquid wax resist that will be painted onto silk rectangles and need not be removed. Vibrant color and a final gold embellishment finish the piece. |
2 – 12 |
|
 |
WonderFoam is familiar to almost everyone who has ever presented a craft project to children — but, if you'd like to move beyond the "foamies" to a real art technique, incorporate WonderFoam into printmaking! “Collagraph” is a process in which materials are arranged collage-style on a rigid surface, coated with tempera paint and then transferred to paper. Students learn to make repeating patterns with shapes. |
K – 6 |
|
 |
Impressionistic Marker Painting You won't believe what these markers can do! The juicy, alcohol-based ink reacts with itself or with hand-sanitizer to make painterly drawings on clear plastic film.
|
3 – 12 |
|
 |
This project utilizes acrylic paint, but in a totally unique way...dried! Acrylic paint "skins" are easily created just by brushing paint on a non-stick palette or baker's parchment and letting it dry. You can use this plastic, flexible paint in a number of ways to create mosaics, mixed media collage, stained glass-like effects, jewelry, book covers and more!
|
K – 12 |
|
 |
Functioning as both a painting and a print, a Monotype is unique and irreproducible. The “hoop-la” over Monotype can be experienced in your classroom with this simplified, safely water-based process using acrylic paint, printing foam and fabric. The technique builds the print a layer at a time and tools are used to remove or “subtract” color between layers. Stretch the finished print ona gold macramé ring for an instant frame.
|
3 – 12 |
|
 |
Les Fauves (translation: “The Wild Beasts”) were a group of artists whose work was characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strident colors. The colors the Fauves used are also favored by wild birds. Hummingbirds like red, orange and pink. Songbirds prefer colors that mimic trees and bushes. To see which species of birds are attracted to these “beastly” colors, students create a painted, hanging birdfeeder from a stretched canvas or “upcycled” wooden frame. |
K – 12 |
|
 |
The practice of illumination — decoration of pages with ornate lettering, luminous color and precious metals, was developed during the middle ages when literacy was rare and books were even more so. With this process, students design one of their own initials on reflective board and add transparent color — it appears to glow with reflective light from within. |
3 – 8 |
|
 |
Egg-stra Easy Watercolor “Crunch” Traditionally, eggshell mosaics are made by first dying then positioning each shard individually — a time-consuming and delicate process. This project introduces a new way to crush and color eggshells, creating intricate veining and texture all at once without pre-dying or arranging each fragment. The simple glue-and-paint process and satisfying “crunch!” of breaking eggshells will delight children of all ages and skill levels.
|
K – 12 |
|
 |
Peace Windows: in the style of Marc Chagall’s stained glass Late in his career, artist Marc Chagall produced a number of paintings in glass with colorful, dream-like images symbolizing peace, love, tolerance and faith. In reality, Marc Chagall’s life was filled with tragic events and the world he lived in was anything but peaceful. In light of this fact, students can begin to understand an artist’s ability to share healing, inspiration and encouragement, using “peace” as a theme.
|
K – 8 |
|
 |
Printing creative T-shirts and fabrics doesn’t always require stencils and screens — students can easily design their own giant stamps and paint them any way they want. Even if each shirt displays the same message, each will be a completely unique work of art! This process is perfect for group settings — schools, camps, daycare centers, clubs, family reunions and special events — but it is also ideal for countless home decorating and craft projects. |
K – 8 |
|
 |
Stencils and repeated patterns have been used in painting as long ago as 9,000 years, when early humans placed their hands against cave walls and outlined them in charcoal or paint. In this lesson, even a stencil made of basic shapes can be effective. Each stencil can be used repeatedly, and by changing oil pastel color, overlapping images, or using only a part of an image, the result is a cohesive composition that has depth and color fusion. |
4 – 12 |
|
|
Molding, casting, sculpting, painting and monoprinting — this simple project pulls all of these together into one low-relief sculpture that demonstrates the elements of texture and color. Texture is defined in clay by pressing objects in or sculpting with tools. Next, the clay is painted with watercolor and covered with papier mâché, which lifts the color as it dries, absorbing it directly into the casting.
|
3 – 12 |
|
 |
Itajime Shibori is a technique for folding, clamping and dyeing paper or fabric resulting in beautiful designs – very similar to tie-dye. The folds and clamps keep the dye or ink from penetrating fully in certain areas making patterns and giving a dimensional appearance on a flat surface. This project is a great way to teach students the scientific concept of diffusion and color mixing. |
3 – 12 |
|
 |
The easiest way to make colorful, three-dimensional paper flowers! Even young children will enjoy painting carnation-like blooms and creating full bouquets for Mother’s Day gifts, May Day celebrations, a Cinco de Mayo fiesta or a Hawaiian Luau. Each flower costs just pennies to make. Because the watercolors blend together and form new hues, painting each bloom is a good way to illustrate color mixing. |
K – 8 |
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 |
Beginning in the early 1880s, the “Art Nouveau” style flourished in all forms of art. Beautiful pottery was mass-produced during this era, especially in the form of decorative tiles. Tube lining — a technique in which a design outline was created first and then filled in with color — is the definitive look of Art Nouveau. If kiln-glazed ceramics are not an option for your environment, this project is a way to produce glossy, hand-painted tiles that look like the real thing.
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K – 8 |
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 |
The production and commerce of decorated silk fabrics began thousands of years ago in China. This project introduces fine-mesh polyester as a silk-like fabric for painting. Form a wire shape as a support and paint with transparent liquid acrylic color. Finished pieces are flexible and may be heat-set for outdoor display. |
3 – 12 |
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 |
In the 1800s, many homes were decorated with “Penny Carpets”, made from miss-matched fabric cut into circles by tracing around a penny. Patches were then layered and stitched together to make a large piece. Students create a Penny Carpet with fabric that they design themselves using monoprinting techniques and fabric paint. Each section is sewed to felt swatches, then joined to make a larger piece of art.
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3 – 12 |
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 |
Art 2 Infinity: Two projects incorporating Mirror Board Artists through the ages have used reflective surfaces to define and alter perspective, create symmetry and "bend" reality. Mirrors have been a tool for creating art, the subject matter and the art itself. Here are two project ideas for using metallic film to capture light and create intriguing illusions: “Kaleidoscope Paintings” and “Infinity Boxes”. |
K – 12 |
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 |
Students of all ages can mimic mosaic artisans throughout history with these easy tile-making and “grouting” techniques. Clay tiles are glued to a firm backboard and grouted with acrylic paint. This project is safe and simple enough for younger students and those with special needs.
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K – 12 |
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 |
Quilt-making spans multiple centuries and cultures. It can teach math skills, record history, recycle cast-off materials and encourage cooperative efforts within a group...just for a few ideas! This lesson looks at the story quilts of Faith Ringgold. She surrounds her narrative paintings with a quilted border, creating stories in color, texture, and pattern. Students select their own story to illustrate, then paint fabric using watersoluble pastels and watercolor.
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K – 12 |
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 |
This project demonstrates the physical process of osmosis. Water-based markers are diluted by filtering water through an ordinary wet wipe. The flow of the color is slowed and channeled by the presence of oil and alchohol in the wipe, creating random and interesting tie-dye-type patterns. Educational...and really fun to watch! |
K – 5 |
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 |
Persian and Navajo Rug Bookmarks This lesson plan explains two diverse and beautiful style of textiles: Persian carpets and Navajo rugs. Similar colors and geometric shapes are two common elements of both. |
4 – 8 |
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 |
This easily constructed project offers an exploration of texture, line and color – key elements of design. Younger children may take a more abstract approach with emphasis on texture and color. Older students will find the burlap easy to pull and the weave easy to manipulate, creating holes and lines. Subject matter such as buildings, landscapes and abstract designs are adaptable to varying grade levels. |
K – 6 |
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This game puts a new "twist" on an old favorite, and provides an enjoyable way for students to learn color-mixing. |
K – 4 |
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Learn leaf anatomy by recreating the patterns and structure of the original. Because the clay is paper-based, it accepts watercolors, which may be reworked and blended on the surface. Watercolors enhance the veining in the leaves, pulling out their natural characteristics. |
K – 12 |
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 |
Where standard painting builds an image from the background forward, a reverse painting is created in a backward fashion — foreground first — with each phase applied so the background finishes the painting. A backing of metallic foil reflects light through the pastel in the same manner as gilding.
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3 – 12 |
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 |
Based on the scientific concepts of insolubility and density, this technique seals water-based paint and mineral oil inside a laminating pouch. The different densities cause the liquids to repel one another in an ever-changing and interactive piece that continually flows and responds to touch.
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K – 12 |
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 |
In the Philippines, during the Festival of Lights, parol (puh-roll), or star-shaped lanterns, symbolize the victory of light over darkness as well as hope and goodwill. These simple parol are created with natural reed, translucent rice paper and liquid watercolor. Displayed in a window or hanging from a light fixture, they make colorful, festive decorations for any season.
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3 – 8 |
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 |
Simple Perspective with the Artist’s Grid Canvas For a first lesson in one-point linear perspective, a grid is a perfect tool for beginning painters. It eliminates time spent measuring and marking, allowing students to achieve perfect accuracy on their first try. |
4 – 12 |
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 |
Textile Painting with Mayco Colors "Students use unconventional “tools” such as lace and yarn to create new textures and designs." |
2 – 8 |
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Students will research the painting style of a famous artist of their choice, then design a pair of painted shoes reminiscent of that artist’s design sense and choices of subjects and colors. |
K – 6 |
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 |
This lesson plan uses intensely colorful, easy-to-use Model Magic air-dry clay in place of yarn to create paintings similar to the art of the Huichol tribe. Students create “strings” of clay and press them together on a rigid surface. to create symbolic images and designs. |
3 – 8 |
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 |
Art history is an excellent discipline to accompany this lesson plan, as students become familiar with masterpieces by various artists. Students will choose an artwork that inspires them from a specifictime, genre or culture, and paint their own version on a cardboard frame. |
3 – 8 |
|
 |
Wonderful, colorful flowers are created with a transparent, flexible paint called “Arti’Stick”. To link with botanical studies, have students study the anatomy of a flower, create and identify its parts. |
3 – 8 |
|
 |
Math and science create visual forms and establish structure.“Three Prisms” uses equilateral triangles and parallelograms. The shapes are combined and repeated for a sculpture that makes additional equilateral triangles. |
K – 8 |
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 |
This lesson plan gives students the opportunity to learn about the concept of architecture, particularly towers and turrets.Using watercolor painting techniques and tracing, cutting, and gluing skills,students create lines, patterns and textures while understanding the concept of near being larger, far being smaller. |
3 – 6 |
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 |
Painting on a transparent medium not only allows the interaction of light within the painted surface, it also projects colorful cast light and shadow onto walls, floors and surrounding objects. |
3 – 12 |
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 |
Students will learn basic drawing and painting skills through monotype using Akua inks and a variety of brushes, sponges or even fingers to apply and modify their drawings — it’s safe and easy to clean up. |
3 – 8 |
|
 |
Gouache and Wood-Burned Designs Discover wood burning craft techniques and the traditional paint medium of gouache. |
3 – 12 |
|
 |
The new metallic paints are beautiful. Mix with different types of paints and "Glitter It" mediums to make paper tiles. |
K – 6 |
|
 |
Explore the beauty of Braille |
3 – 8 |
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 |
Explore the beauty of fabric batik without the danger of hot wax or dyes. Simply trace a design onto muslin with washable glue and add brilliant color.
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3 – 8 |
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 |
In painting, color can be used to describe emotions, feelings and ideas. Students select a color and paint a monochromatic theme of their choosing. |
K – 12 |
|
 |
Over the centuries and across many cultures, lockets have been worn as tiny, portable treasure chests. Students paint the front of a mini canvas and use the back to display a small photo or something with meaning and value. |
K – 12 |
|
 |
"Secco" is the term used for applying color to dry plaster, the manner Da Vinci used in his famed "The Last Supper." Using Plaster of Paris, students create drawings then purposefully add stress fractures.
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1 – 12 |
|
 |
"Paper, paint and ribbon are used to develop a pattern with contrasting textures and colors." |
K – 6 |
|
 |
"A beginning lesson in one-point linear perspective. Grid Canvas eliminates time spent measuring and marking, allowing students to achieve perfect accuracy on their first try." |
4 – 12 |
|
 |
Students will study works of stained glass as a one dimensional art form and adapt what they learn to a three dimensional sculpture — a brilliantly-colored transparent mobile. |
2 – 6 |
|
 |
Artist Trading Cards are a fascinating pastime for a great number of professional artists. The cards are always 2½" × 3½", a size that fits into standard baseball card storage sleeves |
K – 7 |
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 |
A full skeleton illustrates movement during a wide range of activities. The addition of a background turns this project into a more complete artwork. |
3 – 6 |
|
 |
Oven baked water-based acrylic paint on glazed tile looks like kiln fired glazed tile. The paint is available in a wide range of colors and can be layered and blended to make other colors. |
K – 12 |
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 |
Give students an opportunity to enjoy creating random organic forms with color and transparency similar to actual glass.
|
2 – 12 |
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 |
Students will enjoy exploring the wide variety of textures they can create with acrylic modeling paste on a rigid surface.
|
3 – 8 |
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 |
"Drawing with Thread" is an interpretation of work by Wassily Kandinski in 1913. Kandinski is called the first totally abstract artist. Free flowing water color and line suggests but does not define images. |
K – 8 |
|
 |
The Native American tribes of the plains tanned and prepared buffalo hides, then painted them with symbols and story-telling pictures that told their tribal history and honored the spirits. |
K – 4 |
|
 |
The stenciled hand print and aboriginal style drawings help children to relate to the man from the Australian Aboriginal Culture, while helping them to understand the use of line in art. |
K – 4 |
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|
Grades 5 – 8 |
Grade Level |
|
|
NEW! Artist’s Challenge Coins (ACC’s) Challenge Coins are specially designed and minted for service personnel to recognize an achievement, enhance morale, or to signify membership in (or experience on) a particular mission. Create a personal Artist's Challenge Coin (ACC) by making a small print, collage, stamp, or photo appliqué one side of a coin-shaped wooden disk, and a challenge or message on the reverse. |
K – 12 |
|
|
In Japan, Children's Day on May 5th is heralded by the appearance of flying fish: carp-shaped windsocks known as “Koinobori”. In this lesson, students design a “scale”-shaped block from soft block printing material and apply it repetitively to outdoor-safe fabric that has been cut in the shape of a fish. Add details like eyes, fins, and a tail using metallic and sparkle paint, and the Koinobori is ready to hang and “swim” through the breeze! |
3 – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Butterfield Horse Construct a high-relief horse using Activa Fast Mache and found objects. Combine a painted and collaged background with a horse made of quick mache, sticks, pine needles, leaves, and shredded papers in the style of Debra Butterfield. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Convertible “Canned” Sculpture Composition — the way the elements of a piece of art are arranged and relate to each other — can be difficult to grasp. This lesson plan presents an easy, forgiving way to see the effects of composition while using the dimensional works of Frank Stella as an example. The sculpture is assembled with magnets on a metal can so it can be taken apart and rearranged to see how the composition is affected — what works and what doesn’t. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Flower Garden Tiles Easily make flower tiles by carving clay, filling with plaster, and finishing with liquid watercolors. |
K – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Dancing Houses Part cartoonist and part Picasso, the art of Brooklyn-born James Rizzi is highly recognizable. His playful, brilliant images created a style he described as “Urban Primitive.” Students will enjoy making a classroom cityscape of fun and fabulous construction paper buildings. A simple wire armature beneath allows the structure to be playfully positioned -— almost as if it were dancing. This project provides a lesson in movement as design principle. |
K – 9 |
|
|
NEW! Easy-Outline Botanical Illustration Prints Although photography and modern printing processes have replaced the need for cataloguing plant life with detailed drawn and painted illustrations, botanical illustration is still a beloved art. To make an accurate rendering of a plant, students can create an impression in plaster, then trace the shape and details with colored pencil, ink, or watercolor. Mixing and shading for color accuracy and identifying the plant are some of the skills that will be learned in this exercise. |
K – 12 |
|
|
NEW! My Daruma A traditional Japanese weighted toy, Daruma always return to an upright position. This project reveals how to weight the bottom of a plastic egg and cover with instant maché to make these symbols of success, determination, and overcoming adversity. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Sound Sculpture Inspired by Jean Tinguely Swiss artist Jean Tinguely created whimsical machine-like contraptions of found metal parts, known as “metamechanics”. In this lesson plan, students create a kinetic sculpture with repurposed metal hardware, found objects, and wire placed so that they deliberately move against one another. Much like Tinguely’s machines, some of the noises may be pleasant — others may not— but each will have a very unique metallic, mechanical “voice.” |
3 – 12 |
|
|
Stain painting was a successful technique employed by Color Field artists Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis. They poured diluted acrylic color over large canvases to form “veils” of brilliant color. In this lesson, students will first learn a simple process for creating their own drawing pad, then stain and design a canvas cover for it.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
Learn the anatomy of one of nature’s most fascinating creatures and make a model from some of the very materials that threaten their habitat — plastic bags and fast food containers. These colorful, sparkling jellies are even water-resistant!
|
K – 5 |
|
|
Practice the ancient art of sumi-e painting with a modern twist! Paint with diluted wax resist, then reveal your masterpiece by applying black sumi-e ink over the top. The addition of watercolor gives the painting even more interest.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Have a Ball! with distorted self-portraits Observing and reproducing the distortion caused by a concave reflection is the topic of this lesson plan, as students make self-portraits inspired by M.C. Escher's “Hand with Reflecting Globe.” The canvas is a vinyl bouncing ball. Elementary ages can be challenged to create a continuous painting — with no beginning or end — then “Have a Ball!” playing with their own artwork.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Tibetan wish or prayer flags traditionally are used to promote peace, compassion, strength and wisdom. Tibetans do not believe that the flags carry prayers to the gods, but rather that their messages and wishes will be blown by the wind to spread goodwill and compassion into all-pervading space. In this project, students will use a liquid wax resist that will be painted onto silk rectangles and need not be removed. Vibrant color and a final gold embellishment finish the piece. |
2 – 12 |
|
|
WonderFoam is familiar to almost everyone who has ever presented a craft project to children — but, if you'd like to move beyond the "foamies" to a real art technique, incorporate WonderFoam into printmaking! “Collagraph” is a process in which materials are arranged collage-style on a rigid surface, coated with tempera paint and then transferred to paper. Students learn to make repeating patterns with shapes. |
K – 6 |
|
|
Impressionistic Marker Painting You won't believe what these markers can do! The juicy, alcohol-based ink reacts with itself or with hand-sanitizer to make painterly drawings on clear plastic film.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
This project utilizes acrylic paint, but in a totally unique way...dried! Acrylic paint "skins" are easily created just by brushing paint on a non-stick palette or baker's parchment and letting it dry. You can use this plastic, flexible paint in a number of ways to create mosaics, mixed media collage, stained glass-like effects, jewelry, book covers and more!
|
K – 12 |
|
 |
Considered a lost art for many centuries, encaustic painting is enjoying a resurgence because of modern techniques, tools and materials. While encaustic painting requires moving molten wax from a heating element to a surface, the technique used in this lesson plan creates textured “reservoirs” in metal foil that channel and cradle sprinkled wax chips as they melt. Interesting dimensions and contrasts between the metal and translucent wax occur when cooled.
|
5 – 12 |
|
|
Functioning as both a painting and a print, a Monotype is unique and irreproducible. The “hoop-la” over Monotype can be experienced in your classroom with this simplified, safely water-based process using acrylic paint, printing foam and fabric. The technique builds the print a layer at a time and tools are used to remove or “subtract” color between layers. Stretch the finished print ona gold macramé ring for an instant frame.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
Les Fauves (translation: “The Wild Beasts”) were a group of artists whose work was characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strident colors. The colors the Fauves used are also favored by wild birds. Hummingbirds like red, orange and pink. Songbirds prefer colors that mimic trees and bushes. To see which species of birds are attracted to these “beastly” colors, students create a painted, hanging birdfeeder from a stretched canvas or “upcycled” wooden frame. |
K – 12 |
|
|
The practice of illumination — decoration of pages with ornate lettering, luminous color and precious metals, was developed during the middle ages when literacy was rare and books were even more so. With this process, students design one of their own initials on reflective board and add transparent color — it appears to glow with reflective light from within. |
3 – 8 |
|
|
Egg-stra Easy Watercolor “Crunch” Traditionally, eggshell mosaics are made by first dying then positioning each shard individually — a time-consuming and delicate process. This project introduces a new way to crush and color eggshells, creating intricate veining and texture all at once without pre-dying or arranging each fragment. The simple glue-and-paint process and satisfying “crunch!” of breaking eggshells will delight children of all ages and skill levels.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Peace Windows: in the style of Marc Chagall’s stained glass Late in his career, artist Marc Chagall produced a number of paintings in glass with colorful, dream-like images symbolizing peace, love, tolerance and faith. In reality, Marc Chagall’s life was filled with tragic events and the world he lived in was anything but peaceful. In light of this fact, students can begin to understand an artist’s ability to share healing, inspiration and encouragement, using “peace” as a theme.
|
K – 8 |
|
|
Printing creative T-shirts and fabrics doesn’t always require stencils and screens — students can easily design their own giant stamps and paint them any way they want. Even if each shirt displays the same message, each will be a completely unique work of art! This process is perfect for group settings — schools, camps, daycare centers, clubs, family reunions and special events — but it is also ideal for countless home decorating and craft projects. |
K – 8 |
|
|
Stencils and repeated patterns have been used in painting as long ago as 9,000 years, when early humans placed their hands against cave walls and outlined them in charcoal or paint. In this lesson, even a stencil made of basic shapes can be effective. Each stencil can be used repeatedly, and by changing oil pastel color, overlapping images, or using only a part of an image, the result is a cohesive composition that has depth and color fusion. |
4 – 12 |
|
|
Molding, casting, sculpting, painting and monoprinting — this simple project pulls all of these together into one low-relief sculpture that demonstrates the elements of texture and color. Texture is defined in clay by pressing objects in or sculpting with tools. Next, the clay is painted with watercolor and covered with papier mâché, which lifts the color as it dries, absorbing it directly into the casting.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
Itajime Shibori is a technique for folding, clamping and dyeing paper or fabric resulting in beautiful designs – very similar to tie-dye. The folds and clamps keep the dye or ink from penetrating fully in certain areas making patterns and giving a dimensional appearance on a flat surface. This project is a great way to teach students the scientific concept of diffusion and color mixing. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
The easiest way to make colorful, three-dimensional paper flowers! Even young children will enjoy painting carnation-like blooms and creating full bouquets for Mother’s Day gifts, May Day celebrations, a Cinco de Mayo fiesta or a Hawaiian Luau. Each flower costs just pennies to make. Because the watercolors blend together and form new hues, painting each bloom is a good way to illustrate color mixing. |
K – 8 |
|
|
Beginning in the early 1880s, the “Art Nouveau” style flourished in all forms of art. Beautiful pottery was mass-produced during this era, especially in the form of decorative tiles. Tube lining — a technique in which a design outline was created first and then filled in with color — is the definitive look of Art Nouveau. If kiln-glazed ceramics are not an option for your environment, this project is a way to produce glossy, hand-painted tiles that look like the real thing.
|
K – 8 |
|
|
The production and commerce of decorated silk fabrics began thousands of years ago in China. This project introduces fine-mesh polyester as a silk-like fabric for painting. Form a wire shape as a support and paint with transparent liquid acrylic color. Finished pieces are flexible and may be heat-set for outdoor display. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
In the 1800s, many homes were decorated with “Penny Carpets”, made from miss-matched fabric cut into circles by tracing around a penny. Patches were then layered and stitched together to make a large piece. Students create a Penny Carpet with fabric that they design themselves using monoprinting techniques and fabric paint. Each section is sewed to felt swatches, then joined to make a larger piece of art.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
Art 2 Infinity: Two projects incorporating Mirror Board Artists through the ages have used reflective surfaces to define and alter perspective, create symmetry and "bend" reality. Mirrors have been a tool for creating art, the subject matter and the art itself. Here are two project ideas for using metallic film to capture light and create intriguing illusions: “Kaleidoscope Paintings” and “Infinity Boxes”. |
K – 12 |
|
 |
A whimsical makeover for discarded dishes! Inexpensive, diverse and unmatched pieces from thrift stores, garage sales, etc. are recycled into contemporary sculptures in this project. Pieces of unprimed canvas are layered and glued to the surface, then painted with Blick Matte Acrylic color. Center the design around a theme, as Judy Chicago did in the 1970’s with “The Dinner Party” or design a place setting for a particular artist.
|
5 – 12 |
|
|
Students of all ages can mimic mosaic artisans throughout history with these easy tile-making and “grouting” techniques. Clay tiles are glued to a firm backboard and grouted with acrylic paint. This project is safe and simple enough for younger students and those with special needs.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Quilt-making spans multiple centuries and cultures. It can teach math skills, record history, recycle cast-off materials and encourage cooperative efforts within a group...just for a few ideas! This lesson looks at the story quilts of Faith Ringgold. She surrounds her narrative paintings with a quilted border, creating stories in color, texture, and pattern. Students select their own story to illustrate, then paint fabric using watersoluble pastels and watercolor.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
This project demonstrates the physical process of osmosis. Water-based markers are diluted by filtering water through an ordinary wet wipe. The flow of the color is slowed and channeled by the presence of oil and alchohol in the wipe, creating random and interesting tie-dye-type patterns. Educational...and really fun to watch! |
K – 5 |
|
|
Persian and Navajo Rug Bookmarks This lesson plan explains two diverse and beautiful style of textiles: Persian carpets and Navajo rugs. Similar colors and geometric shapes are two common elements of both. |
4 – 8 |
|
|
This easily constructed project offers an exploration of texture, line and color – key elements of design. Younger children may take a more abstract approach with emphasis on texture and color. Older students will find the burlap easy to pull and the weave easy to manipulate, creating holes and lines. Subject matter such as buildings, landscapes and abstract designs are adaptable to varying grade levels. |
K – 6 |
|
 |
EZ Encaustic uses only small amounts of soft decorating wax that may be softened by hand or by using low temperature heat. Also included are instructions for a Painterly Encaustic process, using melted wax.
|
5 – 12 |
|
 |
Fine craft artists today are exploring texture and color in all mediums. The fabric beads in this project encourage experimental use of materials to enhance and enrich traditional techniques. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
Learn leaf anatomy by recreating the patterns and structure of the original. Because the clay is paper-based, it accepts watercolors, which may be reworked and blended on the surface. Watercolors enhance the veining in the leaves, pulling out their natural characteristics. |
K – 12 |
|
|
Where standard painting builds an image from the background forward, a reverse painting is created in a backward fashion — foreground first — with each phase applied so the background finishes the painting. A backing of metallic foil reflects light through the pastel in the same manner as gilding.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
Based on the scientific concepts of insolubility and density, this technique seals water-based paint and mineral oil inside a laminating pouch. The different densities cause the liquids to repel one another in an ever-changing and interactive piece that continually flows and responds to touch.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
In the Philippines, during the Festival of Lights, parol (puh-roll), or star-shaped lanterns, symbolize the victory of light over darkness as well as hope and goodwill. These simple parol are created with natural reed, translucent rice paper and liquid watercolor. Displayed in a window or hanging from a light fixture, they make colorful, festive decorations for any season.
|
3 – 8 |
|
 |
Create simple tools that can be pressed into clay, used for embossing, texture rubbing or printmaking. Wonder-Cut Linoleum is 1/4" deep — providing plenty of depth for carving a variety of textures and dimensions and making incredibly detailed impressions. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
Simple Perspective with the Artist’s Grid Canvas For a first lesson in one-point linear perspective, a grid is a perfect tool for beginning painters. It eliminates time spent measuring and marking, allowing students to achieve perfect accuracy on their first try. |
4 – 12 |
|
|
Textile Painting with Mayco Colors "Students use unconventional “tools” such as lace and yarn to create new textures and designs." |
2 – 8 |
|
|
Students will research the painting style of a famous artist of their choice, then design a pair of painted shoes reminiscent of that artist’s design sense and choices of subjects and colors. |
K – 6 |
|
 |
Junkanoo is a festival that takes place in the Bahamas. It is a tradition that traces its roots back to the 16th century. Music, dancing and elaborate costumes are all part of Junkanoo. This lesson introduces students to a fun and whimsical cultural event by allowing them to design their own headress - an important part of the festivities! |
6 – 12 |
|
|
This lesson plan uses intensely colorful, easy-to-use Model Magic air-dry clay in place of yarn to create paintings similar to the art of the Huichol tribe. Students create “strings” of clay and press them together on a rigid surface. to create symbolic images and designs. |
3 – 8 |
|
 |
The molten-metal texture on the cover provides a rich presentation for the personal treasures that will be written inside. The black pages are a dramatic background for words rendered in metallic marker, gel pen, opaque colored pencils or opaque ink. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
Art history is an excellent discipline to accompany this lesson plan, as students become familiar with masterpieces by various artists. Students will choose an artwork that inspires them from a specifictime, genre or culture, and paint their own version on a cardboard frame. |
3 – 8 |
|
 |
The use of a very unconventional medium as a classroom exercise in oil painting. |
5 – 12 |
|
 |
The natural translucent quality of silk paired with transparent paints rivals the glow of stained glass when held up to the sun. This is an easy way to teach introductory silk paintin. |
7 – 12 |
|
|
Wonderful, colorful flowers are created with a transparent, flexible paint called “Arti’Stick”. To link with botanical studies, have students study the anatomy of a flower, create and identify its parts. |
3 – 8 |
|
|
Math and science create visual forms and establish structure.“Three Prisms” uses equilateral triangles and parallelograms. The shapes are combined and repeated for a sculpture that makes additional equilateral triangles. |
K – 8 |
|
 |
The ancient Japanese tradition of textile painting known as Shibori entails many techniques and processes including the gathering, wrapping and binding methods that we call "tie-dye" today. This 2-part lesson involves painting and draping stiffened fabric to create a sculptural piece. |
7 – 12 |
|
|
This lesson plan gives students the opportunity to learn about the concept of architecture, particularly towers and turrets.Using watercolor painting techniques and tracing, cutting, and gluing skills,students create lines, patterns and textures while understanding the concept of near being larger, far being smaller. |
3 – 6 |
|
|
Painting on a transparent medium not only allows the interaction of light within the painted surface, it also projects colorful cast light and shadow onto walls, floors and surrounding objects. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
Students will learn basic drawing and painting skills through monotype using Akua inks and a variety of brushes, sponges or even fingers to apply and modify their drawings — it’s safe and easy to clean up. |
3 – 8 |
|
 |
A painted book in the style of Robert Indiana. This lesson plan challenges students to choose eight ideas that can be stated with one simple word, then assemble them into a painted book. |
5 – 12 |
|
 |
Part Salvidor Dali and part "Shrinky Dinks," this project compels students to reach beyond a traditional, flat painting and feeds their natural hunger for artistic experimentation. |
7 – 12 |
|
 |
Impressionist-Style Painted Tile Through the study of Impressionist painters and their works students will select their own color palette and design an impressionistic scene reminiscent of those painted in the mid 1800s. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
Gouache and Wood-Burned Designs Discover wood burning craft techniques and the traditional paint medium of gouache. |
3 – 12 |
|
 |
Found objects, cutouts, photos and a variety of materials are assembled in a sculptural, three-dimensional collage centered around a personal theme. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
The new metallic paints are beautiful. Mix with different types of paints and "Glitter It" mediums to make paper tiles. |
K – 6 |
|
|
Explore the beauty of Braille |
3 – 8 |
|
|
Explore the beauty of fabric batik without the danger of hot wax or dyes. Simply trace a design onto muslin with washable glue and add brilliant color.
|
3 – 8 |
|
 |
A drawing becomes a painting, then flips back to a drawing again as students use variety to explore surfaces, media and techniques. |
5 – 12 |
|
 |
Dimensional collage using wire mesh and acrylic gel medium. Develop color, texture and design with paint, photocopies, images, music, text, colorful papers and many different objects inside the transaprent gel. Once dry, the form can be easily manipulated into a bowl.
|
5 – 12 |
|
|
In painting, color can be used to describe emotions, feelings and ideas. Students select a color and paint a monochromatic theme of their choosing. |
K – 12 |
|
|
Over the centuries and across many cultures, lockets have been worn as tiny, portable treasure chests. Students paint the front of a mini canvas and use the back to display a small photo or something with meaning and value. |
K – 12 |
|
 |
Maki-e translates "sprinkle pictures" – the beautiful art of Japanese lacquerware. To achieve a similar look, cut and glue painted papers to a surface and sprinkle with metallic powdered pigments. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
"Secco" is the term used for applying color to dry plaster, the manner Da Vinci used in his famed "The Last Supper." Using Plaster of Paris, students create drawings then purposefully add stress fractures.
|
1 – 12 |
|
 |
"The “grid method” has been used for centuries to create accurate proportions when painting. Blick Exclusive Artist Grid Canvas makes it easier to place objects from a photograph and plot landscapes, still lifes and portraits." |
5 – 12 |
|
|
"Paper, paint and ribbon are used to develop a pattern with contrasting textures and colors." |
K – 6 |
|
|
"A beginning lesson in one-point linear perspective. Grid Canvas eliminates time spent measuring and marking, allowing students to achieve perfect accuracy on their first try." |
4 – 12 |
|
 |
Create Hawaiian-inspired shirts with brightly-colored flowers, leaves, and fish by printing them using fabric paints. "Gyotaku" - the Japanese word for "fish print"- is a fun and exciting way to give shirts an island beach look. |
5 – 8 |
|
|
Students will study works of stained glass as a one dimensional art form and adapt what they learn to a three dimensional sculpture — a brilliantly-colored transparent mobile. |
2 – 6 |
|
|
Artist Trading Cards are a fascinating pastime for a great number of professional artists. The cards are always 2½" × 3½", a size that fits into standard baseball card storage sleeves |
K – 7 |
|
|
A full skeleton illustrates movement during a wide range of activities. The addition of a background turns this project into a more complete artwork. |
3 – 6 |
|
|
Oven baked water-based acrylic paint on glazed tile looks like kiln fired glazed tile. The paint is available in a wide range of colors and can be layered and blended to make other colors. |
K – 12 |
|
 |
The right tools are essential to a Chinese brush painter. Students will create their own brush holders and ink pots from glazed and fired clay, then learn the basic brush strokes for branches, bamboo leaves. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
Give students an opportunity to enjoy creating random organic forms with color and transparency similar to actual glass.
|
2 – 12 |
|
|
Students will enjoy exploring the wide variety of textures they can create with acrylic modeling paste on a rigid surface.
|
3 – 8 |
|
|
"Drawing with Thread" is an interpretation of work by Wassily Kandinski in 1913. Kandinski is called the first totally abstract artist. Free flowing water color and line suggests but does not define images. |
K – 8 |
|
 |
This lesson will attract students to the abstract as they create their own hanging kinetic sculptures from lightweight polyester material.
|
5 – 12 |
|
|
|
Grades 9 – 12 |
Grade Level |
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NEW! Artist’s Challenge Coins (ACC’s) Challenge Coins are specially designed and minted for service personnel to recognize an achievement, enhance morale, or to signify membership in (or experience on) a particular mission. Create a personal Artist's Challenge Coin (ACC) by making a small print, collage, stamp, or photo appliqué one side of a coin-shaped wooden disk, and a challenge or message on the reverse. |
K – 12 |
|
|
In Japan, Children's Day on May 5th is heralded by the appearance of flying fish: carp-shaped windsocks known as “Koinobori”. In this lesson, students design a “scale”-shaped block from soft block printing material and apply it repetitively to outdoor-safe fabric that has been cut in the shape of a fish. Add details like eyes, fins, and a tail using metallic and sparkle paint, and the Koinobori is ready to hang and “swim” through the breeze! |
3 – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Butterfield Horse Construct a high-relief horse using Activa Fast Mache and found objects. Combine a painted and collaged background with a horse made of quick mache, sticks, pine needles, leaves, and shredded papers in the style of Debra Butterfield. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Convertible “Canned” Sculpture Composition — the way the elements of a piece of art are arranged and relate to each other — can be difficult to grasp. This lesson plan presents an easy, forgiving way to see the effects of composition while using the dimensional works of Frank Stella as an example. The sculpture is assembled with magnets on a metal can so it can be taken apart and rearranged to see how the composition is affected — what works and what doesn’t. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Flower Garden Tiles Easily make flower tiles by carving clay, filling with plaster, and finishing with liquid watercolors. |
K – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Dancing Houses Part cartoonist and part Picasso, the art of Brooklyn-born James Rizzi is highly recognizable. His playful, brilliant images created a style he described as “Urban Primitive.” Students will enjoy making a classroom cityscape of fun and fabulous construction paper buildings. A simple wire armature beneath allows the structure to be playfully positioned -— almost as if it were dancing. This project provides a lesson in movement as design principle. |
K – 9 |
|
|
NEW! Easy-Outline Botanical Illustration Prints Although photography and modern printing processes have replaced the need for cataloguing plant life with detailed drawn and painted illustrations, botanical illustration is still a beloved art. To make an accurate rendering of a plant, students can create an impression in plaster, then trace the shape and details with colored pencil, ink, or watercolor. Mixing and shading for color accuracy and identifying the plant are some of the skills that will be learned in this exercise. |
K – 12 |
|
|
NEW! My Daruma A traditional Japanese weighted toy, Daruma always return to an upright position. This project reveals how to weight the bottom of a plastic egg and cover with instant maché to make these symbols of success, determination, and overcoming adversity. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
NEW! Sound Sculpture Inspired by Jean Tinguely Swiss artist Jean Tinguely created whimsical machine-like contraptions of found metal parts, known as “metamechanics”. In this lesson plan, students create a kinetic sculpture with repurposed metal hardware, found objects, and wire placed so that they deliberately move against one another. Much like Tinguely’s machines, some of the noises may be pleasant — others may not— but each will have a very unique metallic, mechanical “voice.” |
3 – 12 |
|
|
Stain painting was a successful technique employed by Color Field artists Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis. They poured diluted acrylic color over large canvases to form “veils” of brilliant color. In this lesson, students will first learn a simple process for creating their own drawing pad, then stain and design a canvas cover for it.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
Practice the ancient art of sumi-e painting with a modern twist! Paint with diluted wax resist, then reveal your masterpiece by applying black sumi-e ink over the top. The addition of watercolor gives the painting even more interest.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Have a Ball! with distorted self-portraits Observing and reproducing the distortion caused by a concave reflection is the topic of this lesson plan, as students make self-portraits inspired by M.C. Escher's “Hand with Reflecting Globe.” The canvas is a vinyl bouncing ball. Elementary ages can be challenged to create a continuous painting — with no beginning or end — then “Have a Ball!” playing with their own artwork.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Tibetan wish or prayer flags traditionally are used to promote peace, compassion, strength and wisdom. Tibetans do not believe that the flags carry prayers to the gods, but rather that their messages and wishes will be blown by the wind to spread goodwill and compassion into all-pervading space. In this project, students will use a liquid wax resist that will be painted onto silk rectangles and need not be removed. Vibrant color and a final gold embellishment finish the piece. |
2 – 12 |
|
|
Impressionistic Marker Painting You won't believe what these markers can do! The juicy, alcohol-based ink reacts with itself or with hand-sanitizer to make painterly drawings on clear plastic film.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
This project utilizes acrylic paint, but in a totally unique way...dried! Acrylic paint "skins" are easily created just by brushing paint on a non-stick palette or baker's parchment and letting it dry. You can use this plastic, flexible paint in a number of ways to create mosaics, mixed media collage, stained glass-like effects, jewelry, book covers and more!
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Considered a lost art for many centuries, encaustic painting is enjoying a resurgence because of modern techniques, tools and materials. While encaustic painting requires moving molten wax from a heating element to a surface, the technique used in this lesson plan creates textured “reservoirs” in metal foil that channel and cradle sprinkled wax chips as they melt. Interesting dimensions and contrasts between the metal and translucent wax occur when cooled.
|
5 – 12 |
|
|
Functioning as both a painting and a print, a Monotype is unique and irreproducible. The “hoop-la” over Monotype can be experienced in your classroom with this simplified, safely water-based process using acrylic paint, printing foam and fabric. The technique builds the print a layer at a time and tools are used to remove or “subtract” color between layers. Stretch the finished print ona gold macramé ring for an instant frame.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
Les Fauves (translation: “The Wild Beasts”) were a group of artists whose work was characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strident colors. The colors the Fauves used are also favored by wild birds. Hummingbirds like red, orange and pink. Songbirds prefer colors that mimic trees and bushes. To see which species of birds are attracted to these “beastly” colors, students create a painted, hanging birdfeeder from a stretched canvas or “upcycled” wooden frame. |
K – 12 |
|
|
Egg-stra Easy Watercolor “Crunch” Traditionally, eggshell mosaics are made by first dying then positioning each shard individually — a time-consuming and delicate process. This project introduces a new way to crush and color eggshells, creating intricate veining and texture all at once without pre-dying or arranging each fragment. The simple glue-and-paint process and satisfying “crunch!” of breaking eggshells will delight children of all ages and skill levels.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Stencils and repeated patterns have been used in painting as long ago as 9,000 years, when early humans placed their hands against cave walls and outlined them in charcoal or paint. In this lesson, even a stencil made of basic shapes can be effective. Each stencil can be used repeatedly, and by changing oil pastel color, overlapping images, or using only a part of an image, the result is a cohesive composition that has depth and color fusion. |
4 – 12 |
|
|
Molding, casting, sculpting, painting and monoprinting — this simple project pulls all of these together into one low-relief sculpture that demonstrates the elements of texture and color. Texture is defined in clay by pressing objects in or sculpting with tools. Next, the clay is painted with watercolor and covered with papier mâché, which lifts the color as it dries, absorbing it directly into the casting.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
Itajime Shibori is a technique for folding, clamping and dyeing paper or fabric resulting in beautiful designs – very similar to tie-dye. The folds and clamps keep the dye or ink from penetrating fully in certain areas making patterns and giving a dimensional appearance on a flat surface. This project is a great way to teach students the scientific concept of diffusion and color mixing. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
Beginning in the early 1880s, the “Art Nouveau” style flourished in all forms of art. Beautiful pottery was mass-produced during this era, especially in the form of decorative tiles. Tube lining — a technique in which a design outline was created first and then filled in with color — is the definitive look of Art Nouveau. If kiln-glazed ceramics are not an option for your environment, this project is a way to produce glossy, hand-painted tiles that look like the real thing.
|
K – 8 |
|
|
The production and commerce of decorated silk fabrics began thousands of years ago in China. This project introduces fine-mesh polyester as a silk-like fabric for painting. Form a wire shape as a support and paint with transparent liquid acrylic color. Finished pieces are flexible and may be heat-set for outdoor display. |
3 – 12 |
|
|
In the 1800s, many homes were decorated with “Penny Carpets”, made from miss-matched fabric cut into circles by tracing around a penny. Patches were then layered and stitched together to make a large piece. Students create a Penny Carpet with fabric that they design themselves using monoprinting techniques and fabric paint. Each section is sewed to felt swatches, then joined to make a larger piece of art.
|
3 – 12 |
|
|
Art 2 Infinity: Two projects incorporating Mirror Board Artists through the ages have used reflective surfaces to define and alter perspective, create symmetry and "bend" reality. Mirrors have been a tool for creating art, the subject matter and the art itself. Here are two project ideas for using metallic film to capture light and create intriguing illusions: “Kaleidoscope Paintings” and “Infinity Boxes”. |
K – 12 |
|
|
A whimsical makeover for discarded dishes! Inexpensive, diverse and unmatched pieces from thrift stores, garage sales, etc. are recycled into contemporary sculptures in this project. Pieces of unprimed canvas are layered and glued to the surface, then painted with Blick Matte Acrylic color. Center the design around a theme, as Judy Chicago did in the 1970’s with “The Dinner Party” or design a place setting for a particular artist.
|
5 – 12 |
|
|
Students of all ages can mimic mosaic artisans throughout history with these easy tile-making and “grouting” techniques. Clay tiles are glued to a firm backboard and grouted with acrylic paint. This project is safe and simple enough for younger students and those with special needs.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Quilt-making spans multiple centuries and cultures. It can teach math skills, record history, recycle cast-off materials and encourage cooperative efforts within a group...just for a few ideas! This lesson looks at the story quilts of Faith Ringgold. She surrounds her narrative paintings with a quilted border, creating stories in color, texture, and pattern. Students select their own story to illustrate, then paint fabric using watersoluble pastels and watercolor.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
EZ Encaustic uses only small amounts of soft decorating wax that may be softened by hand or by using low temperature heat. Also included are instructions for a Painterly Encaustic process, using melted wax.
|
5 – 12 |
|
|
Fine craft artists today are exploring texture and color in all mediums. The fabric beads in this project encourage experimental use of materials to enhance and enrich traditional techniques. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
Learn leaf anatomy by recreating the patterns and structure of the original. Because the clay is paper-based, it accepts watercolors, which may be reworked and blended on the surface. Watercolors enhance the veining in the leaves, pulling out their natural characteristics. |
K – 12 |
|
|
Where standard painting builds an image from the background forward, a reverse painting is created in a backward fashion — foreground first — with each phase applied so the background finishes the painting. A backing of metallic foil reflects light through the pastel in the same manner as gilding.
|
3 – 12 |
|
 |
In this lesson students will make a piece that is basically a printmaking “sandwich” — part painting, part lithograph, and part monoprint — incorporating Z*Acryl D2P Polyester Lithographic plates
|
9 – 12 |
|
|
Based on the scientific concepts of insolubility and density, this technique seals water-based paint and mineral oil inside a laminating pouch. The different densities cause the liquids to repel one another in an ever-changing and interactive piece that continually flows and responds to touch.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Create simple tools that can be pressed into clay, used for embossing, texture rubbing or printmaking. Wonder-Cut Linoleum is 1/4" deep — providing plenty of depth for carving a variety of textures and dimensions and making incredibly detailed impressions. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
Simple Perspective with the Artist’s Grid Canvas For a first lesson in one-point linear perspective, a grid is a perfect tool for beginning painters. It eliminates time spent measuring and marking, allowing students to achieve perfect accuracy on their first try. |
4 – 12 |
|
|
Junkanoo is a festival that takes place in the Bahamas. It is a tradition that traces its roots back to the 16th century. Music, dancing and elaborate costumes are all part of Junkanoo. This lesson introduces students to a fun and whimsical cultural event by allowing them to design their own headress - an important part of the festivities! |
6 – 12 |
|
|
The molten-metal texture on the cover provides a rich presentation for the personal treasures that will be written inside. The black pages are a dramatic background for words rendered in metallic marker, gel pen, opaque colored pencils or opaque ink. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
The use of a very unconventional medium as a classroom exercise in oil painting. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
The natural translucent quality of silk paired with transparent paints rivals the glow of stained glass when held up to the sun. This is an easy way to teach introductory silk paintin. |
7 – 12 |
|
|
The ancient Japanese tradition of textile painting known as Shibori entails many techniques and processes including the gathering, wrapping and binding methods that we call "tie-dye" today. This 2-part lesson involves painting and draping stiffened fabric to create a sculptural piece. |
7 – 12 |
|
 |
In this lesson, students “paint” with torn paper using a limited number of values found in a grayscale image. Using torn paper instead of direct painting requires them to visually divide the gray areas into separate shapes and define each shape individually. |
9 – 12 |
|
|
Painting on a transparent medium not only allows the interaction of light within the painted surface, it also projects colorful cast light and shadow onto walls, floors and surrounding objects. |
3 – 12 |
|
 |
This project will allow for exploring facial proportion, practice working in transparent watercolors and produce a self-expressive portrait. |
9 – 12 |
|
|
A painted book in the style of Robert Indiana. This lesson plan challenges students to choose eight ideas that can be stated with one simple word, then assemble them into a painted book. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
Part Salvidor Dali and part "Shrinky Dinks," this project compels students to reach beyond a traditional, flat painting and feeds their natural hunger for artistic experimentation. |
7 – 12 |
|
|
Impressionist-Style Painted Tile Through the study of Impressionist painters and their works students will select their own color palette and design an impressionistic scene reminiscent of those painted in the mid 1800s. |
5 – 12 |
|
 |
Brightly colored paintings look like stained glass. |
9 – 12 |
|
|
Gouache and Wood-Burned Designs Discover wood burning craft techniques and the traditional paint medium of gouache. |
3 – 12 |
|
 |
This project is a unique, fun lesson in establishing a hero and developing an Artists' Hall of Fame. |
9 – 12 |
|
|
Found objects, cutouts, photos and a variety of materials are assembled in a sculptural, three-dimensional collage centered around a personal theme. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
A drawing becomes a painting, then flips back to a drawing again as students use variety to explore surfaces, media and techniques. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
Dimensional collage using wire mesh and acrylic gel medium. Develop color, texture and design with paint, photocopies, images, music, text, colorful papers and many different objects inside the transaprent gel. Once dry, the form can be easily manipulated into a bowl.
|
5 – 12 |
|
|
In painting, color can be used to describe emotions, feelings and ideas. Students select a color and paint a monochromatic theme of their choosing. |
K – 12 |
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Over the centuries and across many cultures, lockets have been worn as tiny, portable treasure chests. Students paint the front of a mini canvas and use the back to display a small photo or something with meaning and value. |
K – 12 |
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Maki-e translates "sprinkle pictures" – the beautiful art of Japanese lacquerware. To achieve a similar look, cut and glue painted papers to a surface and sprinkle with metallic powdered pigments. |
5 – 12 |
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"Secco" is the term used for applying color to dry plaster, the manner Da Vinci used in his famed "The Last Supper." Using Plaster of Paris, students create drawings then purposefully add stress fractures.
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1 – 12 |
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"The “grid method” has been used for centuries to create accurate proportions when painting. Blick Exclusive Artist Grid Canvas makes it easier to place objects from a photograph and plot landscapes, still lifes and portraits." |
5 – 12 |
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"A beginning lesson in one-point linear perspective. Grid Canvas eliminates time spent measuring and marking, allowing students to achieve perfect accuracy on their first try." |
4 – 12 |
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Simple beginners' project using 5 colors of paint and 2 types of stencils: positive and negative. |
9 – 12 |
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Oven baked water-based acrylic paint on glazed tile looks like kiln fired glazed tile. The paint is available in a wide range of colors and can be layered and blended to make other colors. |
K – 12 |
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The right tools are essential to a Chinese brush painter. Students will create their own brush holders and ink pots from glazed and fired clay, then learn the basic brush strokes for branches, bamboo leaves. |
5 – 12 |
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Give students an opportunity to enjoy creating random organic forms with color and transparency similar to actual glass.
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2 – 12 |
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This lesson will attract students to the abstract as they create their own hanging kinetic sculptures from lightweight polyester material.
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5 – 12 |
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Special Education |
Grade Level |
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NEW! Artist’s Challenge Coins (ACC’s) Challenge Coins are specially designed and minted for service personnel to recognize an achievement, enhance morale, or to signify membership in (or experience on) a particular mission. Create a personal Artist's Challenge Coin (ACC) by making a small print, collage, stamp, or photo appliqué one side of a coin-shaped wooden disk, and a challenge or message on the reverse. |
K – 12 |
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Have a Ball! with distorted self-portraits Observing and reproducing the distortion caused by a concave reflection is the topic of this lesson plan, as students make self-portraits inspired by M.C. Escher's “Hand with Reflecting Globe.” The canvas is a vinyl bouncing ball. Elementary ages can be challenged to create a continuous painting — with no beginning or end — then “Have a Ball!” playing with their own artwork.
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K – 12 |
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WonderFoam is familiar to almost everyone who has ever presented a craft project to children — but, if you'd like to move beyond the "foamies" to a real art technique, incorporate WonderFoam into printmaking! “Collagraph” is a process in which materials are arranged collage-style on a rigid surface, coated with tempera paint and then transferred to paper. Students learn to make repeating patterns with shapes. |
K – 6 |
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Les Fauves (translation: “The Wild Beasts”) were a group of artists whose work was characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strident colors. The colors the Fauves used are also favored by wild birds. Hummingbirds like red, orange and pink. Songbirds prefer colors that mimic trees and bushes. To see which species of birds are attracted to these “beastly” colors, students create a painted, hanging birdfeeder from a stretched canvas or “upcycled” wooden frame. |
K – 12 |
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Egg-stra Easy Watercolor “Crunch” Traditionally, eggshell mosaics are made by first dying then positioning each shard individually — a time-consuming and delicate process. This project introduces a new way to crush and color eggshells, creating intricate veining and texture all at once without pre-dying or arranging each fragment. The simple glue-and-paint process and satisfying “crunch!” of breaking eggshells will delight children of all ages and skill levels.
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K – 12 |
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Peace Windows: in the style of Marc Chagall’s stained glass Late in his career, artist Marc Chagall produced a number of paintings in glass with colorful, dream-like images symbolizing peace, love, tolerance and faith. In reality, Marc Chagall’s life was filled with tragic events and the world he lived in was anything but peaceful. In light of this fact, students can begin to understand an artist’s ability to share healing, inspiration and encouragement, using “peace” as a theme.
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K – 8 |
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Printing creative T-shirts and fabrics doesn’t always require stencils and screens — students can easily design their own giant stamps and paint them any way they want. Even if each shirt displays the same message, each will be a completely unique work of art! This process is perfect for group settings — schools, camps, daycare centers, clubs, family reunions and special events — but it is also ideal for countless home decorating and craft projects. |
K – 8 |
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Beginning in the early 1880s, the “Art Nouveau” style flourished in all forms of art. Beautiful pottery was mass-produced during this era, especially in the form of decorative tiles. Tube lining — a technique in which a design outline was created first and then filled in with color — is the definitive look of Art Nouveau. If kiln-glazed ceramics are not an option for your environment, this project is a way to produce glossy, hand-painted tiles that look like the real thing.
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K – 8 |
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Students of all ages can mimic mosaic artisans throughout history with these easy tile-making and “grouting” techniques. Clay tiles are glued to a firm backboard and grouted with acrylic paint. This project is safe and simple enough for younger students and those with special needs.
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K – 12 |
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Quilt-making spans multiple centuries and cultures. It can teach math skills, record history, recycle cast-off materials and encourage cooperative efforts within a group...just for a few ideas! This lesson looks at the story quilts of Faith Ringgold. She surrounds her narrative paintings with a quilted border, creating stories in color, texture, and pattern. Students select their own story to illustrate, then paint fabric using watersoluble pastels and watercolor.
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K – 12 |
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This project demonstrates the physical process of osmosis. Water-based markers are diluted by filtering water through an ordinary wet wipe. The flow of the color is slowed and channeled by the presence of oil and alchohol in the wipe, creating random and interesting tie-dye-type patterns. Educational...and really fun to watch! |
K – 5 |
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Based on the scientific concepts of insolubility and density, this technique seals water-based paint and mineral oil inside a laminating pouch. The different densities cause the liquids to repel one another in an ever-changing and interactive piece that continually flows and responds to touch.
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K – 12 |
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Over the centuries and across many cultures, lockets have been worn as tiny, portable treasure chests. Students paint the front of a mini canvas and use the back to display a small photo or something with meaning and value. |
K – 12 |
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Artist Trading Cards are a fascinating pastime for a great number of professional artists. The cards are always 2½" × 3½", a size that fits into standard baseball card storage sleeves |
K – 7 |
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