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Lesson Plans for Grades 9 – 12
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2 Dimensional |
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NEW! Anaglyph Artistry Make a composition for viewing with 3-D glasses! Turn an original drawing into a three-dimensional anaglyph using red and blue transfer paper with red and blue markers. Then, make the 3-D glasses necessary to make it pop! |
2 – 12 |
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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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NEW! Decalcomania: Glue Paint Symmetry Prints “Decalcomania” was a techique was used by Surrealists to create impromptu paintings controlled largely by chance. Much like a Rorschach Ink-Blot test, they would search for hidden imagery and develop it into a finished painting. This tidy and highly interactive process uses Glue Paint in a finger painting-style of application — without actually touching it. Looking for hidden images and contour lines in the print will fuel the imagination of a young Surrealist! |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Lessons on Lascaux Create a cave wall that crackles with authenticity! Using a paste made with powdered tempera and a Dura-Lar stencil, make a beautiful 3-D cave creation. |
3 – 12 |
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NEW! Muslin Masterpiece Create a beautiful textile design using dye sticks and block printing. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! The Secret Life of your Pet! Disquise your pet or favorite animal in a fantasy environment with easy photo manipulation. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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NEW! “Gawu” — African Inspired Tapestry Ghana-born artist El Anatsui is known internationally for his large-scale sculptures called “Gawu,” a composite of the words “ga,” meaning something made of metal and 'wu,” meaning a fashioned garment. In this lesson, students create their own tapestries as a response to El Anatsui's art, using African kente to discover rhythm and pattern in art. Recycled materials can be used, including folded papers and labels. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Glue Paint Symmetry Prints Finger Painting has never been so fun — or so very tidy! This project incorporates glue paint — basic white glue tinted with any shade of watercolor. It dries with a beautiful transparency that is enhanced when applied to a clear sheet. When the sheet is folded, the colors can be blended and moved about the page, without actually touching it! |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Burroughs on Burlap Printmaking on burlap results in a beaufitul rusticity. |
3 – 12 |
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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. 
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3 – 12 |
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Roll up a felted masterpiece! Students easily create beautiful wool paintings using soap, water, and a little elbow grease.
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K – 12 |
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Prairie-Style Stained Glass Clings Frank Lloyd Wright referred to his stained glass windows as “light screens” because they interacted with the view behind them, rather than covering or obscuring it. Here, students use geometry and repeating patterns to create a vinyl window cling that incorporates the ideals of Prairie-Style Design.
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K – 12 |
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Printmaking — starring textures and shapes! A collagraph printing plate is created on a canvas panel using textures found in the classroom, textured gel mediums, or even textures from nature! After a final coat of gel medium is applied, the plate and paper are run through a printing press.
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3 – 6 |
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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.
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K – 12 |
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This lesson plan introduces wool roving, which is the raw, washed wool from the sheep that is then dyed a variety of beautiful colors. The wool strands will be used to "paint" onto a canvas of felt. The wool is very easily "felted" or punched into the background with a felting needle. |
K – 12 |
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Quilling is also known as paper filligree, paper rolling, mosaic or paper folding (even though the paper is really curled). In this project, students will try their hand at quilling in a truly sculptural way. By using much larger, thicker strips of paper, the finished product "pops" out in a very optical way. By using black on white, the effect is even further emphasized. |
3 – 12 |
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The stitching together of layers of padding and fabric may date as far back as ancient Egypt. In America, quilt-making was common beginning in the late 18th century. A paper memory quilt is a fun way to keep ephemera (paper items) that have significance. This project will teach important design skills as pieces of paper are cut apart and reassembled. Insight into pattern, rhythm and repetition is gained. |
2 – 12 |
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Scrimshaw-Style Yupo Engraving As early as 1750, New England whalers passed the time by engraving nautical artwork on bones, tusks, etc. As a means of experiencing this traditional American craft, students can etch into Yupo using scratch tools, then fill the lines with oil pastel.
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5 – 12 |
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Inspired by Huichol Nierikas — beautiful paintings made from yarn pressed onto beeswax — this is a simple way for students to experience the color, geometric linework and symbolism of this Native American art form. Using colorful string applied to an adhesive-backed piece of felt, students create their designs without messy glue or sharp cutting tools.
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3 – 12 |
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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 |
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The wealthy Byzantine Empire had a huge influence on personal ornamentation. Characterized by extensive iconography, pendants and medallions were widely produced to denote faith, office or rank. For this project, students use air-dry clay and colorful rhinestones to create their own Byzantine-style medallions. Gilded with gold powder and finished with a gloss coating, they can be used as ornaments or placed outdoors as mini stepping stones. |
K – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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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!
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K – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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Students create their own “fossil bed” by modeling three-dimensional shapes of animals, plants or insects, then “burying” them beneath layers of tissue paper. Add earth-tone pastels to make them look as if they just came from an excavation site.
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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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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 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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In the 1960’s, Frank Stella became known for his minimal geometric paintings of concentric squares that used color to create visual movement. Each concentric square of color related to the next, whether they were harmonic or contrasting colors. In this lesson plan, students consider color relations and “paint” a Stella-style work with colored masking tape, |
4 – 12 |
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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 |
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Making Elemental Drawing Materials Blick Art Materials was not around to provide art supplies 32,000 years ago, but, somehow, the earliest humans found a way to draw and paint on cave walls using materials made from basic elements all around them. Similar to the Paleolithic era, students will make their own drawing tools by transforming simple materials from the classroom, and then using them to communicate through images. |
K – 12 |
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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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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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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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Geometric patterns occur in rich profusion throughout Islamic Cultures. This lesson is an invitation to look at the history and meaning behind patterns and view the work of a contemporary Iranian artist. Students design and assemble a reflective mosaic pattern using metallic papers on adhesive film. Easy and tidy...no glue! |
K – 12 |
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What we think of as “quilts” today — pieces of fabric sewn together to form blocks that collectively make a whole — did not become popular until the mid 19th century. Making quilts was a means of “recycling” fabric from clothing that was no longer usable. In this lesson plan, students make a quilt block using paper and glue rather than fabric and stitching. It’s a great way to recycle materials and illustrate a number of design principles — rhythm, pattern, balance and unity. |
3 – 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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Model a Famous Painting in Friendly Plastic Students will use Amaco Friendly Plastic to create a likeness of a famous painting or work of art. |
7 – 10 |
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Exercise for art is as important as exercise for sports or rehearsal for theatre, as it fosters a continual pursuit of excellence. In this lesson, to exercise their artistic creativity, students keep a day-by-day art journal. Each page should be a simple statement of a different idea or small thought for the day. |
K – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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This project starts with a 12" x 12" piece of muslin upon which a variety of papers, fabrics, colors and textures are added. Paper Cloth can be sewn with a sewing machine, cut with scissors, folded and reused. It is hard to tear! The finished and dry material may be wrinkled, or placed between two sheets of paper and ironed to flatten. Color can be added using different mediums.
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K – 12 |
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Rather than allowing more plastic to end up in a landfill, raise your students' level of social conscience and demonstrate the art elements of line, shape and texture with this lesson in "green" art. Twist and form recycled plastic into coils and shapes on a piece of adhesive-backed film and view in reverse. It's a tidy way to create a collage — no glue or paint required. |
3 – 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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Suminagashi is a process in which Sumi ink is floated on the surface of plain water, then transferred to a sheet of paper. Each monoprint is like a fingerprint — unique and unreproducible.
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3 – 12 |
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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
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9 – 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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This project is a simple, tidy way to create the look of pulp painting without the mess of a blender or even the use of adhesive. Non-bleeding tissue paper is combined with water and agitated (torn) so that the paper fibers separate and make a rough pulp. Pressing the paper onto an absorbent (canvas) surface causes the fibers to re-bond with one another and, when dry, form a thicker, stronger paper.
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K – 12 |
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Illumination is the decorating of books or manuscripts with ornate lettering, scrollwork, icons and images. This lesson plan introduces an easy and inexpensive way to apply metal leaf to a single letter, then embellish it using colored pencils.
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5 – 12 |
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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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By studying the works of Signac and Seurat, students gain an understanding of the visual process of Divisionism. This lesson plan uses glass frit arranged on glass sheets to recreate the Divisionism approach to painting. |
9 – 12 |
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The fine art of weaving is explored using acrylic felt. This lesson also offers an opportunity to discuss fabric used for clothing, blankets and other items found in various cultures |
3 – 12 |
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This simple bookmaking project can achieve great results with a wide variety of ages. Using nature as a theme, it's a perfect place to record nature sketches, foliage collections and personal observations of the world around us. |
K – 12 |
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Using a single large screen divided into multiple small square window panes, a class of 15-20 students create their own individual art project that becomes part of the whole. A lesson plan from Speedball. |
3 – 12 |
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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 |
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This outrageously fun guitar design can be created in 1-1/2 to 2 hours from start to the end of the dyeing process. |
7 – 12 |
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An easy bookmaking lesson that works across the entire curriculum. Students make books to use as journals or scrapbooks and fill with personnel stories or poetry, sketches or photos. |
3 – 12 |
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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 |
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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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This project will allow for exploring facial proportion, practice working in transparent watercolors and produce a self-expressive portrait. |
9 – 12 |
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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 |
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Students will easily connect with historical studies of their own community or family history. |
5 – 12 |
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Corrugated Cardboard Silhouettes In this lesson, students cut papers into silhouette forms. The unity of shapes stress the principles and elements of design. |
5 – 12 |
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The coarse, open weave of burlap substitutes for a weaving loom in this fiber art project. |
5 – 12 |
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A drawing becomes a painting, then flips back to a drawing again as students use variety to explore surfaces, media and techniques. |
5 – 12 |
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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 |
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This project uses pastels; a favored medium of Impressionist artists – drawn onto matte surface Shrink Film. The chalk of the pastels doesn't actually shrink, it simply condenses along with the film to form rich, intense areas of color.
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3 – 10 |
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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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Create your own mosaic pieces — any design, shape or color you want them to be! This project combines the fun and excitement of Shrink Film with the fine art of mosaics. |
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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The architectural style developed by the ancient Greeks has had such an influence on world civilization that it surrounds us still today. This block printing lesson introduces the three orders of Greek columns and challenges students to discover them in famous buildings and the surrounding community. |
6 – 12 |
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First seen in Persian fabric design, the signature floral kidney and tear shapes of Paisley prints are a great lesson in pattern and rhythm. French curves and colored pencils are used to draw colorful versions on construction paper. |
3 – 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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Hand-altering photos is a practice nearly as old as photography itself. Here are some new ideas for embellishing digital prints, featuring Blick Studio Art Markers and Scratch-Art Tools. |
5 – 12 |
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Learn the processes involved in traditional batik and in color layering with dye. |
9 – 12 |
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With its repetitive under-and-over motion, weaving creates a visual rhythm. Choose a few musical selections for students and have them interpret the six principles of design while listening to music: contrast, rhythm, unity, pattern, movement and balance. |
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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Even young students can achieve beautiful results — without the use of chemicals or special materials. |
K – 12 |
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3 Dimensional |
Grade Level |
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NEW! Anaglyph Artistry Make a composition for viewing with 3-D glasses! Turn an original drawing into a three-dimensional anaglyph using red and blue transfer paper with red and blue markers. Then, make the 3-D glasses necessary to make it pop! |
2 – 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 |
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NEW! Concentric Kirigami A variation on Japanese Origami, Kirigami is created by folding paper and cutting portions away. This surprisingly uncomplicated relief sculpture is assembled with “rings” cut from double-sided sheets of colorful cardstock. The edges of the rings are folded, cut, unfolded, and layered concentrically (placed around the same center point) to make modern-day Kirigami designs. |
3 – 12 |
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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 |
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NEW! Flower Garden Tiles Easily make flower tiles by carving clay, filling with plaster, and finishing with liquid watercolors. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Make-a-Mock-Moc! Create a traditional Chippewa or Pucker-top moccasin using canvas, suede or leather remnants, seed beads and paint. |
5 – 12 |
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NEW! The Walls are Watching You! Form a whimsical and functional "pocket" to animate a wall. This project combines the wall pocket with a face jug, creating a fun and whimsical (or scary) face pocket out of clay. |
2 – 12 |
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NEW! Upcycled "Wild Thing" Mittens An outgrown sweater becomes a fun pair of costume mittens! Use a recycled wool sweater, shrink film, and other adornments to create a fun and functional "Wild Thing" mitten. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Books that POP! Paper engineering meets the principles of design! This procces breaks pop-up designs into three very basic techniques - spirals, zig-zags, and boxes - and focuses on design elements: color, form, shape, and space. A simple hinging technique using the ever-popular, colorfully patterned DuckTape allows the book to open and lie flat for the most eye-popping and paper-popping look! |
3 – 12 |
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NEW! All Aglow Chinese Lantern An origami "Chinese Lantern" that glows in the dark! Using Dura-Lar film, markers, and glow-in-the dark paint, create a hanging lantern, and learn a basic origami shape. |
3 – 12 |
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NEW! Coral Reef Creation Brilliantly replicate thousands of years of oceanic evolution in just a few hours. Using clay, paint, and pearlescent mixing medium, along with handmade clay stamps, create a beautiful coral sculpture. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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NEW! Ancient Bas-Relief Casting Create an ancient "carving" using cast paper and blasa foam! |
5 – 12 |
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NEW! Accordion Poetry Transform a single line of text into a dimensional work of art! |
5 – 12 |
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Sculptor George Rickey used scientific precision and physics, functioning with wind to construct heavy steel sculptures that seemed to defy gravity and float on air. In this lesson, students create a simple sculpture around a rotary hub with stacked wooden beads and soft wire. When a direct air current is applied to metallic paper “sails” (blow on it!), the sculpture blades turn gently.
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5 – 12 |
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Skyscrapers evolved from the inside out — as steel frames became stronger, windows and walls became lighter, like a “skin.” Students can construct high-rise buildings (or low-rise designs) that are extremely light and open — they're made with paper straws and corrugated plastic joints (no glue required). Imagination grows with the construction — higher and higher!
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5 – 12 |
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Many Metals “Day of the Dead” Triptych Celebrate a happy and colorful Mexican tradition with many metals! Using the skull as a symbol of rebirth, create a triptych with embossed metal, papier mâché, and lots of color and sparkle!
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5 – 12 |
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New Guinean “Plant Paste” Doll Make a hand-built ritual doll with only three simple materials! Knead together clay, instant papier mâché and burlap fibers to create an intriguing art doll. Add body paint and embellish by adding seed bead teeth, a shell necklace, or clothing made of burlap. |
4 – 12 |
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Create a textured clay mold to use again and again! Carve a design into a slab and bisque fire it. After coating it with kiln wash, this mold can be used many times to impart unique textures to slumped glass pieces.
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3 – 12 |
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Originating in ancient India, Mehndi is the artistic application of designs to the hands and feet. Students can enjoy the practice of Mehndi without staining their skin by creating radial designs in marker while wearing a glove. The sense of touch while creating the design is an important part of the process.
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K – 12 |
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By making an animal shaped box out of clay, students honor both the vast diversity of Africa’s animal world, and also create a functional work of art! After choosing a favorite African animal, students will hand build a clay box with lid. |
5 – 12 |
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Mehndi, tatau, and modern "ink" - the history of art is incomplete without including the practice of creating decoration on human skin. In this lesson plan, students create a jointed clay marionette and use fine-line markers to cover it with expressive designs. |
3 – 12 |
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Quilling is also known as paper filligree, paper rolling, mosaic or paper folding (even though the paper is really curled). In this project, students will try their hand at quilling in a truly sculptural way. By using much larger, thicker strips of paper, the finished product "pops" out in a very optical way. By using black on white, the effect is even further emphasized. |
3 – 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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Joseph Cornell's (1903-1972) most characteristic art works were boxed assemblages created from found objects. These were simple boxes in which he arranged surprising collections of photgraphs or bric-a-brac in a way that combines the formality of Constructivism with the lively fantasy of Surrealism. Students will gather pieces of nostalgia or found objects to embed in plaster within an arrangement of mini canvas "boxes". |
K – 12 |
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Glazing isn't the only way to create beautiful surfaces! Agateware pottery features swirling marbelized colors and was probably first developed to imitate the qualities of agate, a semiprecious stone with striated patterning. These swirling effects can be created by working with thin slabs of colored clay that has been layered to create patterns. This technique allows for both precise patterns and free, random effects.
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3 – 12 |
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The Italian word “volto” translates as “face”. These full-face masks were known as “citizen’s masks” because they were originally worn by common people during the Carnival of Venice. By draping acrylic felt over a reusable form and using Rice Paste (a gluten-free maché alternative) to stiffen, students create a sculptural mask that can be decorated with paint, glitter, feathers, rhinestones, etc.
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3 – 12 |
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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!
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K – 12 |
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Picasso-Inspired Soft Sculpture By looking through the vast array of figurative paintings done by Picasso during his cubist phase, students may find many possibilities for soft sculpture adaptations. Fine art, sculpture and textiles combine to make this eye-catching piece!
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K – 12 |
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“Art-O-Motion” Mechanical Sculpture In 1913, Marcel DuChamp mounted a spinning bicycle wheel to a stool to make what is considered the first kinetic sculpture. Since then, many artists have paired physical science and engineering with artistic vision to create amazing pieces of mechanical sculpture. This simple, pulley-operated design has students design “gears” that spin on spools when a string is pulled.
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5 – 12 |
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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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Rattles are the only musical instrument found throughout the world. While their physical forms vary, their uses are very consistent. Many cultures give infants rattles as a toy. In rituals and ceremonies, rattles are used prominently and often believed to possess supernatural powers. Students explore texture and clay construction as they form a rattle inspired by natural shapes: seed pods, shells, gourds, rain-sticks, etc.
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K – 12 |
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Pop Art Portraits: in the style of Andy Warhol Andy Warhol, a key figure in the Pop Art movement, “mass-produced” silk-screened portraits of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. Transferring an image of themselves onto clay and duplicating it several times, students can experiment with color combinations in portraits, just as Warhol did.
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5 – 12 |
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Upcycled Leather and “Turquoise” Cuffs Worn as protection in battle, support for heavy labor and to identify status, leather cuffs have shielded wrists throughout mankind’s history. To the Pueblo and Navajo, turquoise is considered sacred and powerful, the perfect adornment. This project invites students to design a cuff from an old leather belt. Embellish with “turquoise” beads fashioned from polymer clay or with stamping, lacing and marker designs. |
3 – 12 |
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A few simple geometry skills and a little time spent making paper rolls is all that goes into this eye-catching art paper bowl. It's a great way to recycle materials or use up scrap paper, and your students will learn about repeating patterns and design rhythm as they place each tube of paper on a piece of self-adhesive film. |
3 – 12 |
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There's more to "deconstructing" a book than just altering the pages. In this project, deconstructing means changing the object from a book to a sculpture. The tools are very basic — scissors, glue, paper punches and a desire to experiment! |
3 – 12 |
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This project should be considered “Part Two” of our Fiber Fusion lesson plan. This project helps students stretch their imaginations and further develop a |two-dimensional artwork they’ve created by turning it into a three-dimensional sculptural piece. |
7 – 12 |
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Students often take furniture for granted, yet how much do they really know about the furniture where they eat, sleep and study? Have they ever looked at these objects and considered them art? Or considered that an artist may have had a hand in creating them? This awareness exercise will help students learn to “see" the things surrounding them. |
7 – 12 |
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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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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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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.
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5 – 12 |
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Rather than traditional pages, the interior of these “books” will hold objects collected by students. An “art box” book could contain samples of texture, color, form, and line or other examples of design elements or styles. Or a more personalized box “about me” could hold a collection of tiny photos, poems and small keepsakes. |
3 – 12 |
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Around the 1920s, a movement in modern art began in Russia as a group of artists began constructing sculpture for an industrialized world. As new technology produced strong, shining surfaces of glass, steel and plastic, Constructivists pioneered the use of modern, mechanical materials in art. This project weaves a variety of classroom-friendly “metals” — papers, foils and wires — into relief and three-dimensional art. |
5 – 12 |
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This project transforms traditional basketry into a contemporary fine craft. Paper Coiling Core is shaped and glued in layers in the same manner as a clay coil pot is constructed. Vibrant and fluid Blick Liquid Watercolors can replicate patterns from the Papago, Navajo, and Apache cultures of Native America and Northern Mexico, or painted in contemporary, abstract, or representational styles.
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5 – 8 |
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When one hears the name of Alexander Calder, the picture of kinetic hanging mobiles immediately comes to mind. These were only a portion of Calder’s vast body of work — he also painted and created stationary pieces called “stabiles.” Often, they resembled his mobiles — but without moving parts. In this lesson, students will create a “stabile” using Taskboard — a new, natural, wood-based medium used by architects and 3-D designers to create models.
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5 – 12 |
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Modern Figure Sculpture in the style of Alberto Giacometti To create the gracefully haunting look of a Giacometti figure, this lesson plan introduces Paverpol™, a unique product that can be used with a variety of materials — textiles, paper, self-hardening clay, paper maché and more — to make sculptures so sturdy that they can be placed outdoors. It's non-toxic, safe for anyone to use and dries so quickly, you can make a sculpture in one day. |
7 – 12 |
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In this lesson plan, students design and construct a 3-dimensional letter using one of their initials. The surface can be decorated with descriptive words and images that are personally meaningful and unique to the student's identity. Instead of wet, messy adhesive, this process uses paper packing tape to create papier mâché. This tape is inexpensive, easy, and tidy to use, and the finished letters are hard and durable.
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3 – 12 |
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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 |
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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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Low relief sculpture with design in mind. Layer by layer, piece by piece, this three-dimensional collage is assembled with repetitious shapes and elements, illustrating the principles of rhythm, balance and movement.
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3 – 12 |
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Using flexible, translucent acrylic paint and soft, aluminum wire, students create abstract sculptures that can be formed and reformed. Addresses the design elements of form and shape. Displayed with a light source, they have the appearance of formed glass.
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5 – 12 |
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This lesson plan combines the processes of repoussé and chasing to design a piece that looks as if it may have been crafted by an ancient silversmith. Objects are fixed to a cardboard box before the metal is applied so that the design is embossed into the metal in the style of repoussé. With tools, students then chase the metal around the objects to further define the texture.
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K – 12 |
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Based on the sculpture of Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, students create a 3-dimensional figure study in fiber.
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7 – 12 |
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One means by which fossils are formed is "carbonization". Over time, compression and heat remove the elements from plants and leave a detailed carbon impression behind. Glass fusion can demonstrate this process in just a few hours.
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5 – 12 |
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Students will design and sculpt a dimensional piece of artwork, creating a variety of textures, lines and depths.
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5 – 12 |
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In this particular lesson plan, students will look closely at the work of Louise Nevelson, known for her abstract sculptures made from cast-off pieces of wood — actual street “throwaways” — uniformly coated with black or white spray paint. Students will create their own assemblages from wood pieces and other cast-off objects on a panel. |
5 – 12 |
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Make your own tools for stamping image impressions, creating raised designs and adding textures to a variety of artworks. They can be pressed into clay prior to firing, polymer clay before baking and air-dry clay while still moist. Tools can also be used for creating patterns in metal foil or making texture rubbings on paper. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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The drop ring glass slumping process is an advanced technique that produces an endless array of dramatic shapes and effects. This is achieved by leaving the center part of a glass piece unsupported during the firing process, allowing the center of the glass to sag or “slump” into the open space below it. |
9 – 12 |
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In Namibia, ostrich eggshells are broken and used in many contemporary art forms. The shapes are often sanded or painted This lesson plan uses small pieces of wood and cardstock to closely resemble the thick shell pieces. |
K – 12 |
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The purpose of this lesson plan is not to make replicas of Egyptian jewelry but to design jewelry that is dramatic using Egyptian jewelry as a reference. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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Students construct a metal wire and mesh woven relief sculpture. A unique approach to weaving, students overlap wire mesh, practice sewing techniques without a needle and create a mixed media collage. |
9 – 12 |
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One of the principles of the Modern style of architecture is that the materials and functional requirements determine the design of the structure. Keeping that in mind, students will build a model of a home to function within a chosen environment. |
7 – 12 |
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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 |
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The use of a very unconventional medium as a classroom exercise in oil painting. |
5 – 12 |
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Clay vessels have forever been examples of a culture’s ability to combine art and function. The focus in this lesson is to experiment with slab construction, using self-hardening clays. |
9 – 12 |
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Baskets can be woven out of almost any material, not just reeds and straw. This basket project is whimsical and freeform,using wire and colorful "snakes" that move randomly throughout the piece. Polymer clay bakes right on the wire, so finished pieces are long-lasting and very durable. |
5 – 12 |
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Claes Oldenburg popularized soft sculpture in the 1960's with flaccid everyday objects such as a fan, light switch and drum set.This lesson plan is an introduction to textile painting and fabric assemblage, as well as sculpture. |
9 – 12 |
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Southwest Native American Jewelry Native Americans used symbols and motifs with deep cultural significance in making jewelry with clay, turquoise, coral, shell, wood and bone. After Spanish explorers brought silversmithing to Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo artists in the 1800's, Southwest jewelry developed into a distinctive art form. |
7 – 12 |
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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 |
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In this lesson by Amaco, students will select a character in motion, such as a dancer, athlete or fairy, then capture and describe its movements through pose, form and balance. Flexible, easy-to-cut new WireForm™ Rods and WireForm™ mesh sheets make it easy to translate line from a flat design into a three-dimensional space. |
5 – 12 |
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Students investigate dolls and games in history and cultures. All cultures have dolls and are a fascinating reflection of climate, resources, ideas and technology. This particular lesson challenges the student to look into the future and reflect on the past. |
9 – 12 |
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Students will learn to construct a relief sculpture using the elements and principles of art and paper construction techniques. |
9 – 12 |
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Incorporating New Media with traditional art, this process challenges students to use digital images to create a mask or 3-dimensional portrait. |
9 – 12 |
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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 |
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Students create a character — half human, half animal — write a story and build a paper maché sculpture of their creation. |
5 – 12 |
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Using a balloon and coffee can base, create a sturdy vessel with Sculptamold compound. Finished pieces can be painted and embellished with mosaics and collage matierals. |
5 – 12 |
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Choose three shapes from a design and build a new composition by repeating and combining these shapes to communicate an idea or story. |
5 – 12 |
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Students design and make a finished product that involves breaking up their 2D design and adjusting it into a relief. |
5 – 12 |
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Experience an archeological dig, right in your own classroom! Students create fossils the way that nature does - by making impressions and filling them |
K – 12 |
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Students are eager to develop artwork unique in terms of creating personnal interpretation of aesthetics. This metal box project stresses the effective use of organizational principals. |
9 – 12 |
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Found objects, cutouts, photos and a variety of materials are assembled in a sculptural, three-dimensional collage centered around a personal theme. |
5 – 12 |
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Combining clay beadmaking with basic pinch and coil pot construction, students make a musical piece of art. |
K – 12 |
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Students transform a thick slab of clay into a 3D plaque. |
7 – 12 |
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Ancient Egyptians applied gold leaf onto carved wood panels to tell stories and create opulence and on everyday objects. Follow the process these artists used to carve and gild a fan fit for King Tutankhamen. |
5 – 12 |
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Using the example of a suspension bridge, students plan and create a sculpture focused on balance, stability and strength. Foamboard with colorful wire provides a blending of aesthetics and function. |
5 – 12 |
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Using the example of a suspension bridge, students plan and create a sculpture focused on balance, stability and strength. Foamboard with colorful wire provides a blending of aesthetics and function. |
9 – 12 |
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Students use all the elements and principles of design. |
8 – 12 |
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Handmade paper is beautiful in itself. If you add dimension and shape, it becomes a work of art. |
5 – 12 |
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Wall pockets have a long history as decorative and functional items. They have been used for years to hold flowers, perfumes and light sources |
5 – 12 |
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An introduction to the basics of Claymation and media production using a familiar scientific theme — the metamorphasis of a butterfly. |
5 – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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This process takes any computer image and turns it into a 3-dimensional sculpture.
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5 – 12 |
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Martin Puryear-Inspired Basketry Students learn the importance of negative space while creating a non-traditional basket by focusing on it as a sculptural element rather than a functional object. Being a non-representational form, these abstract baskets draw attention to volume and space and redefine what a basket is intended for. |
3 – 12 |
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This project memorializes heroes and ancestors in fabric. The disciplines of music and dance combine with the visual arts to produce plays and theatrical presentations of the spirit. |
5 – 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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Translated to “glass paste,” the French term Pate de Verre refers to a glass vessel kiln-fired in a mold. This lesson shows how to make a simple one-part mold and glass casting. |
5 – 12 |
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Students create a figure while interpreting a culture's economic and social development. |
9 – 12 |
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Students create a dimensional line drawing out of flexible wire then cover it with assorted papers and tissues for a whimsical, lightweight sculpture.
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5 – 12 |
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Abstract Planes in a Paper Sculpture Students will create a small scale model that will teach them to design a free-standing object considering both structural and design components |
9 – 12 |
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Studying the rich history of maskmaking in Africa is a perfect way for students to experience the relationship between the process of creating a piece of art, and appreciating the significance it carries |
5 – 12 |
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Creates African-inspired art by covering paper-maché boxes with Leather Bookcloth. Emboss with patterns and textures and add colorful beads by gluing or stitching. |
5 – 12 |
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A “slice” of American Culture! Students design a clay pie piece piled high with symbols, icons and representations of their favorite things. |
5 – 12 |
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Bead bottles are the result of studying Huichol beaded gourds. Their technique can be applied to 3D objects available to students. Hours and hours of dedication are involved in the small bottle art. |
5 – 12 |
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This book-making and collage project uses small matchboxes as drawers to tuck away secrets, supporting a variety of literary and historical studies, such as “The Hiding Place” (Anne Frank) or the Underground Railroad. |
3 – 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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Topiary is the art of turning living plants into sculptures that are constantly growing and changing — a form of landscape art. In this project, an art topiary is made of a wire base, green tissue paper and twine. Although this Tissue Topiary will require some initial sculpting, no care will be needed after construction! |
4 – 12 |
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This simply-constructed book holds up to 20 Artist’s Trading Cards without drilling them or gluing them. Folded paper sleeves hold the cards in place as they rotate or “twist” out into a fan for display. Cards slide easily in and out of the sleeves when needed. Collage, stamp, paint, draw or decorate the matboard cover in any manner to make it personal and unique. |
5 – 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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Art History |
Grade Level |
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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 |
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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 |
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NEW! Decalcomania: Glue Paint Symmetry Prints “Decalcomania” was a techique was used by Surrealists to create impromptu paintings controlled largely by chance. Much like a Rorschach Ink-Blot test, they would search for hidden imagery and develop it into a finished painting. This tidy and highly interactive process uses Glue Paint in a finger painting-style of application — without actually touching it. Looking for hidden images and contour lines in the print will fuel the imagination of a young Surrealist! |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Lessons on Lascaux Create a cave wall that crackles with authenticity! Using a paste made with powdered tempera and a Dura-Lar stencil, make a beautiful 3-D cave creation. |
3 – 12 |
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NEW! Make-a-Mock-Moc! Create a traditional Chippewa or Pucker-top moccasin using canvas, suede or leather remnants, seed beads and paint. |
5 – 12 |
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NEW! The Walls are Watching You! Form a whimsical and functional "pocket" to animate a wall. This project combines the wall pocket with a face jug, creating a fun and whimsical (or scary) face pocket out of clay. |
2 – 12 |
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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 |
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NEW! Ancient Bas-Relief Casting Create an ancient "carving" using cast paper and blasa foam! |
5 – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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New Guinean “Plant Paste” Doll Make a hand-built ritual doll with only three simple materials! Knead together clay, instant papier mâché and burlap fibers to create an intriguing art doll. Add body paint and embellish by adding seed bead teeth, a shell necklace, or clothing made of burlap. |
4 – 12 |
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Prairie-Style Stained Glass Clings Frank Lloyd Wright referred to his stained glass windows as “light screens” because they interacted with the view behind them, rather than covering or obscuring it. Here, students use geometry and repeating patterns to create a vinyl window cling that incorporates the ideals of Prairie-Style Design.
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K – 12 |
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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.
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K – 12 |
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Originating in ancient India, Mehndi is the artistic application of designs to the hands and feet. Students can enjoy the practice of Mehndi without staining their skin by creating radial designs in marker while wearing a glove. The sense of touch while creating the design is an important part of the process.
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K – 12 |
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Mehndi, tatau, and modern "ink" - the history of art is incomplete without including the practice of creating decoration on human skin. In this lesson plan, students create a jointed clay marionette and use fine-line markers to cover it with expressive designs. |
3 – 12 |
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Scrimshaw-Style Yupo Engraving As early as 1750, New England whalers passed the time by engraving nautical artwork on bones, tusks, etc. As a means of experiencing this traditional American craft, students can etch into Yupo using scratch tools, then fill the lines with oil pastel.
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5 – 12 |
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The wealthy Byzantine Empire had a huge influence on personal ornamentation. Characterized by extensive iconography, pendants and medallions were widely produced to denote faith, office or rank. For this project, students use air-dry clay and colorful rhinestones to create their own Byzantine-style medallions. Gilded with gold powder and finished with a gloss coating, they can be used as ornaments or placed outdoors as mini stepping stones. |
K – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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Picasso-Inspired Soft Sculpture By looking through the vast array of figurative paintings done by Picasso during his cubist phase, students may find many possibilities for soft sculpture adaptations. Fine art, sculpture and textiles combine to make this eye-catching piece!
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K – 12 |
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“Art-O-Motion” Mechanical Sculpture In 1913, Marcel DuChamp mounted a spinning bicycle wheel to a stool to make what is considered the first kinetic sculpture. Since then, many artists have paired physical science and engineering with artistic vision to create amazing pieces of mechanical sculpture. This simple, pulley-operated design has students design “gears” that spin on spools when a string is pulled.
|
5 – 12 |
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Pop Art Portraits: in the style of Andy Warhol Andy Warhol, a key figure in the Pop Art movement, “mass-produced” silk-screened portraits of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. Transferring an image of themselves onto clay and duplicating it several times, students can experiment with color combinations in portraits, just as Warhol did.
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5 – 12 |
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Upcycled Leather and “Turquoise” Cuffs Worn as protection in battle, support for heavy labor and to identify status, leather cuffs have shielded wrists throughout mankind’s history. To the Pueblo and Navajo, turquoise is considered sacred and powerful, the perfect adornment. This project invites students to design a cuff from an old leather belt. Embellish with “turquoise” beads fashioned from polymer clay or with stamping, lacing and marker designs. |
3 – 12 |
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In the 1960’s, Frank Stella became known for his minimal geometric paintings of concentric squares that used color to create visual movement. Each concentric square of color related to the next, whether they were harmonic or contrasting colors. In this lesson plan, students consider color relations and “paint” a Stella-style work with colored masking tape, |
4 – 12 |
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Making Elemental Drawing Materials Blick Art Materials was not around to provide art supplies 32,000 years ago, but, somehow, the earliest humans found a way to draw and paint on cave walls using materials made from basic elements all around them. Similar to the Paleolithic era, students will make their own drawing tools by transforming simple materials from the classroom, and then using them to communicate through images. |
K – 12 |
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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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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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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.
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5 – 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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Geometric patterns occur in rich profusion throughout Islamic Cultures. This lesson is an invitation to look at the history and meaning behind patterns and view the work of a contemporary Iranian artist. Students design and assemble a reflective mosaic pattern using metallic papers on adhesive film. Easy and tidy...no glue! |
K – 12 |
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Around the 1920s, a movement in modern art began in Russia as a group of artists began constructing sculpture for an industrialized world. As new technology produced strong, shining surfaces of glass, steel and plastic, Constructivists pioneered the use of modern, mechanical materials in art. This project weaves a variety of classroom-friendly “metals” — papers, foils and wires — into relief and three-dimensional art. |
5 – 12 |
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When one hears the name of Alexander Calder, the picture of kinetic hanging mobiles immediately comes to mind. These were only a portion of Calder’s vast body of work — he also painted and created stationary pieces called “stabiles.” Often, they resembled his mobiles — but without moving parts. In this lesson, students will create a “stabile” using Taskboard — a new, natural, wood-based medium used by architects and 3-D designers to create models.
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5 – 12 |
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Model a Famous Painting in Friendly Plastic Students will use Amaco Friendly Plastic to create a likeness of a famous painting or work of art. |
7 – 10 |
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Modern Figure Sculpture in the style of Alberto Giacometti To create the gracefully haunting look of a Giacometti figure, this lesson plan introduces Paverpol™, a unique product that can be used with a variety of materials — textiles, paper, self-hardening clay, paper maché and more — to make sculptures so sturdy that they can be placed outdoors. It's non-toxic, safe for anyone to use and dries so quickly, you can make a sculpture in one day. |
7 – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 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 sculpture of Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, students create a 3-dimensional figure study in fiber.
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7 – 12 |
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This lesson plan uses interactive floating layers and windows to create depth within the artwork.
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3 – 12 |
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The purpose of this lesson plan is not to make replicas of Egyptian jewelry but to design jewelry that is dramatic using Egyptian jewelry as a reference. |
K – 12 |
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One of the principles of the Modern style of architecture is that the materials and functional requirements determine the design of the structure. Keeping that in mind, students will build a model of a home to function within a chosen environment. |
7 – 12 |
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Claes Oldenburg popularized soft sculpture in the 1960's with flaccid everyday objects such as a fan, light switch and drum set.This lesson plan is an introduction to textile painting and fabric assemblage, as well as sculpture. |
9 – 12 |
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Introduce students to Pop-Art while creating fun, colorful ties. |
K – 12 |
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 |
This Lichtenstein-inspired lesson looks at pop culture imagery today and describes it in comic book-style prints using slow-drying waterbased Akua Kolor inks. |
7 – 12 |
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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 |
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 |
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 |
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This project is a unique, fun lesson in establishing a hero and developing an Artists' Hall of Fame. |
9 – 12 |
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Martin Puryear-Inspired Basketry Students learn the importance of negative space while creating a non-traditional basket by focusing on it as a sculptural element rather than a functional object. Being a non-representational form, these abstract baskets draw attention to volume and space and redefine what a basket is intended for. |
3 – 12 |
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This project uses pastels; a favored medium of Impressionist artists – drawn onto matte surface Shrink Film. The chalk of the pastels doesn't actually shrink, it simply condenses along with the film to form rich, intense areas of color.
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3 – 10 |
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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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Translated to “glass paste,” the French term Pate de Verre refers to a glass vessel kiln-fired in a mold. This lesson shows how to make a simple one-part mold and glass casting. |
5 – 12 |
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The architectural style developed by the ancient Greeks has had such an influence on world civilization that it surrounds us still today. This block printing lesson introduces the three orders of Greek columns and challenges students to discover them in famous buildings and the surrounding community. |
6 – 12 |
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Book And Paper Arts |
Grade Level |
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NEW! Concentric Kirigami A variation on Japanese Origami, Kirigami is created by folding paper and cutting portions away. This surprisingly uncomplicated relief sculpture is assembled with “rings” cut from double-sided sheets of colorful cardstock. The edges of the rings are folded, cut, unfolded, and layered concentrically (placed around the same center point) to make modern-day Kirigami designs. |
3 – 12 |
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NEW! Books that POP! Paper engineering meets the principles of design! This procces breaks pop-up designs into three very basic techniques - spirals, zig-zags, and boxes - and focuses on design elements: color, form, shape, and space. A simple hinging technique using the ever-popular, colorfully patterned DuckTape allows the book to open and lie flat for the most eye-popping and paper-popping look! |
3 – 12 |
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NEW! Ancient Bas-Relief Casting Create an ancient "carving" using cast paper and blasa foam! |
5 – 12 |
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NEW! Accordion Poetry Transform a single line of text into a dimensional work of art! |
5 – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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Printmaking — starring textures and shapes! A collagraph printing plate is created on a canvas panel using textures found in the classroom, textured gel mediums, or even textures from nature! After a final coat of gel medium is applied, the plate and paper are run through a printing press.
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3 – 6 |
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Quilling is also known as paper filligree, paper rolling, mosaic or paper folding (even though the paper is really curled). In this project, students will try their hand at quilling in a truly sculptural way. By using much larger, thicker strips of paper, the finished product "pops" out in a very optical way. By using black on white, the effect is even further emphasized. |
3 – 12 |
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A few simple geometry skills and a little time spent making paper rolls is all that goes into this eye-catching art paper bowl. It's a great way to recycle materials or use up scrap paper, and your students will learn about repeating patterns and design rhythm as they place each tube of paper on a piece of self-adhesive film. |
3 – 12 |
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There's more to "deconstructing" a book than just altering the pages. In this project, deconstructing means changing the object from a book to a sculpture. The tools are very basic — scissors, glue, paper punches and a desire to experiment! |
3 – 12 |
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This project should be considered “Part Two” of our Fiber Fusion lesson plan. This project helps students stretch their imaginations and further develop a |two-dimensional artwork they’ve created by turning it into a three-dimensional sculptural piece. |
7 – 12 |
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Rather than traditional pages, the interior of these “books” will hold objects collected by students. An “art box” book could contain samples of texture, color, form, and line or other examples of design elements or styles. Or a more personalized box “about me” could hold a collection of tiny photos, poems and small keepsakes. |
3 – 12 |
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Exercise for art is as important as exercise for sports or rehearsal for theatre, as it fosters a continual pursuit of excellence. In this lesson, to exercise their artistic creativity, students keep a day-by-day art journal. Each page should be a simple statement of a different idea or small thought for the day. |
K – 12 |
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Suminagashi is a process in which Sumi ink is floated on the surface of plain water, then transferred to a sheet of paper. Each monoprint is like a fingerprint — unique and unreproducible.
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3 – 12 |
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This project is a simple, tidy way to create the look of pulp painting without the mess of a blender or even the use of adhesive. Non-bleeding tissue paper is combined with water and agitated (torn) so that the paper fibers separate and make a rough pulp. Pressing the paper onto an absorbent (canvas) surface causes the fibers to re-bond with one another and, when dry, form a thicker, stronger paper.
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K – 12 |
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Students will define a purpose for creating a functional work of art and identify its effectiveness and unique characteristics within a certain cultural and social setting. |
5 – 12 |
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Students recognize that a handmade book is a work of art in itself. |
5 – 12 |
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"Toro Nagashi", the Japanese Festival of Floating Lanterns is a beautiful event involving floating paper lanterns. Using YUPO paper and multiple mediums, students make lanterns for indoor or outdoor use. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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This simple bookmaking project can achieve great results with a wide variety of ages. Using nature as a theme, it's a perfect place to record nature sketches, foliage collections and personal observations of the world around us. |
K – 12 |
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An easy bookmaking lesson that works across the entire curriculum. Students make books to use as journals or scrapbooks and fill with personnel stories or poetry, sketches or photos. |
3 – 12 |
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This project is about drawing a realistic representation in order to practice your observation skills. |
9 – 12 |
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Students will learn to construct a relief sculpture using the elements and principles of art and paper construction techniques. |
9 – 12 |
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Introduce students to Pop-Art while creating fun, colorful ties. |
K – 12 |
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Light-Capturing Cut Paper Designs This project combines creating designs and then altering them through the use of light. |
9 – 12 |
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In order to understand Minimal Art, students must recognize what is absent. These painted chipboard constructions are abstract with a minimum amount of color, value, shape and texture. |
5 – 12 |
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Children will create their own journals, sketchbooks, or scrapbooks with this project. |
K – 12 |
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Students learn an easy and economical form of metal working. |
8 – 12 |
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Using The Golden Door as a theme to search for historical and aesthetic content, students create a paper collage containing relevant images, text and expressions. |
5 – 12 |
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Corrugated Cardboard Silhouettes In this lesson, students cut papers into silhouette forms. The unity of shapes stress the principles and elements of design. |
5 – 12 |
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Handmade paper is beautiful in itself. If you add dimension and shape, it becomes a work of art. |
5 – 12 |
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Students create a dimensional line drawing out of flexible wire then cover it with assorted papers and tissues for a whimsical, lightweight sculpture.
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5 – 12 |
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Abstract Planes in a Paper Sculpture Students will create a small scale model that will teach them to design a free-standing object considering both structural and design components |
9 – 12 |
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This book-making and collage project uses small matchboxes as drawers to tuck away secrets, supporting a variety of literary and historical studies, such as “The Hiding Place” (Anne Frank) or the Underground Railroad. |
3 – 12 |
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Even young students can achieve beautiful results — without the use of chemicals or special materials. |
K – 12 |
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This simply-constructed book holds up to 20 Artist’s Trading Cards without drilling them or gluing them. Folded paper sleeves hold the cards in place as they rotate or “twist” out into a fan for display. Cards slide easily in and out of the sleeves when needed. Collage, stamp, paint, draw or decorate the matboard cover in any manner to make it personal and unique. |
5 – 12 |
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Clay |
Grade Level |
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NEW! Flower Garden Tiles Easily make flower tiles by carving clay, filling with plaster, and finishing with liquid watercolors. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! The Walls are Watching You! Form a whimsical and functional "pocket" to animate a wall. This project combines the wall pocket with a face jug, creating a fun and whimsical (or scary) face pocket out of clay. |
2 – 12 |
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NEW! Coral Reef Creation Brilliantly replicate thousands of years of oceanic evolution in just a few hours. Using clay, paint, and pearlescent mixing medium, along with handmade clay stamps, create a beautiful coral sculpture. |
K – 12 |
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Create a textured clay mold to use again and again! Carve a design into a slab and bisque fire it. After coating it with kiln wash, this mold can be used many times to impart unique textures to slumped glass pieces.
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3 – 12 |
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By making an animal shaped box out of clay, students honor both the vast diversity of Africa’s animal world, and also create a functional work of art! After choosing a favorite African animal, students will hand build a clay box with lid. |
5 – 12 |
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Mehndi, tatau, and modern "ink" - the history of art is incomplete without including the practice of creating decoration on human skin. In this lesson plan, students create a jointed clay marionette and use fine-line markers to cover it with expressive designs. |
3 – 12 |
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Glazing isn't the only way to create beautiful surfaces! Agateware pottery features swirling marbelized colors and was probably first developed to imitate the qualities of agate, a semiprecious stone with striated patterning. These swirling effects can be created by working with thin slabs of colored clay that has been layered to create patterns. This technique allows for both precise patterns and free, random effects.
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3 – 12 |
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The wealthy Byzantine Empire had a huge influence on personal ornamentation. Characterized by extensive iconography, pendants and medallions were widely produced to denote faith, office or rank. For this project, students use air-dry clay and colorful rhinestones to create their own Byzantine-style medallions. Gilded with gold powder and finished with a gloss coating, they can be used as ornaments or placed outdoors as mini stepping stones. |
K – 12 |
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Rattles are the only musical instrument found throughout the world. While their physical forms vary, their uses are very consistent. Many cultures give infants rattles as a toy. In rituals and ceremonies, rattles are used prominently and often believed to possess supernatural powers. Students explore texture and clay construction as they form a rattle inspired by natural shapes: seed pods, shells, gourds, rain-sticks, etc.
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K – 12 |
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Pop Art Portraits: in the style of Andy Warhol Andy Warhol, a key figure in the Pop Art movement, “mass-produced” silk-screened portraits of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. Transferring an image of themselves onto clay and duplicating it several times, students can experiment with color combinations in portraits, just as Warhol did.
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5 – 12 |
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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.
|
K – 12 |
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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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Make your own tools for stamping image impressions, creating raised designs and adding textures to a variety of artworks. They can be pressed into clay prior to firing, polymer clay before baking and air-dry clay while still moist. Tools can also be used for creating patterns in metal foil or making texture rubbings on paper. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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Clay vessels have forever been examples of a culture’s ability to combine art and function. The focus in this lesson is to experiment with slab construction, using self-hardening clays. |
9 – 12 |
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Baskets can be woven out of almost any material, not just reeds and straw. This basket project is whimsical and freeform,using wire and colorful "snakes" that move randomly throughout the piece. Polymer clay bakes right on the wire, so finished pieces are long-lasting and very durable. |
5 – 12 |
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Southwest Native American Jewelry Native Americans used symbols and motifs with deep cultural significance in making jewelry with clay, turquoise, coral, shell, wood and bone. After Spanish explorers brought silversmithing to Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo artists in the 1800's, Southwest jewelry developed into a distinctive art form. |
7 – 12 |
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Students investigate dolls and games in history and cultures. All cultures have dolls and are a fascinating reflection of climate, resources, ideas and technology. This particular lesson challenges the student to look into the future and reflect on the past. |
9 – 12 |
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Combining clay beadmaking with basic pinch and coil pot construction, students make a musical piece of art. |
K – 12 |
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Students transform a thick slab of clay into a 3D plaque. |
7 – 12 |
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Using the example of a suspension bridge, students plan and create a sculpture focused on balance, stability and strength. Foamboard with colorful wire provides a blending of aesthetics and function. |
5 – 12 |
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Students will observe the artistic expression used in coins of the past and today. |
5 – 12 |
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Wall pockets have a long history as decorative and functional items. They have been used for years to hold flowers, perfumes and light sources |
5 – 12 |
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An introduction to the basics of Claymation and media production using a familiar scientific theme — the metamorphasis of a butterfly. |
5 – 12 |
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Students create a figure while interpreting a culture's economic and social development. |
9 – 12 |
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A “slice” of American Culture! Students design a clay pie piece piled high with symbols, icons and representations of their favorite things. |
5 – 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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Collage |
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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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 |
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NEW! The Secret Life of your Pet! Disquise your pet or favorite animal in a fantasy environment with easy photo manipulation. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! “Gawu” — African Inspired Tapestry Ghana-born artist El Anatsui is known internationally for his large-scale sculptures called “Gawu,” a composite of the words “ga,” meaning something made of metal and 'wu,” meaning a fashioned garment. In this lesson, students create their own tapestries as a response to El Anatsui's art, using African kente to discover rhythm and pattern in art. Recycled materials can be used, including folded papers and labels. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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This project should be considered “Part Two” of our Fiber Fusion lesson plan. This project helps students stretch their imaginations and further develop a |two-dimensional artwork they’ve created by turning it into a three-dimensional sculptural piece. |
7 – 12 |
|
|
Geometric patterns occur in rich profusion throughout Islamic Cultures. This lesson is an invitation to look at the history and meaning behind patterns and view the work of a contemporary Iranian artist. Students design and assemble a reflective mosaic pattern using metallic papers on adhesive film. Easy and tidy...no glue! |
K – 12 |
|
|
What we think of as “quilts” today — pieces of fabric sewn together to form blocks that collectively make a whole — did not become popular until the mid 19th century. Making quilts was a means of “recycling” fabric from clothing that was no longer usable. In this lesson plan, students make a quilt block using paper and glue rather than fabric and stitching. It’s a great way to recycle materials and illustrate a number of design principles — rhythm, pattern, balance and unity. |
3 – 12 |
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Rather than traditional pages, the interior of these “books” will hold objects collected by students. An “art box” book could contain samples of texture, color, form, and line or other examples of design elements or styles. Or a more personalized box “about me” could hold a collection of tiny photos, poems and small keepsakes. |
3 – 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.
|
K – 12 |
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Model a Famous Painting in Friendly Plastic Students will use Amaco Friendly Plastic to create a likeness of a famous painting or work of art. |
7 – 10 |
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Rather than allowing more plastic to end up in a landfill, raise your students' level of social conscience and demonstrate the art elements of line, shape and texture with this lesson in "green" art. Twist and form recycled plastic into coils and shapes on a piece of adhesive-backed film and view in reverse. It's a tidy way to create a collage — no glue or paint required. |
3 – 12 |
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Low relief sculpture with design in mind. Layer by layer, piece by piece, this three-dimensional collage is assembled with repetitious shapes and elements, illustrating the principles of rhythm, balance and movement.
|
3 – 12 |
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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 |
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In this particular lesson plan, students will look closely at the work of Louise Nevelson, known for her abstract sculptures made from cast-off pieces of wood — actual street “throwaways” — uniformly coated with black or white spray paint. Students will create their own assemblages from wood pieces and other cast-off objects on a panel. |
5 – 12 |
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In Namibia, ostrich eggshells are broken and used in many contemporary art forms. The shapes are often sanded or painted This lesson plan uses small pieces of wood and cardstock to closely resemble the thick shell pieces. |
K – 12 |
|
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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 |
|
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An easy bookmaking lesson that works across the entire curriculum. Students make books to use as journals or scrapbooks and fill with personnel stories or poetry, sketches or photos. |
3 – 12 |
|
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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 |
|
 |
Preserving Flowers and Other Organics in Acrylic Recycle garden trimmings by preserving them in acrylic and creating artwork collages with acrylic mediums and paint. |
K – 12 |
|
 |
This simple lesson plan encourages students to create patterns by overlapping and defining lines on a canvas panel, and add dimension by incorporating more canvases or objects. |
K – 12 |
|
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Corrugated Cardboard Silhouettes In this lesson, students cut papers into silhouette forms. The unity of shapes stress the principles and elements of design. |
5 – 12 |
|
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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 |
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This process takes any computer image and turns it into a 3-dimensional sculpture.
|
5 – 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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Students create a dimensional line drawing out of flexible wire then cover it with assorted papers and tissues for a whimsical, lightweight sculpture.
|
5 – 12 |
|
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Hand-altering photos is a practice nearly as old as photography itself. Here are some new ideas for embellishing digital prints, featuring Blick Studio Art Markers and Scratch-Art Tools. |
5 – 12 |
|
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This simply-constructed book holds up to 20 Artist’s Trading Cards without drilling them or gluing them. Folded paper sleeves hold the cards in place as they rotate or “twist” out into a fan for display. Cards slide easily in and out of the sleeves when needed. Collage, stamp, paint, draw or decorate the matboard cover in any manner to make it personal and unique. |
5 – 12 |
|
|
|
Crafts |
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 |
|
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NEW! Make-a-Mock-Moc! Create a traditional Chippewa or Pucker-top moccasin using canvas, suede or leather remnants, seed beads and paint. |
5 – 12 |
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NEW! Upcycled "Wild Thing" Mittens An outgrown sweater becomes a fun pair of costume mittens! Use a recycled wool sweater, shrink film, and other adornments to create a fun and functional "Wild Thing" mitten. |
K – 12 |
|
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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 |
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Skyscrapers evolved from the inside out — as steel frames became stronger, windows and walls became lighter, like a “skin.” Students can construct high-rise buildings (or low-rise designs) that are extremely light and open — they're made with paper straws and corrugated plastic joints (no glue required). Imagination grows with the construction — higher and higher!
|
5 – 12 |
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Prairie-Style Stained Glass Clings Frank Lloyd Wright referred to his stained glass windows as “light screens” because they interacted with the view behind them, rather than covering or obscuring it. Here, students use geometry and repeating patterns to create a vinyl window cling that incorporates the ideals of Prairie-Style Design.
|
K – 12 |
|
|
Quilling is also known as paper filligree, paper rolling, mosaic or paper folding (even though the paper is really curled). In this project, students will try their hand at quilling in a truly sculptural way. By using much larger, thicker strips of paper, the finished product "pops" out in a very optical way. By using black on white, the effect is even further emphasized. |
3 – 12 |
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The stitching together of layers of padding and fabric may date as far back as ancient Egypt. In America, quilt-making was common beginning in the late 18th century. A paper memory quilt is a fun way to keep ephemera (paper items) that have significance. This project will teach important design skills as pieces of paper are cut apart and reassembled. Insight into pattern, rhythm and repetition is gained. |
2 – 12 |
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Scrimshaw-Style Yupo Engraving As early as 1750, New England whalers passed the time by engraving nautical artwork on bones, tusks, etc. As a means of experiencing this traditional American craft, students can etch into Yupo using scratch tools, then fill the lines with oil pastel.
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5 – 12 |
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The Italian word “volto” translates as “face”. These full-face masks were known as “citizen’s masks” because they were originally worn by common people during the Carnival of Venice. By draping acrylic felt over a reusable form and using Rice Paste (a gluten-free maché alternative) to stiffen, students create a sculptural mask that can be decorated with paint, glitter, feathers, rhinestones, etc.
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3 – 12 |
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The wealthy Byzantine Empire had a huge influence on personal ornamentation. Characterized by extensive iconography, pendants and medallions were widely produced to denote faith, office or rank. For this project, students use air-dry clay and colorful rhinestones to create their own Byzantine-style medallions. Gilded with gold powder and finished with a gloss coating, they can be used as ornaments or placed outdoors as mini stepping stones. |
K – 12 |
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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!
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K – 12 |
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Picasso-Inspired Soft Sculpture By looking through the vast array of figurative paintings done by Picasso during his cubist phase, students may find many possibilities for soft sculpture adaptations. Fine art, sculpture and textiles combine to make this eye-catching piece!
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K – 12 |
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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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Upcycled Leather and “Turquoise” Cuffs Worn as protection in battle, support for heavy labor and to identify status, leather cuffs have shielded wrists throughout mankind’s history. To the Pueblo and Navajo, turquoise is considered sacred and powerful, the perfect adornment. This project invites students to design a cuff from an old leather belt. Embellish with “turquoise” beads fashioned from polymer clay or with stamping, lacing and marker designs. |
3 – 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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A few simple geometry skills and a little time spent making paper rolls is all that goes into this eye-catching art paper bowl. It's a great way to recycle materials or use up scrap paper, and your students will learn about repeating patterns and design rhythm as they place each tube of paper on a piece of self-adhesive film. |
3 – 12 |
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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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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.
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5 – 12 |
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What we think of as “quilts” today — pieces of fabric sewn together to form blocks that collectively make a whole — did not become popular until the mid 19th century. Making quilts was a means of “recycling” fabric from clothing that was no longer usable. In this lesson plan, students make a quilt block using paper and glue rather than fabric and stitching. It’s a great way to recycle materials and illustrate a number of design principles — rhythm, pattern, balance and unity. |
3 – 12 |
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Rather than traditional pages, the interior of these “books” will hold objects collected by students. An “art box” book could contain samples of texture, color, form, and line or other examples of design elements or styles. Or a more personalized box “about me” could hold a collection of tiny photos, poems and small keepsakes. |
3 – 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 transforms traditional basketry into a contemporary fine craft. Paper Coiling Core is shaped and glued in layers in the same manner as a clay coil pot is constructed. Vibrant and fluid Blick Liquid Watercolors can replicate patterns from the Papago, Navajo, and Apache cultures of Native America and Northern Mexico, or painted in contemporary, abstract, or representational styles.
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5 – 8 |
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Model a Famous Painting in Friendly Plastic Students will use Amaco Friendly Plastic to create a likeness of a famous painting or work of art. |
7 – 10 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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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 |
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This project starts with a 12" x 12" piece of muslin upon which a variety of papers, fabrics, colors and textures are added. Paper Cloth can be sewn with a sewing machine, cut with scissors, folded and reused. It is hard to tear! The finished and dry material may be wrinkled, or placed between two sheets of paper and ironed to flatten. Color can be added using different mediums.
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K – 12 |
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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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One means by which fossils are formed is "carbonization". Over time, compression and heat remove the elements from plants and leave a detailed carbon impression behind. Glass fusion can demonstrate this process in just a few hours.
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5 – 12 |
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The drop ring glass slumping process is an advanced technique that produces an endless array of dramatic shapes and effects. This is achieved by leaving the center part of a glass piece unsupported during the firing process, allowing the center of the glass to sag or “slump” into the open space below it. |
9 – 12 |
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In Namibia, ostrich eggshells are broken and used in many contemporary art forms. The shapes are often sanded or painted This lesson plan uses small pieces of wood and cardstock to closely resemble the thick shell pieces. |
K – 12 |
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By studying the works of Signac and Seurat, students gain an understanding of the visual process of Divisionism. This lesson plan uses glass frit arranged on glass sheets to recreate the Divisionism approach to painting. |
9 – 12 |
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Students construct a metal wire and mesh woven relief sculpture. A unique approach to weaving, students overlap wire mesh, practice sewing techniques without a needle and create a mixed media collage. |
9 – 12 |
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The fine art of weaving is explored using acrylic felt. This lesson also offers an opportunity to discuss fabric used for clothing, blankets and other items found in various cultures |
3 – 12 |
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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 |
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Claes Oldenburg popularized soft sculpture in the 1960's with flaccid everyday objects such as a fan, light switch and drum set.This lesson plan is an introduction to textile painting and fabric assemblage, as well as sculpture. |
9 – 12 |
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Button art is an inexpensive, creative project that's easy to do with a group, and produces great results. |
K – 12 |
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Martin Puryear-Inspired Basketry Students learn the importance of negative space while creating a non-traditional basket by focusing on it as a sculptural element rather than a functional object. Being a non-representational form, these abstract baskets draw attention to volume and space and redefine what a basket is intended for. |
3 – 12 |
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This project memorializes heroes and ancestors in fabric. The disciplines of music and dance combine with the visual arts to produce plays and theatrical presentations of the spirit. |
5 – 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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Create your own mosaic pieces — any design, shape or color you want them to be! This project combines the fun and excitement of Shrink Film with the fine art of mosaics. |
5 – 12 |
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Studying the rich history of maskmaking in Africa is a perfect way for students to experience the relationship between the process of creating a piece of art, and appreciating the significance it carries |
5 – 12 |
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Creates African-inspired art by covering paper-maché boxes with Leather Bookcloth. Emboss with patterns and textures and add colorful beads by gluing or stitching. |
5 – 12 |
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Bead bottles are the result of studying Huichol beaded gourds. Their technique can be applied to 3D objects available to students. Hours and hours of dedication are involved in the small bottle art. |
5 – 12 |
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With its repetitive under-and-over motion, weaving creates a visual rhythm. Choose a few musical selections for students and have them interpret the six principles of design while listening to music: contrast, rhythm, unity, pattern, movement and balance. |
9 – 12 |
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Drawing |
Grade Level |
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NEW! Anaglyph Artistry Make a composition for viewing with 3-D glasses! Turn an original drawing into a three-dimensional anaglyph using red and blue transfer paper with red and blue markers. Then, make the 3-D glasses necessary to make it pop! |
2 – 12 |
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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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NEW! Decalcomania: Glue Paint Symmetry Prints “Decalcomania” was a techique was used by Surrealists to create impromptu paintings controlled largely by chance. Much like a Rorschach Ink-Blot test, they would search for hidden imagery and develop it into a finished painting. This tidy and highly interactive process uses Glue Paint in a finger painting-style of application — without actually touching it. Looking for hidden images and contour lines in the print will fuel the imagination of a young Surrealist! |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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Prairie-Style Stained Glass Clings Frank Lloyd Wright referred to his stained glass windows as “light screens” because they interacted with the view behind them, rather than covering or obscuring it. Here, students use geometry and repeating patterns to create a vinyl window cling that incorporates the ideals of Prairie-Style Design.
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K – 12 |
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Originating in ancient India, Mehndi is the artistic application of designs to the hands and feet. Students can enjoy the practice of Mehndi without staining their skin by creating radial designs in marker while wearing a glove. The sense of touch while creating the design is an important part of the process.
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K – 12 |
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Mehndi, tatau, and modern "ink" - the history of art is incomplete without including the practice of creating decoration on human skin. In this lesson plan, students create a jointed clay marionette and use fine-line markers to cover it with expressive designs. |
3 – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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Making Elemental Drawing Materials Blick Art Materials was not around to provide art supplies 32,000 years ago, but, somehow, the earliest humans found a way to draw and paint on cave walls using materials made from basic elements all around them. Similar to the Paleolithic era, students will make their own drawing tools by transforming simple materials from the classroom, and then using them to communicate through images. |
K – 12 |
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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
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9 – 12 |
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Illumination is the decorating of books or manuscripts with ornate lettering, scrollwork, icons and images. This lesson plan introduces an easy and inexpensive way to apply metal leaf to a single letter, then embellish it using colored pencils.
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5 – 12 |
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Students will design and sculpt a dimensional piece of artwork, creating a variety of textures, lines and depths.
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5 – 12 |
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This lesson plan uses interactive floating layers and windows to create depth within the artwork.
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3 – 12 |
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This project is about drawing a realistic representation in order to practice your observation skills. |
9 – 12 |
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Students learn a nontraditional art process with this project. |
K – 12 |
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Students create computer mosaic drawings with magazine illustrations, or photos emphasizing changing shades and tones using the total image or a section of it. |
7 – 12 |
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Students will easily connect with historical studies of their own community or family history. |
5 – 12 |
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Choose three shapes from a design and build a new composition by repeating and combining these shapes to communicate an idea or story. |
5 – 12 |
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Gouache and Wood-Burned Designs Discover wood burning craft techniques and the traditional paint medium of gouache. |
3 – 12 |
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A drawing becomes a painting, then flips back to a drawing again as students use variety to explore surfaces, media and techniques. |
5 – 12 |
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This project uses pastels; a favored medium of Impressionist artists – drawn onto matte surface Shrink Film. The chalk of the pastels doesn't actually shrink, it simply condenses along with the film to form rich, intense areas of color.
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3 – 10 |
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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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First seen in Persian fabric design, the signature floral kidney and tear shapes of Paisley prints are a great lesson in pattern and rhythm. French curves and colored pencils are used to draw colorful versions on construction paper. |
3 – 12 |
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Abstract Planes in a Paper Sculpture Students will create a small scale model that will teach them to design a free-standing object considering both structural and design components |
9 – 12 |
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Hand-altering photos is a practice nearly as old as photography itself. Here are some new ideas for embellishing digital prints, featuring Blick Studio Art Markers and Scratch-Art Tools. |
5 – 12 |
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Fiber Art |
Grade Level |
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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! Upcycled "Wild Thing" Mittens An outgrown sweater becomes a fun pair of costume mittens! Use a recycled wool sweater, shrink film, and other adornments to create a fun and functional "Wild Thing" mitten. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Muslin Masterpiece Create a beautiful textile design using dye sticks and block printing. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! “Gawu” — African Inspired Tapestry Ghana-born artist El Anatsui is known internationally for his large-scale sculptures called “Gawu,” a composite of the words “ga,” meaning something made of metal and 'wu,” meaning a fashioned garment. In this lesson, students create their own tapestries as a response to El Anatsui's art, using African kente to discover rhythm and pattern in art. Recycled materials can be used, including folded papers and labels. |
K – 12 |
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Roll up a felted masterpiece! Students easily create beautiful wool paintings using soap, water, and a little elbow grease.
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K – 12 |
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This lesson plan introduces wool roving, which is the raw, washed wool from the sheep that is then dyed a variety of beautiful colors. The wool strands will be used to "paint" onto a canvas of felt. The wool is very easily "felted" or punched into the background with a felting needle. |
K – 12 |
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Inspired by Huichol Nierikas — beautiful paintings made from yarn pressed onto beeswax — this is a simple way for students to experience the color, geometric linework and symbolism of this Native American art form. Using colorful string applied to an adhesive-backed piece of felt, students create their designs without messy glue or sharp cutting tools.
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3 – 12 |
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Picasso-Inspired Soft Sculpture By looking through the vast array of figurative paintings done by Picasso during his cubist phase, students may find many possibilities for soft sculpture adaptations. Fine art, sculpture and textiles combine to make this eye-catching piece!
|
K – 12 |
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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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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 |
|
|
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 |
|
|
This project starts with a 12" x 12" piece of muslin upon which a variety of papers, fabrics, colors and textures are added. Paper Cloth can be sewn with a sewing machine, cut with scissors, folded and reused. It is hard to tear! The finished and dry material may be wrinkled, or placed between two sheets of paper and ironed to flatten. Color can be added using different mediums.
|
K – 12 |
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Based on the sculpture of Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, students create a 3-dimensional figure study in fiber.
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7 – 12 |
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The fine art of weaving is explored using acrylic felt. This lesson also offers an opportunity to discuss fabric used for clothing, blankets and other items found in various cultures |
3 – 12 |
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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 |
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Claes Oldenburg popularized soft sculpture in the 1960's with flaccid everyday objects such as a fan, light switch and drum set.This lesson plan is an introduction to textile painting and fabric assemblage, as well as sculpture. |
9 – 12 |
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This outrageously fun guitar design can be created in 1-1/2 to 2 hours from start to the end of the dyeing process. |
7 – 12 |
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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 |
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Students investigate dolls and games in history and cultures. All cultures have dolls and are a fascinating reflection of climate, resources, ideas and technology. This particular lesson challenges the student to look into the future and reflect on the past. |
9 – 12 |
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This lesson plan recognizes the correlation between the two art forms as students create a band T-shirt using visual descriptions of particular music styles. |
9 – 12 |
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Students learn the basics of silk screening. |
9 – 12 |
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The coarse, open weave of burlap substitutes for a weaving loom in this fiber art project. |
5 – 12 |
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This project memorializes heroes and ancestors in fabric. The disciplines of music and dance combine with the visual arts to produce plays and theatrical presentations of the spirit. |
5 – 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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Learn the processes involved in traditional batik and in color layering with dye. |
9 – 12 |
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With its repetitive under-and-over motion, weaving creates a visual rhythm. Choose a few musical selections for students and have them interpret the six principles of design while listening to music: contrast, rhythm, unity, pattern, movement and balance. |
9 – 12 |
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Graphic And Digital Art |
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 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 |
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This lesson plan recognizes the correlation between the two art forms as students create a band T-shirt using visual descriptions of particular music styles. |
9 – 12 |
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Incorporating New Media with traditional art, this process challenges students to use digital images to create a mask or 3-dimensional portrait. |
9 – 12 |
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Students learn the basics of silk screening. |
9 – 12 |
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An introduction to the basics of Claymation and media production using a familiar scientific theme — the metamorphasis of a butterfly. |
5 – 12 |
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This process takes any computer image and turns it into a 3-dimensional sculpture.
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5 – 12 |
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Hand-altering photos is a practice nearly as old as photography itself. Here are some new ideas for embellishing digital prints, featuring Blick Studio Art Markers and Scratch-Art Tools. |
5 – 12 |
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Maskmaking |
Grade Level |
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The Italian word “volto” translates as “face”. These full-face masks were known as “citizen’s masks” because they were originally worn by common people during the Carnival of Venice. By draping acrylic felt over a reusable form and using Rice Paste (a gluten-free maché alternative) to stiffen, students create a sculptural mask that can be decorated with paint, glitter, feathers, rhinestones, etc.
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3 – 12 |
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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 |
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Students create a colorful, expressive mask by weaving Twisteez Wires on a screen. |
5 – 12 |
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Create unique and dazzling masks with an exciting Mardi Gras sparkle! |
5 – 12 |
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Wall pockets have a long history as decorative and functional items. They have been used for years to hold flowers, perfumes and light sources |
5 – 12 |
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Studying the rich history of maskmaking in Africa is a perfect way for students to experience the relationship between the process of creating a piece of art, and appreciating the significance it carries |
5 – 12 |
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Metal And Wire Art |
Grade Level |
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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 |
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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 |
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Sculptor George Rickey used scientific precision and physics, functioning with wind to construct heavy steel sculptures that seemed to defy gravity and float on air. In this lesson, students create a simple sculpture around a rotary hub with stacked wooden beads and soft wire. When a direct air current is applied to metallic paper “sails” (blow on it!), the sculpture blades turn gently.
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5 – 12 |
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Many Metals “Day of the Dead” Triptych Celebrate a happy and colorful Mexican tradition with many metals! Using the skull as a symbol of rebirth, create a triptych with embossed metal, papier mâché, and lots of color and sparkle!
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5 – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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Students create their own “fossil bed” by modeling three-dimensional shapes of animals, plants or insects, then “burying” them beneath layers of tissue paper. Add earth-tone pastels to make them look as if they just came from an excavation site.
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K – 12 |
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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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Around the 1920s, a movement in modern art began in Russia as a group of artists began constructing sculpture for an industrialized world. As new technology produced strong, shining surfaces of glass, steel and plastic, Constructivists pioneered the use of modern, mechanical materials in art. This project weaves a variety of classroom-friendly “metals” — papers, foils and wires — into relief and three-dimensional art. |
5 – 12 |
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Modern Figure Sculpture in the style of Alberto Giacometti To create the gracefully haunting look of a Giacometti figure, this lesson plan introduces Paverpol™, a unique product that can be used with a variety of materials — textiles, paper, self-hardening clay, paper maché and more — to make sculptures so sturdy that they can be placed outdoors. It's non-toxic, safe for anyone to use and dries so quickly, you can make a sculpture in one day. |
7 – 12 |
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Using flexible, translucent acrylic paint and soft, aluminum wire, students create abstract sculptures that can be formed and reformed. Addresses the design elements of form and shape. Displayed with a light source, they have the appearance of formed glass.
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5 – 12 |
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This lesson plan combines the processes of repoussé and chasing to design a piece that looks as if it may have been crafted by an ancient silversmith. Objects are fixed to a cardboard box before the metal is applied so that the design is embossed into the metal in the style of repoussé. With tools, students then chase the metal around the objects to further define the texture.
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K – 12 |
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Students learn the functionality of tooled metal and texture.
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5 – 12 |
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Many cultures create puppets for entertainment and story telling. These jointed "jive" puppets make a light, musical sound as they dance and move on a hand-held rod. |
5 – 12 |
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Baskets can be woven out of almost any material, not just reeds and straw. This basket project is whimsical and freeform,using wire and colorful "snakes" that move randomly throughout the piece. Polymer clay bakes right on the wire, so finished pieces are long-lasting and very durable. |
5 – 12 |
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Students create a colorful, expressive mask by weaving Twisteez Wires on a screen. |
5 – 12 |
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In this lesson by Amaco, students will select a character in motion, such as a dancer, athlete or fairy, then capture and describe its movements through pose, form and balance. Flexible, easy-to-cut new WireForm™ Rods and WireForm™ mesh sheets make it easy to translate line from a flat design into a three-dimensional space. |
5 – 12 |
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Students learn an easy and economical form of metal working. |
8 – 12 |
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Students are eager to develop artwork unique in terms of creating personnal interpretation of aesthetics. This metal box project stresses the effective use of organizational principals. |
9 – 12 |
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The coarse, open weave of burlap substitutes for a weaving loom in this fiber art project. |
5 – 12 |
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Using the example of a suspension bridge, students plan and create a sculpture focused on balance, stability and strength. Foamboard with colorful wire provides a blending of aesthetics and function. |
9 – 12 |
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This process takes any computer image and turns it into a 3-dimensional sculpture.
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5 – 12 |
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Students create a dimensional line drawing out of flexible wire then cover it with assorted papers and tissues for a whimsical, lightweight sculpture.
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5 – 12 |
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Topiary is the art of turning living plants into sculptures that are constantly growing and changing — a form of landscape art. In this project, an art topiary is made of a wire base, green tissue paper and twine. Although this Tissue Topiary will require some initial sculpting, no care will be needed after construction! |
4 – 12 |
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Mixed Media |
Grade Level |
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NEW! Anaglyph Artistry Make a composition for viewing with 3-D glasses! Turn an original drawing into a three-dimensional anaglyph using red and blue transfer paper with red and blue markers. Then, make the 3-D glasses necessary to make it pop! |
2 – 12 |
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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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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 |
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NEW! Lessons on Lascaux Create a cave wall that crackles with authenticity! Using a paste made with powdered tempera and a Dura-Lar stencil, make a beautiful 3-D cave creation. |
3 – 12 |
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NEW! Make-a-Mock-Moc! Create a traditional Chippewa or Pucker-top moccasin using canvas, suede or leather remnants, seed beads and paint. |
5 – 12 |
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NEW! Books that POP! Paper engineering meets the principles of design! This procces breaks pop-up designs into three very basic techniques - spirals, zig-zags, and boxes - and focuses on design elements: color, form, shape, and space. A simple hinging technique using the ever-popular, colorfully patterned DuckTape allows the book to open and lie flat for the most eye-popping and paper-popping look! |
3 – 12 |
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NEW! The Secret Life of your Pet! Disquise your pet or favorite animal in a fantasy environment with easy photo manipulation. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! All Aglow Chinese Lantern An origami "Chinese Lantern" that glows in the dark! Using Dura-Lar film, markers, and glow-in-the dark paint, create a hanging lantern, and learn a basic origami shape. |
3 – 12 |
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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 |
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NEW! “Gawu” — African Inspired Tapestry Ghana-born artist El Anatsui is known internationally for his large-scale sculptures called “Gawu,” a composite of the words “ga,” meaning something made of metal and 'wu,” meaning a fashioned garment. In this lesson, students create their own tapestries as a response to El Anatsui's art, using African kente to discover rhythm and pattern in art. Recycled materials can be used, including folded papers and labels. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Glue Paint Symmetry Prints Finger Painting has never been so fun — or so very tidy! This project incorporates glue paint — basic white glue tinted with any shade of watercolor. It dries with a beautiful transparency that is enhanced when applied to a clear sheet. When the sheet is folded, the colors can be blended and moved about the page, without actually touching it! |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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Sculptor George Rickey used scientific precision and physics, functioning with wind to construct heavy steel sculptures that seemed to defy gravity and float on air. In this lesson, students create a simple sculpture around a rotary hub with stacked wooden beads and soft wire. When a direct air current is applied to metallic paper “sails” (blow on it!), the sculpture blades turn gently.
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5 – 12 |
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Many Metals “Day of the Dead” Triptych Celebrate a happy and colorful Mexican tradition with many metals! Using the skull as a symbol of rebirth, create a triptych with embossed metal, papier mâché, and lots of color and sparkle!
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5 – 12 |
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New Guinean “Plant Paste” Doll Make a hand-built ritual doll with only three simple materials! Knead together clay, instant papier mâché and burlap fibers to create an intriguing art doll. Add body paint and embellish by adding seed bead teeth, a shell necklace, or clothing made of burlap. |
4 – 12 |
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Mehndi, tatau, and modern "ink" - the history of art is incomplete without including the practice of creating decoration on human skin. In this lesson plan, students create a jointed clay marionette and use fine-line markers to cover it with expressive designs. |
3 – 12 |
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Joseph Cornell's (1903-1972) most characteristic art works were boxed assemblages created from found objects. These were simple boxes in which he arranged surprising collections of photgraphs or bric-a-brac in a way that combines the formality of Constructivism with the lively fantasy of Surrealism. Students will gather pieces of nostalgia or found objects to embed in plaster within an arrangement of mini canvas "boxes". |
K – 12 |
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The stitching together of layers of padding and fabric may date as far back as ancient Egypt. In America, quilt-making was common beginning in the late 18th century. A paper memory quilt is a fun way to keep ephemera (paper items) that have significance. This project will teach important design skills as pieces of paper are cut apart and reassembled. Insight into pattern, rhythm and repetition is gained. |
2 – 12 |
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The Italian word “volto” translates as “face”. These full-face masks were known as “citizen’s masks” because they were originally worn by common people during the Carnival of Venice. By draping acrylic felt over a reusable form and using Rice Paste (a gluten-free maché alternative) to stiffen, students create a sculptural mask that can be decorated with paint, glitter, feathers, rhinestones, etc.
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3 – 12 |
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The wealthy Byzantine Empire had a huge influence on personal ornamentation. Characterized by extensive iconography, pendants and medallions were widely produced to denote faith, office or rank. For this project, students use air-dry clay and colorful rhinestones to create their own Byzantine-style medallions. Gilded with gold powder and finished with a gloss coating, they can be used as ornaments or placed outdoors as mini stepping stones. |
K – 12 |
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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!
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K – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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“Art-O-Motion” Mechanical Sculpture In 1913, Marcel DuChamp mounted a spinning bicycle wheel to a stool to make what is considered the first kinetic sculpture. Since then, many artists have paired physical science and engineering with artistic vision to create amazing pieces of mechanical sculpture. This simple, pulley-operated design has students design “gears” that spin on spools when a string is pulled.
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5 – 12 |
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Students create their own “fossil bed” by modeling three-dimensional shapes of animals, plants or insects, then “burying” them beneath layers of tissue paper. Add earth-tone pastels to make them look as if they just came from an excavation site.
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K – 12 |
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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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Upcycled Leather and “Turquoise” Cuffs Worn as protection in battle, support for heavy labor and to identify status, leather cuffs have shielded wrists throughout mankind’s history. To the Pueblo and Navajo, turquoise is considered sacred and powerful, the perfect adornment. This project invites students to design a cuff from an old leather belt. Embellish with “turquoise” beads fashioned from polymer clay or with stamping, lacing and marker designs. |
3 – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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In the 1960’s, Frank Stella became known for his minimal geometric paintings of concentric squares that used color to create visual movement. Each concentric square of color related to the next, whether they were harmonic or contrasting colors. In this lesson plan, students consider color relations and “paint” a Stella-style work with colored masking tape, |
4 – 12 |
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This project should be considered “Part Two” of our Fiber Fusion lesson plan. This project helps students stretch their imaginations and further develop a |two-dimensional artwork they’ve created by turning it into a three-dimensional sculptural piece. |
7 – 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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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.
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5 – 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 transforms traditional basketry into a contemporary fine craft. Paper Coiling Core is shaped and glued in layers in the same manner as a clay coil pot is constructed. Vibrant and fluid Blick Liquid Watercolors can replicate patterns from the Papago, Navajo, and Apache cultures of Native America and Northern Mexico, or painted in contemporary, abstract, or representational styles.
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5 – 8 |
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In this lesson plan, students design and construct a 3-dimensional letter using one of their initials. The surface can be decorated with descriptive words and images that are personally meaningful and unique to the student's identity. Instead of wet, messy adhesive, this process uses paper packing tape to create papier mâché. This tape is inexpensive, easy, and tidy to use, and the finished letters are hard and durable.
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3 – 12 |
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Exercise for art is as important as exercise for sports or rehearsal for theatre, as it fosters a continual pursuit of excellence. In this lesson, to exercise their artistic creativity, students keep a day-by-day art journal. Each page should be a simple statement of a different idea or small thought for the day. |
K – 12 |
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This project starts with a 12" x 12" piece of muslin upon which a variety of papers, fabrics, colors and textures are added. Paper Cloth can be sewn with a sewing machine, cut with scissors, folded and reused. It is hard to tear! The finished and dry material may be wrinkled, or placed between two sheets of paper and ironed to flatten. Color can be added using different mediums.
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K – 12 |
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Rather than allowing more plastic to end up in a landfill, raise your students' level of social conscience and demonstrate the art elements of line, shape and texture with this lesson in "green" art. Twist and form recycled plastic into coils and shapes on a piece of adhesive-backed film and view in reverse. It's a tidy way to create a collage — no glue or paint required. |
3 – 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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Low relief sculpture with design in mind. Layer by layer, piece by piece, this three-dimensional collage is assembled with repetitious shapes and elements, illustrating the principles of rhythm, balance and movement.
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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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The purpose of this lesson plan is not to make replicas of Egyptian jewelry but to design jewelry that is dramatic using Egyptian jewelry as a reference. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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Students construct a metal wire and mesh woven relief sculpture. A unique approach to weaving, students overlap wire mesh, practice sewing techniques without a needle and create a mixed media collage. |
9 – 12 |
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One of the principles of the Modern style of architecture is that the materials and functional requirements determine the design of the structure. Keeping that in mind, students will build a model of a home to function within a chosen environment. |
7 – 12 |
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This simple bookmaking project can achieve great results with a wide variety of ages. Using nature as a theme, it's a perfect place to record nature sketches, foliage collections and personal observations of the world around us. |
K – 12 |
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Claes Oldenburg popularized soft sculpture in the 1960's with flaccid everyday objects such as a fan, light switch and drum set.This lesson plan is an introduction to textile painting and fabric assemblage, as well as sculpture. |
9 – 12 |
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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 investigate dolls and games in history and cultures. All cultures have dolls and are a fascinating reflection of climate, resources, ideas and technology. This particular lesson challenges the student to look into the future and reflect on the past. |
9 – 12 |
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Button art is an inexpensive, creative project that's easy to do with a group, and produces great results. |
K – 12 |
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Found in art and architecture around the world, labyrinths are associated with metaphor, mystery and mythology. Incorporating various materials, students create their own labyrinths that may also be used as a simple game. |
K – 12 |
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Using The Golden Door as a theme to search for historical and aesthetic content, students create a paper collage containing relevant images, text and expressions. |
5 – 12 |
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Students use all the elements and principles of design. |
8 – 12 |
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Studying the rich history of maskmaking in Africa is a perfect way for students to experience the relationship between the process of creating a piece of art, and appreciating the significance it carries |
5 – 12 |
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Creates African-inspired art by covering paper-maché boxes with Leather Bookcloth. Emboss with patterns and textures and add colorful beads by gluing or stitching. |
5 – 12 |
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Hand-altering photos is a practice nearly as old as photography itself. Here are some new ideas for embellishing digital prints, featuring Blick Studio Art Markers and Scratch-Art Tools. |
5 – 12 |
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This book-making and collage project uses small matchboxes as drawers to tuck away secrets, supporting a variety of literary and historical studies, such as “The Hiding Place” (Anne Frank) or the Underground Railroad. |
3 – 12 |
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With its repetitive under-and-over motion, weaving creates a visual rhythm. Choose a few musical selections for students and have them interpret the six principles of design while listening to music: contrast, rhythm, unity, pattern, movement and balance. |
9 – 12 |
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Multicultural |
Grade Level |
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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! Concentric Kirigami A variation on Japanese Origami, Kirigami is created by folding paper and cutting portions away. This surprisingly uncomplicated relief sculpture is assembled with “rings” cut from double-sided sheets of colorful cardstock. The edges of the rings are folded, cut, unfolded, and layered concentrically (placed around the same center point) to make modern-day Kirigami designs. |
3 – 12 |
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NEW! “Gawu” — African Inspired Tapestry Ghana-born artist El Anatsui is known internationally for his large-scale sculptures called “Gawu,” a composite of the words “ga,” meaning something made of metal and 'wu,” meaning a fashioned garment. In this lesson, students create their own tapestries as a response to El Anatsui's art, using African kente to discover rhythm and pattern in art. Recycled materials can be used, including folded papers and labels. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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Many Metals “Day of the Dead” Triptych Celebrate a happy and colorful Mexican tradition with many metals! Using the skull as a symbol of rebirth, create a triptych with embossed metal, papier mâché, and lots of color and sparkle!
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5 – 12 |
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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.
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K – 12 |
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Originating in ancient India, Mehndi is the artistic application of designs to the hands and feet. Students can enjoy the practice of Mehndi without staining their skin by creating radial designs in marker while wearing a glove. The sense of touch while creating the design is an important part of the process.
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K – 12 |
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Mehndi, tatau, and modern "ink" - the history of art is incomplete without including the practice of creating decoration on human skin. In this lesson plan, students create a jointed clay marionette and use fine-line markers to cover it with expressive designs. |
3 – 12 |
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Inspired by Huichol Nierikas — beautiful paintings made from yarn pressed onto beeswax — this is a simple way for students to experience the color, geometric linework and symbolism of this Native American art form. Using colorful string applied to an adhesive-backed piece of felt, students create their designs without messy glue or sharp cutting tools.
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3 – 12 |
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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 |
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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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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 |
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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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Geometric patterns occur in rich profusion throughout Islamic Cultures. This lesson is an invitation to look at the history and meaning behind patterns and view the work of a contemporary Iranian artist. Students design and assemble a reflective mosaic pattern using metallic papers on adhesive film. Easy and tidy...no glue! |
K – 12 |
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Suminagashi is a process in which Sumi ink is floated on the surface of plain water, then transferred to a sheet of paper. Each monoprint is like a fingerprint — unique and unreproducible.
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3 – 12 |
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In Namibia, ostrich eggshells are broken and used in many contemporary art forms. The shapes are often sanded or painted This lesson plan uses small pieces of wood and cardstock to closely resemble the thick shell pieces. |
K – 12 |
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Southwest Native American Jewelry Native Americans used symbols and motifs with deep cultural significance in making jewelry with clay, turquoise, coral, shell, wood and bone. After Spanish explorers brought silversmithing to Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo artists in the 1800's, Southwest jewelry developed into a distinctive art form. |
7 – 12 |
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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 |
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Combining clay beadmaking with basic pinch and coil pot construction, students make a musical piece of art. |
K – 12 |
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Ancient Egyptians applied gold leaf onto carved wood panels to tell stories and create opulence and on everyday objects. Follow the process these artists used to carve and gild a fan fit for King Tutankhamen. |
5 – 12 |
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Students use all the elements and principles of design. |
8 – 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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First seen in Persian fabric design, the signature floral kidney and tear shapes of Paisley prints are a great lesson in pattern and rhythm. French curves and colored pencils are used to draw colorful versions on construction paper. |
3 – 12 |
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Studying the rich history of maskmaking in Africa is a perfect way for students to experience the relationship between the process of creating a piece of art, and appreciating the significance it carries |
5 – 12 |
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Creates African-inspired art by covering paper-maché boxes with Leather Bookcloth. Emboss with patterns and textures and add colorful beads by gluing or stitching. |
5 – 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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Painting |
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 |
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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 |
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NEW! Flower Garden Tiles Easily make flower tiles by carving clay, filling with plaster, and finishing with liquid watercolors. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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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.
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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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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 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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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!
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K – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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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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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 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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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 |
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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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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.
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5 – 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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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.
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5 – 12 |
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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 |
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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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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
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9 – 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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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 |
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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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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 |
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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 |
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The use of a very unconventional medium as a classroom exercise in oil painting. |
5 – 12 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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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This project will allow for exploring facial proportion, practice working in transparent watercolors and produce a self-expressive portrait. |
9 – 12 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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Brightly colored paintings look like stained glass. |
9 – 12 |
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Gouache and Wood-Burned Designs Discover wood burning craft techniques and the traditional paint medium of gouache. |
3 – 12 |
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This project is a unique, fun lesson in establishing a hero and developing an Artists' Hall of Fame. |
9 – 12 |
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Found objects, cutouts, photos and a variety of materials are assembled in a sculptural, three-dimensional collage centered around a personal theme. |
5 – 12 |
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A drawing becomes a painting, then flips back to a drawing again as students use variety to explore surfaces, media and techniques. |
5 – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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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 |
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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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Printmaking |
Grade Level |
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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! Muslin Masterpiece Create a beautiful textile design using dye sticks and block printing. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Coral Reef Creation Brilliantly replicate thousands of years of oceanic evolution in just a few hours. Using clay, paint, and pearlescent mixing medium, along with handmade clay stamps, create a beautiful coral sculpture. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Glue Paint Symmetry Prints Finger Painting has never been so fun — or so very tidy! This project incorporates glue paint — basic white glue tinted with any shade of watercolor. It dries with a beautiful transparency that is enhanced when applied to a clear sheet. When the sheet is folded, the colors can be blended and moved about the page, without actually touching it! |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Burroughs on Burlap Printmaking on burlap results in a beaufitul rusticity. |
3 – 12 |
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Printmaking — starring textures and shapes! A collagraph printing plate is created on a canvas panel using textures found in the classroom, textured gel mediums, or even textures from nature! After a final coat of gel medium is applied, the plate and paper are run through a printing press.
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3 – 6 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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Picasso-Inspired Soft Sculpture By looking through the vast array of figurative paintings done by Picasso during his cubist phase, students may find many possibilities for soft sculpture adaptations. Fine art, sculpture and textiles combine to make this eye-catching piece!
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K – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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Suminagashi is a process in which Sumi ink is floated on the surface of plain water, then transferred to a sheet of paper. Each monoprint is like a fingerprint — unique and unreproducible.
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3 – 12 |
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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
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9 – 12 |
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Using a single large screen divided into multiple small square window panes, a class of 15-20 students create their own individual art project that becomes part of the whole. A lesson plan from Speedball. |
3 – 12 |
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This Lichtenstein-inspired lesson looks at pop culture imagery today and describes it in comic book-style prints using slow-drying waterbased Akua Kolor inks. |
7 – 12 |
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Students learn the process of embossing a mono print — an extremely beautiful fine art. |
3 – 12 |
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Students will observe the artistic expression used in coins of the past and today. |
5 – 12 |
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The architectural style developed by the ancient Greeks has had such an influence on world civilization that it surrounds us still today. This block printing lesson introduces the three orders of Greek columns and challenges students to discover them in famous buildings and the surrounding community. |
6 – 12 |
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Sculpture |
Grade Level |
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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 |
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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 |
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NEW! Flower Garden Tiles Easily make flower tiles by carving clay, filling with plaster, and finishing with liquid watercolors. |
K – 12 |
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NEW! Coral Reef Creation Brilliantly replicate thousands of years of oceanic evolution in just a few hours. Using clay, paint, and pearlescent mixing medium, along with handmade clay stamps, create a beautiful coral sculpture. |
K – 12 |
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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 |
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NEW! Ancient Bas-Relief Casting Create an ancient "carving" using cast paper and blasa foam! |
5 – 12 |
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Sculptor George Rickey used scientific precision and physics, functioning with wind to construct heavy steel sculptures that seemed to defy gravity and float on air. In this lesson, students create a simple sculpture around a rotary hub with stacked wooden beads and soft wire. When a direct air current is applied to metallic paper “sails” (blow on it!), the sculpture blades turn gently.
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5 – 12 |
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Skyscrapers evolved from the inside out — as steel frames became stronger, windows and walls became lighter, like a “skin.” Students can construct high-rise buildings (or low-rise designs) that are extremely light and open — they're made with paper straws and corrugated plastic joints (no glue required). Imagination grows with the construction — higher and higher!
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5 – 12 |
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Many Metals “Day of the Dead” Triptych Celebrate a happy and colorful Mexican tradition with many metals! Using the skull as a symbol of rebirth, create a triptych with embossed metal, papier mâché, and lots of color and sparkle!
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5 – 12 |
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New Guinean “Plant Paste” Doll Make a hand-built ritual doll with only three simple materials! Knead together clay, instant papier mâché and burlap fibers to create an intriguing art doll. Add body paint and embellish by adding seed bead teeth, a shell necklace, or clothing made of burlap. |
4 – 12 |
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Create a textured clay mold to use again and again! Carve a design into a slab and bisque fire it. After coating it with kiln wash, this mold can be used many times to impart unique textures to slumped glass pieces.
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3 – 12 |
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By making an animal shaped box out of clay, students honor both the vast diversity of Africa’s animal world, and also create a functional work of art! After choosing a favorite African animal, students will hand build a clay box with lid. |
5 – 12 |
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Glazing isn't the only way to create beautiful surfaces! Agateware pottery features swirling marbelized colors and was probably first developed to imitate the qualities of agate, a semiprecious stone with striated patterning. These swirling effects can be created by working with thin slabs of colored clay that has been layered to create patterns. This technique allows for both precise patterns and free, random effects.
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3 – 12 |
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The Italian word “volto” translates as “face”. These full-face masks were known as “citizen’s masks” because they were originally worn by common people during the Carnival of Venice. By draping acrylic felt over a reusable form and using Rice Paste (a gluten-free maché alternative) to stiffen, students create a sculptural mask that can be decorated with paint, glitter, feathers, rhinestones, etc.
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3 – 12 |
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“Art-O-Motion” Mechanical Sculpture In 1913, Marcel DuChamp mounted a spinning bicycle wheel to a stool to make what is considered the first kinetic sculpture. Since then, many artists have paired physical science and engineering with artistic vision to create amazing pieces of mechanical sculpture. This simple, pulley-operated design has students design “gears” that spin on spools when a string is pulled.
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5 – 12 |
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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.
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3 – 12 |
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There's more to "deconstructing" a book than just altering the pages. In this project, deconstructing means changing the object from a book to a sculpture. The tools are very basic — scissors, glue, paper punches and a desire to experiment! |
3 – 12 |
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Around the 1920s, a movement in modern art began in Russia as a group of artists began constructing sculpture for an industrialized world. As new technology produced strong, shining surfaces of glass, steel and plastic, Constructivists pioneered the use of modern, mechanical materials in art. This project weaves a variety of classroom-friendly “metals” — papers, foils and wires — into relief and three-dimensional art. |
5 – 12 |
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When one hears the name of Alexander Calder, the picture of kinetic hanging mobiles immediately comes to mind. These were only a portion of Calder’s vast body of work — he also painted and created stationary pieces called “stabiles.” Often, they resembled his mobiles — but without moving parts. In this lesson, students will create a “stabile” using Taskboard — a new, natural, wood-based medium used by architects and 3-D designers to create models.
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5 – 12 |
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Modern Figure Sculpture in the style of Alberto Giacometti To create the gracefully haunting look of a Giacometti figure, this lesson plan introduces Paverpol™, a unique product that can be used with a variety of materials — textiles, paper, self-hardening clay, paper maché and more — to make sculptures so sturdy that they can be placed outdoors. It's non-toxic, safe for anyone to use and dries so quickly, you can make a sculpture in one day. |
7 – 12 |
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In this lesson plan, students design and construct a 3-dimensional letter using one of their initials. The surface can be decorated with descriptive words and images that are personally meaningful and unique to the student's identity. Instead of wet, messy adhesive, this process uses paper packing tape to create papier mâché. This tape is inexpensive, easy, and tidy to use, and the finished letters are hard and durable.
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3 – 12 |
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Low relief sculpture with design in mind. Layer by layer, piece by piece, this three-dimensional collage is assembled with repetitious shapes and elements, illustrating the principles of rhythm, balance and movement.
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3 – 12 |
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Using flexible, translucent acrylic paint and soft, aluminum wire, students create abstract sculptures that can be formed and reformed. Addresses the design elements of form and shape. Displayed with a light source, they have the appearance of formed glass.
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5 – 12 |
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This lesson plan combines the processes of repoussé and chasing to design a piece that looks as if it may have been crafted by an ancient silversmith. Objects are fixed to a cardboard box before the metal is applied so that the design is embossed into the metal in the style of repoussé. With tools, students then chase the metal around the objects to further define the texture.
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K – 12 |
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Based on the sculpture of Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, students create a 3-dimensional figure study in fiber.
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7 – 12 |
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Students will design and sculpt a dimensional piece of artwork, creating a variety of textures, lines and depths.
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5 – 12 |
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In this particular lesson plan, students will look closely at the work of Louise Nevelson, known for her abstract sculptures made from cast-off pieces of wood — actual street “throwaways” — uniformly coated with black or white spray paint. Students will create their own assemblages from wood pieces and other cast-off objects on a panel. |
5 – 12 |
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The drop ring glass slumping process is an advanced technique that produces an endless array of dramatic shapes and effects. This is achieved by leaving the center part of a glass piece unsupported during the firing process, allowing the center of the glass to sag or “slump” into the open space below it. |
9 – 12 |
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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 |
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Students construct a metal wire and mesh woven relief sculpture. A unique approach to weaving, students overlap wire mesh, practice sewing techniques without a needle and create a mixed media collage. |
9 – 12 |
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One of the principles of the Modern style of architecture is that the materials and functional requirements determine the design of the structure. Keeping that in mind, students will build a model of a home to function within a chosen environment. |
7 – 12 |
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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 |
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In this lesson by Amaco, students will select a character in motion, such as a dancer, athlete or fairy, then capture and describe its movements through pose, form and balance. Flexible, easy-to-cut new WireForm™ Rods and WireForm™ mesh sheets make it easy to translate line from a flat design into a three-dimensional space. |
5 – 12 |
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In order to understand Minimal Art, students must recognize what is absent. These painted chipboard constructions are abstract with a minimum amount of color, value, shape and texture. |
5 – 12 |
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Students create a character — half human, half animal — write a story and build a paper maché sculpture of their creation. |
5 – 12 |
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Using a balloon and coffee can base, create a sturdy vessel with Sculptamold compound. Finished pieces can be painted and embellished with mosaics and collage matierals. |
5 – 12 |
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Experience an archeological dig, right in your own classroom! Students create fossils the way that nature does - by making impressions and filling them |
K – 12 |
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Students are eager to develop artwork unique in terms of creating personnal interpretation of aesthetics. This metal box project stresses the effective use of organizational principals. |
9 – 12 |
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Using the example of a suspension bridge, students plan and create a sculpture focused on balance, stability and strength. Foamboard with colorful wire provides a blending of aesthetics and function. |
5 – 12 |
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Using the example of a suspension bridge, students plan and create a sculpture focused on balance, stability and strength. Foamboard with colorful wire provides a blending of aesthetics and function. |
9 – 12 |
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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.
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5 – 12 |
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This process takes any computer image and turns it into a 3-dimensional sculpture.
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5 – 12 |
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Martin Puryear-Inspired Basketry Students learn the importance of negative space while creating a non-traditional basket by focusing on it as a sculptural element rather than a functional object. Being a non-representational form, these abstract baskets draw attention to volume and space and redefine what a basket is intended for. |
3 – 12 |
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Translated to “glass paste,” the French term Pate de Verre refers to a glass vessel kiln-fired in a mold. This lesson shows how to make a simple one-part mold and glass casting. |
5 – 12 |
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Students create a figure while interpreting a culture's economic and social development. |
9 – 12 |
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Students create a dimensional line drawing out of flexible wire then cover it with assorted papers and tissues for a whimsical, lightweight sculpture.
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5 – 12 |
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Abstract Planes in a Paper Sculpture Students will create a small scale model that will teach them to design a free-standing object considering both structural and design components |
9 – 12 |
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A “slice” of American Culture! Students design a clay pie piece piled high with symbols, icons and representations of their favorite things. |
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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Topiary is the art of turning living plants into sculptures that are constantly growing and changing — a form of landscape art. In this project, an art topiary is made of a wire base, green tissue paper and twine. Although this Tissue Topiary will require some initial sculpting, no care will be needed after construction! |
4 – 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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