Party in the Art Room Blog
Scroll for helpful tips, stories, and news.
Mary Cassatt: Art That Makes You Smarter
As a teaching artist, I've found that teachers don't discuss art with students because they don't know what to say. Watch the video posted here and let me give you the words to talk about Mary Cassatt. This segment is here to help you fit art into your curriculum. You can start by doing this critical thinking activity with your students. It gets the kids more engaged in your classes. They’ll remember every lesson!
How to Use the Grid Drawing Method Like Chuck Close
Want to teach your students about the grid drawing method? Chuck Close is known for using grids to draw. We will look at some examples, and talk about how he used grids - and how your students can, too!
How to Fund Arts Integration
Arts integration is a crucial component of joyful learning. Making arts integration training a priority in schools could immensely improve the experiences of students and teachers. Arts integration brings joy to students. After all, teaching is not effective if it's not joyful. Let’s talk about funding this option!
How to Make SEL Connections in the Art Room
Understanding Visual Perception as a Process Component of Visual Arts Education
This post is about merging two concepts, that really aren’t different at all but that sometimes aren’t connected in our thinking: visual perception as part of our daily lives and PERCEIVE as a Process Component in the Visual Arts standards. Being able to PERCEIVE is part of what an artist needs to be able to do. When we use arts integration in your classrooms, our students need to be able to PERCEIVE, or pay very close attention to details in their own works and in the works of others. This spills over into everything else we do as human beings, though.
6 Techniques for Mixed Media Painting
I was first introduced to mixed media painting when I was in middle school and my teacher said, "Sometimes you just have to paint on anything." A few pieces of scrap paper and random paints later, I was hooked! Painting on fabric, wood, glass and more adds texture and dimension to artwork—and the possibilities are endless. It's so much fun! So how can you get started with mixed media painting? This post will show you six painting techniques you can use right away.
5 Artworks That Will Break Your Heart
How to Choose Artwork That Won’t Trigger Your Students
So, how do you choose art prints that won’t trigger your students? The truth is that you don’t. We can't avoid all triggers for students because it's not in our power. We don't know what triggers each student in our care, so we can’t always avoid them.
We can avoid general universal triggers like violence, but we can’t avoid the more subtle ones. However, you could rely on knowing your students and their surroundings. You can help students work through their triggers.
ART THAT MAKES YOU SMARTER : HISTORY OF ART DECO
What was art deco? Why was it so popular in the 20th century? How did it come about? The answers to these questions, and more, are answered in this article that explores the history of art deco for teachers.
Art That Makes You Smarter : Guiseppe Arcimboldo's Fruit Faces
Have you seen Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s fruit face artwork? It’s a fascinating and unique style that your students will love. In this blog, I discuss the history behind his fruit face painting and how you can incorporate it in your classroom.
Art is at the Core: The Cajun Connection
10 Creative Art Gifts Your Child Will Instantly Adore and Actually Use for Years
An art gift doesn’t have to be frivolous or temporary, especially if you buy the right one. Here are 10 creative art gifts that your child will instantly adore and actually use for years to come.
Deconstructing Arts Education
Arts integration can take a lot of different forms, but really it boils down to using art forms to teach alongside the other contents. So, the students are learning both the art form and the other content. At first, this can be a little difficult to integrate into the classroom, but that’s where I help make it easier. In a past podcast I was a part of, I had the opportunity to talk about this subject and use an example of what arts integration looks like in a math class.
Are You Looking for Really Easy Cows to Draw with Oil Pastels?
An encounter with contemporary artist Garret May led me on a journey to introduce my students to the joy of drawing simple cows with a how to draw cows lesson that would become a staple in my art class!
The Top 7 Most Powerful Words for (Arts) Grant Writing
Since most art teachers serve a large and diverse population of students, fundraising can feel like a rollercoaster. Especially because we have to get creative about the direction of the instruction we give to our students. For instance, if we don’t have scissors, we tear paper. If we can’t buy paper, we use old newspapers. I definitely believe in teaching students how to reuse materials. However, limited funds can inhibit instruction and lead to fewer opportunities for growth.
Top 7 Most Artful Children’s Books of 2021
If you’re like me, you probably adore using children’s literature to introduce art projects and more. I love teaching students that the illustrations are actual works of art. You can find many, many art lessons on this blog that have been inspired by children’s books. In no particular ranking order, here are the most artful (as in art-filled, “likely to be a wonderful book for art lessons”) children’s books of 2021.
6 Key Understandings About Arts Leaders as School Leaders
School leaders are able to impact the arts much more than you’d think. Being an instructional leader, or leader of instructors, involves leading the teachers in understanding creativity and using the arts in their classrooms. Because of your teaching experience, you are in a position to leverage those 21st century skills for teachers.
Oil Pastel Self Portraits and Poetry
The fun and unique thing about oil pastel self portraits and poetry is the variety of lessons students will get the opportunity to learn. You may also encounter something similar with students as I did. Since some of them were not ready for building the color with oil pastels, this was differentiated by media. I’ll talk more about this toward the end of the post.
5 Things Teachers Definitely Shouldn’t Feel Guilty About
Teachers, the job is hard. The world has no idea how hard it really is. You do your best at the millions of things you have to do everyday. Don’t you ever feel guilty about these 5 things that happen to us all.
6 Ways to Cope with Negative Coworkers at School
Whether it’s at your first teaching job or in your first job at any company, there will likely be times when you have to interact with someone who wants to bring others down with them. To help you learn how to deal with negative coworkers, here are six strategies that have worked well for me.
