​Our school did it’s first school-wide PBL (Project Based Lesson) and as voted on by the district, “sustainability” was the winning theme. One of my classes focused on recycling plastic products through sculpture which you can see HERE. However, I have several students with sensory issues were adverse to using epoxy clay, so as I often do, I planned for an alternate exploration. Instead of recycling plastic, they were able to recycle fabric. According to www.earth.org, “Fast Fashion” is a huge contributor to global carbon emissions. “…fashion production comprises 10% of total global carbon emissions, as much as the European Union. It dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year. Even washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.”
 
Students brought in old clothing that was headed to the dump and instead used them as a hand-weaving material. Each student did a little research into the weaving traditions tied to their own cultural background, and we used several YouTube tutorials to create our baskets. Some found weaving to be challenging but due to the nature of the lattice inherent to the technique, we turned some of these into sculptural works which was an unexpected surprise! I did make needles and thread available, as well as craft-like embellishments many students made use of. If I had to do this again, I would have students create a miniature sample first to get familiar with the technique. Instead they made small items if they finished early to keep students on task.
 
This is the video I created to show how we made our weavings. The core material we wrapped our fabric around was some macrame cord I had available, but any rope or rope-like material will work. To end our lesson, student hole-punched some index cards and wrote bout their experience and included a title for their piece. These were displayed during our evening sustainability program and were quite a hit.

​We explored the artwork and videos created by Stephanie Kilgast, particularly her discarded objects series. She has a wonderful YouTube channel HERE where you can hear her speak about her work and create her sculptures. As we explored her work we found that she works in 3 different modes, coral, floral, and fungi. She will also sometimes include animals, but we were focused on her environments and the juxtaposition of man-made objects and organic textures.
 
Students all brought in an object at home that might normally be headed to a landfill and using epoxy clay, gave it new life and hopefully bring attention to environmental issues for earth day.
 
Students brought in their objects and spent a day or two sketching from observation and adding on natural element within one of the 3 modes of coral, floral, or fungi. They could exceed expectations with details, textures, or creatures.
 
Sketches were shared with peers and critiqued before students were able to get clay. Because epoxy clay comes in 2-parts, we borrowed sensitive scales from our science department and measured 20 grams from each container to mix by hand. We were careful to separate containers by color and not allow cross-contamination. A timer was set for the last 20 minutes of class so students know they could not get additional clay at that point and needed to use up what was out. Those who had a bit too much shared with those who didn’t have enough to keep waste to a minimum. If there were extra bits, they were pressed into coin-sized amulets to be decorated as extras for early finishers.
 
Though we were working with 2-part epoxy clay all students had technology open to watch videos of Stephanie Kilgast make her work or searching polymer clay videos for coral, floral, and fungi. (Though polymer and epoxy clay are similar to work with there are more tutorials available for polymer clay. An advantage to 2-part epoxy clay is that it does not need to be baked to harden.) We had wire and foil available to make armatures to help the clay hold its shape. I also had some ceramic and dental-like sculpting tools for students to use in making details they saw in tutorials.
 
Once complete, sculptures were sprayed with a white primer and the organic details were painted with acrylics. For the most part we left containers white so that the color contrasted nicely to the man-made forms. This is something we observed in the work of Stephanie Kilgast as well.
 
All of the sculptures were displayed for a school-wide environmental PBL exposition. 

For more lessons and resources, please visit my publisher HERE.

​When I say “independent,” I mean student driven but with clear expectations. “Do what you want” is a recipe for shallow explorations and wasted supplies. In a school, I want them to learn something more than using their time to make an image or create a “thing.” It’s important that every exploration we do, guided or independent, meets 3 requirements.
​
1.They need to learn more about themselves
2.They need to be exposed to the art outside my room
3.They need to explore a broad range of media with purpose
 
My students can start with any of these three paths for an independent exploration, but weave in the other two. For example, they may want to do an artwork based on a theme they care about; self, a political/social issue, to explore something they are passionate about, etc. They then need to find an artist or art movement that also addresses similar passions. Finally, they need to decide what media they would like to utilize, and reflect on what they have used in the past, and consider how they might explore something new.
 
Every exploration we do in art is tied to a historical movement, culture, or artist (historical or contemporary). A student may be inspired by one of these to create a work of art. I provide students with a basic understanding of major movements of art from Byzantine art through Op Art and they know there are many more. We have a beginning list of cultures to explore, but understand ancient and contemporary versions exist. Though I provide a list of famous artists of diverse backgrounds, I encourage my students to explore contemporary artists as well. Any of these can become the inspiration for an artwork.
 
A student may be excited for the opportunity to explore a new media they have not tried before. Something they saw on social media, or a material they have always wanted to try but have not yet had a chance to use. It might even be a combination of materials they would like to experiment with.
 
Any of these three modes is the foundation for their independent exploration, but they need to tie in the other two as they plan and explore ideas. In the example above, Emily’s painting above was inspired by the work of contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley. She wanted to deepen her knowledge of creating skin-tones in paint and play with the art element of patter in a way Kehinde excels. She made personal connections by using her sister as a model and symbols based on the poems of Maya Angelou.

We do significant pre-writing before diving into supplies. The images above are pages from my Advanced Art Students Workbook. We research our mode of exploration (Historical movement, culture, or artist). Students propose 3 ideas of what they could make, so if a first idea fails, we have back-up ideas. A sketch page follows, then a pre-planning page to help students focus their ideas. This is when students begin a formal sketch and share it with peers and the instructor before jumping in. The 3rd photo shows a chart that I initial daily to note their progress and highlights deadlines. This allows me, the instructor, to track progress, and handle issues before they become problems. About mid-way through our explorations all students must complete a mid-project per evaluation. This gives them time to reflect on what is going well and catch issues before they become insurmountable.  The last page shows my Universal Project Rubric.

Students need to be working every class period. They need to be engaged in the process of creating. It's part of my rubric, and I note their participation daily. My first grade every quarter is "Studio Habits." It encompasses a lot, from setting up your work area to cleaning up after yourself, as well as being on task for the bulk of your class time. I just call it "Studio Habits." The first day of the marking period, each student gets a participation grade of 100%. As we progress through the marking period, I deduct points as issues arise.

I circulate about three times each period to check progress and see if there is an issue I need to address and see if the student was thinking about a problem to solve, or confused, or maybe just chatting about a party they attended. I'll help that student refocus. If it was a participation issue, I may deduct 2 or 3 points for those distracted students. If I have to remind them a couple of times, then maybe 4 to 7 points for those who do little. 

Additionally, I do not allow students to take work home because I cannot verify if the work is truly theirs. This also avoids the issue of a student choosing not to participate and saying, "I'll just do it at home." As a new teacher I fell for that, but changed quickly when work never came in or was obviously done by someone else. There is no substitute for creating art under the watchful eye of a knowledgeable certified teacher.

We close every exploration with a formal project reflection and/or artist statement that is displayed along with the artwork. Here are a few projects in my most resent round of independent projects.

A.J. did this painting based on the work of Mondrian. He made a personal connection by reflecting on his favorite breakfast cereals, the percentage he generally consumed, and the percentage of each color present on the cover of his cereal. His favorite cereal is on top but because it's sugary, his parents rarely buy it. The larger portions represent fairly healthy cereals he consumes the most but in general like least.

Karolina's family is from Mexico, so she decided to focus on the artist Pedro Linares López. He developed the artform we know today as Alebrije. She crated an animal combination that represented her ow personality, and used expressive colors of green for growth (as a students) and blue to represent her more quiet nature.  

Emma chose to do an idealized landscape based on a photo of her own back yard and making connections to impressionist artists. She experimented with acrylic compound paste for texture, and the playing with natural textures. 

​While being a public-school teacher I have also taught privately for over 25 years. I have seen requests in Facebook groups asking questions about teaching privately, so I will share my thoughts and advice here.
 
Your first consideration should be of liability. The USA is a litigious country so you need to keep that in mind when you plan. For example, I DO NOT RECOMMEND giving private lessons where you are the only adult with a child. (Nor do I recommend private lessons to adults.) Even in my own classroom, if I am tutoring a single student, I make sure my door is wide open and we are in full view of the doorway. You can remediate this issue if you teach in your own studio, by having a passive camera filming the whole time or only hold classes with groups of people. I have done both, a passive camera and groups of students. When I teach in my studio, I do not allow access to my personal home to others. Try as best you can to keep business and personal spaces separate. If you cannot, I would strongly advise you find a space to rent or reconsider the notion altogether.
 
I have run after-school classes, and evening classes for teens and adults during the school year. In my summers, I set aside 1 month to teach an art camp, and 1 month for rest and relaxation. I think it is imperative for teachers to get time “away from teaching” to recharge our mental batteries and avoid burn-out.
 
My after-school classes were 90 minutes and students were expected to have a pad of drawing paper, color pencils, and a simple watercolor set with brushes. I did have some supplies set aside but for the most part, they had a tote bag with their stuff in it. My evening classes were 2 hours, and students brought the supplies they wanted to work with. I ran it like an open studio and I helped them individually with what they wanted to learn. Some may think of it as a TAB setting or maker’s space.
 
I charged $12.50 per person per class to be paid on the first weekly class of the month ($50 each, no refunds for missed classes). I allowed only 10 students to join. I ran my classes Wednesdays, right after school for elementary students, with a break for dinner, and my evening class for teens and adults after dinner from 7-9pm. I would earn about $600 to $1000 per month for essentially 1 evening of work per week. I believe my pricing was a bit low, and if I was doing it now, I would charge $15 or $20 per class. If you have a waiting list of students to join, you can raise the price for your population. That said, I never refused entry for a student based on their inability to pay and would take on a few scholarship students who I felt would benefit from the experience. They would pay what they could, if anything. In that case I might have a class of 11 or 12 but no more. I did not want it to feel like “work.” I played music while we worked, and for my adult class I’d have hot water for tea or coffee available.
 
Summer camp was a significant source of income for me. I lived in an old firehouse and was sometimes able to hire 1 art teacher and an aide to help me. We had 2 classes of 10 running at the same time. The base cost was $150 per week per ½ day student or $300 per week for a full day student. I provided supplies but never food. I have attached my 2018 summer camp schedule below. We ran classes from 9am to noon, and 1 to 4 pm with a 1-hour supervised lunch for those staying all day. Parent could pay an additional amount for 30-minute early drop off or 30-minute late pick up. All students were expected to bring a snack which we ate 90 minutes into class as a break in both sessions. My most popular weeks were always cartooning, drawing, painting, sculpture, art excursions (where we would walk around town, parks, bakeries, and draw) and “CrAzY ArT” week where we use media in unconventional ways (Painting with squirt guns, hammer-printing flowers, burning sticks to draw with our own charcoal, etc.) Weeks that were too specific tended not to fill completely, the ones I mentioned always had a waiting list. You’ll see from my program that my descriptions were pretty general so I could really do whatever I wanted to using whatever supplies I had on hand. 

​My greatest promotional idea was to do flyer-coupons. Each flyer to promote my camp had a $5 coupon attached to it for the person who posted the flyer. I strongly requested that every family post 1 or 2 and EARN $5 to $10 off their registration. This became my primary method of promoting my camp. I had 2 or so student every year wo came for free for a week or so because they posted so many flyers. This was my primary scholarship. I would even provide stacks of flyers for these families and they would begin posting them in February for the following summer camp. My classes started to fill by mid-April.
 
If I only had 15 or less students for a week, it was me and a college student I hired to teach the students. I paid them well. If I had 16 or more sign-ups I would hire a second teacher, pay them $20-$25 per hour, and split the classes by age. We’d have a teen room and an elementary room.
 
We had a sign in sheet on Mondays, if students were allowed to walk home, I got a signed release from the parents, and we stood in from of my building when it was time for pick-up. Fridays we’d end a tad early and everyone helped to clean and organize the space. It was a good studio habit to instill.
 
As with your own classes in school, start every Monday with a reading of the rules and expectations, and be clear about consequences. I have parents sign a behavior agreement and it says students can get kicked out for bad behavior without a refund. Only once in my 25 years did I have a student hit another student. Thankfully no one was “hurt.” What happens in school, can happen in your program, so be thoughtful about that.

Camp also allowed me to experiment with ideas I would later use in my classroom to keep things interesting and dynamic. Many of the lessons on my blog and in my publications are a direct result of my summer camp experiences. It was valuable personally and professionally. If you need a resource for camp lesson ideas, TRY THIS.

Names are an easy way to build in originality and uniqueness. We have done student international name illustrations before HERE, and faculty/staff name HERE. They were a big hit and proudly displayed on staff doors! We have even done entire alphabets HERE, but a name is not quite as overwhelming as 26 letters.

However when we ran out of staff, I had students pick from a list of important historical figure names to illustrate. They had to write 10 facts about the person they selected and incorporate what they learned into the imagery of their name. A small index card was displayed with each artwork to help viewers understand what connections were made.

The history teachers got a kick out of this and some of my students donated their illustrations to history classes for extra credit. I could see doing this with a whole class as a primary project.

Our process was to sketch the name out based on research. We took some time for peer feedback, before going onto larger paper. I required that students use rulers to line up the top and bottom of the name. They had to layer colors, and incorporate a shading technique we covered in a previous lesson, (crosshatch or stipple). They could exceed expectations on our rubric by incorporating a background into their illustration.

​We worked on 8 x 20 inch watercolor paper and even used carbon paper to transfer sketches onto watercolor paper if the sketch was exactly what the student intended.

For more literacy-based lessons you can get my book on Amazon internationally, visit my publishing page HERE. All of my books come with copy rights so you can make copies for all your students!

You can print this PDF, cut it into panels and create an 8-page zine as an example for students. Organize panels as shown in the video.

For more literacy-based resources visit FirehousePublications.com

They say a picture is worth 1000 words, but is 1000 words enough for a picture?

Schools across America are struggling with falling literacy rates. Approximately 40% of students across the nation cannot read at a basic level according to the National Literacy Institute. Because of this, schools are looking for ways to incorporate more literacy across the curriculum. My National Board Certification focus was on literacy, and since then every exploration I do in art has a literacy component, and I even wrote The Art & Literacy Workbook to help other art teachers incorporate more literacy. 


For this lesson, I selected examples of famous works of art that students might not be able to name. For example, I didn’t include the Mona Lisa or Starry Night, because, if students inadvertently mentioned it, they would have an unfair advantage. I also avoided work that was too difficult to describe, like Kandinsky’s geometric abstract expressionist stuff and conversely, I didn’t select work that would be too easy, like a two-colored Rothko painting.  


Once I found enough images for each student to have their own, (and a few extras to swap in,) I numbered the images, removed names, and put them in envelopes. I separated students so they could not peek at each other’s selection, and they put a detailed description into a Google doc that was shared with me to be printed. I created a blank Google Doc with the following information that they copied: 


I selected Artwork # ___  
Consider Subject, elements (line, shape, color, value, texture…), principles (contrast, unity, balance, emphasis…), mood, style, composition, orientation (vertical, horizontal)… half-page minimum, no more than 1 page @ 12 pt. https://bit.ly/WriteArtwork 


Once printed and shared with a random partner, students begin a simple sketch on copy paper. I have them add questions to the written statement if they need clarifications. This is an opportunity for the original author to add details to edit their writing for clarity. They should only be allowed to do this once though, if at all. Though this can be done in any media, I wanted my students to experience oil pastels as we had not yet tried them. After a brief tutorial, they worked independently on their drawings. Once complete, we displayed the writing, edits, original images and final drawings in a display. Administration was blown away by the lesson and English teachers felt like this was something they wanted to try in their own classes. 

​For more art & literacy resources visit Firehouse Publications.

I have used sketchbooks and have written about them HERE. Sometimes though students get stuck for ideas, or prompts feel forced. If you are looking to incorporate more literacy into your program and enjoy teaching illustration, this series of "Illustrated by Me" books might be just what you're looking for! 

Research shows that drawing taps into visual, kinesthetic, and language areas of the brain at the same time, so information is processed more deeply and establishes more connections across the brain's neural network. These classics have been broken down into small, manageable bits to not overwhelm young readers. Elementary level books are in large print (16 pt. font) and include passages in bold text to suggest imagery. 

These books have black and white text inside and blank pages to draw on. These ARE NOT coloring books, they are meant to be drawn in like sketchbooks. The bonus here though is that these have been printed on 8 1/2 x 11 inch stock, so the binding can be cut and the pages run through a copier. Each book comes with copy rights!

These are also great for early finishers. I can send them to my classics library and have them open the book and illustrate an interesting passage as credit for being on-task. You can buy individual copies on Amazon, or get the whole collection at a 33% discount HERE. 

Red links below will take you directly to the book on Amazon.

Lower Elementary:
Peter Rabbit
Winnie The Pooh

Elementary-Middle School:
Wizard Of Oz
Peter Pan
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Through The Looking Glass
A Christmas Carol
Oliver Twist

High School:
War of the Worlds
Dracula

These and other public domain books can be found at www.gutenberg.org . The ones above have been reformatted for ease of use and the language updated for the 21st century. 

It is rare that we get enough money for all the art supplies we want (or even need). If you are struggling, THIS POST was created for you, but what do you buy if money just lands in your lap unexpectedly?
 
Schools often have to spend EVERYTHING or their budgets are cut for the following year because they did not use it all. I always email our budget person at the end of the year and ask if there is any left-over money they need spent… Usually it’s a no, but sometimes this means a lump of money may fall in your lap and you may have as little as 1 day to spend it. I would always buy paper, canvas, brushes, glue, etc. as they generally don’t go bad… but, if you are looking for something that can open new project possibilities up, below is a list of items suggested by other art teachers when money has become available unexpectedly.
 
The links will take you to the items on Amazon, and the prices are general and may be different if you view this post months or years after it was created. Some links may even be dead, but it will give you an idea of the kinds of items others have bought for their classrooms. If you must order from an approved list of vendors, many will also carry these products. 
 
Under $100
Silk Screen Class Kit $45
Block Printing Kit $60
Needle Felting tools $25 and Wool $30
Large Class Loom $45
Epoxy Clay airdry clay 4 pounds $57 to $70
Clear Packaging tape for sculptures $20 for 6 rolls.
Ceramic Tools $12 per 18 piece kit.
Canary Cardboard Cutters 10 pieces $70
Professional Hot Glue Gun $35
Posca Markers 29 Color Reversible Set $60; 15 Color Standard Set $40
Professional Large Watercolor Paper $75
Prisma Color Pencils 72 count set $60 each
Watercolor Pencils Class Pack $70
Heavy Duty Stapler – Make your own sketchbooks $20
Spray Glue for mounting artwork and more $25 per can.
Sketchbooks, 24 pack for $20
Plaster Gauze 50 pack $85 or 30 for $50
 
Under $500
Gelli Plate Class Packs: 8x10 inch $220, 5x5 inch $130, 5x7 inch. $150
Printing Press $499
Well rated standard Color Printer $499
Drying Rack: Counter Top $170;
Throwing Wheel for pottery $175
Nice Paper Cutter $400
Commercial Grade Paper Cutter, 400 sheets at a time $300
Sewing Machine for the classroom $220
​Giant Classroom (tapestry) loom $250
 
Under $1000
Circut Maker 3 Kit $400-$600
 
Over $1000
Display Wall 7 Panel or 13 panels. $1500
Color POSTER printer $2200-$3000
Electric Kiln $3000
iPads, Photoshop Bundles, etc…

MORE links and materials HERE.