July 31, 2008

ARTIST BIRTHDAYS!!!


Artist Birthdays

JANUARY: Calder 11th 1889, Morisot 14th 1841, Cezanne 19th 1839, Manet 23rd
1832, Pollock 28th 1912


FEBRUARY: Homer 24th 1836, Renoir 25th 1841

MARCH: Michelangelo 6th 1475, Mondrian 7th 1872, Dali 11th 1904, Van Gogh 30th 1853

APRIL: Raphael 6th 1483, Leonardo da Vinci 15th 1452, Audubon 26th 1785,
Edinger 28th 1974

MAY: Gainsborough 14th 1727, Durer 21st 1471, Rousseau 21st 1844, Cassatt 22nd 1844

JUNE: Gauguin 7th 1848, Wright 8th 1867, Courbet 10th 1819, Constable 11th 1776,
Rubens 28th 1577

JULY: Kahlo 6th 1910, Chagall 7th 1887, Rembrandt 15th 1606, Degas 19th 1834,
Moore 30th 1898

AUGUST: Warhol 8th 1930

SEPTEMBER: Arp 16th 1887

OCTOBER: Ringgold 8th 1930, Picasso 25th 1881, Lichtenstein 27th 1923

NOVEMBER: Rodin 12th 1840, Monet 14th 1840, O'Keeffe 15th 1887, Toulouse-
Lautrec 24th 1864, Blake 28th 1757

DECEMBER: Seurat 2nd 1859, Kandinsky 4th 1866, Munch 12th 1863, Klee 18th 1879, Matisse 31st 1869

July 30, 2008

Van Gogh's Hidden Picture


PATCH OF GRASS
Vincent van Gogh , 1887
from the Kroller-Muller Museum
Did you see this? They have recently found another painting underneath van Gogh's PATCH OF GRASS. It seems that van Gogh made a habit of recycling canvases. Makes you wonder what's under Starry Night, eh? I wonder what made them look? I just think this whole thing is terribly interesting. The fact that they can actually use modern technology to peek through the layers & the years to see what van Gogh was doing..feeling..and where he was at in his creative process....FASCINATING!

July 29, 2008

STERILITE- Plastic Storage You Can Trust!



When it comes to things I love using in my art room(and at home!!), Sterilite brand plastic storage has my loyalty. You can purchase Sterilite products just about anywhere(Wal-Mart, Big Lots!, & Dollar General are my go to places!!!).

Why am I so loyal to this brand you ask?? Well, it goes back to my first year of teaching. I was in a portable classroom(like a trailer). I had no storage! So I purchased a bunch of containers to store my art supplies. The brand was Sterilite, but at the time I wasn't really concerned about the name...I just needed storage. Fast forward to April 16, 1998......a tornado goes through downtown Nashville & surrounding areas(who knew tornadoes actually hit cities?!?!?). East Nashville was the worst hit...and where I was teaching at the time. My classroom was lifted off the foundation & dropped on a car next to it. The roof had giant holes in it that allowed the rain to soak everything. After a week of not being allowed back in the area, I finally was able to go & see what was salvageable. There wasn't much.....EXCEPT....to my surprise...everything that was in the Sterilite brand containers was fine!!! The lids never came off, the containers never cracked....IT WAS AMAZING! Over a thousand dollars worth of art supplies were saved from a tornado because of Sterilite products. Too bad I didn't store all my books & the kids art work in Sterilite!!! ha ha I have a picture somewhere of me standing outside my portable with all my containers stacked around me. I know I kind of sound like an ad here, but when a product works...I have no problem singing its praises!!!!

CHECK OUT STERILITE ON THE WEB! http://www.sterilite.com/

July 26, 2008

GETTING TO KNOW THE WORLD'S GREATEST ARTISTS



Does the name Mike Venezia mean anything to you? If you are an art educator..IT SHOULD! He is the mastermind behind GETTING TO KNOW THE WORLD'S GREATEST ARTISTS. This set of books(now at 48 titles) is one of the best(if not THE best) series of art & artists for elementary age students. After visiting his website, I saw that he also has GETTING TO KNOW THE WORLD'S GREATEST COMPOSERS, GETTING TO KNOW THE U.S. PRESIDENTS, and GETTING TO KNOW THE WORLD'S GREATEST INVENTORS & SCIENTISTS. I can only image that they are just as amazing as the ARTISTS series. AnYwAYs?!?!?! Let me not get distracted...this is an art blog!! ha ha






GETTING TO KNOW THE WORLD'S GREATEST ARTISTS provide amazing background information, facts about the artists, and insight into their work in a kid friendly cartoon format. Worked into the cartoons are actual art images as well. I've been using this series for the past 8 yrs in my classroom, and LOVE THEM(and so do my students!!!). As an added bonus, THEY HAVE MADE VIDEOS/DVD'S!!!!!! Unfortunately the entire series has not yet been placed in this format. Presently they have Monet, Van Gogh(my fav), Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Warhol, and Cassatt. BUY THEM NOW!!!!!! You won't regret it. I use them with 1st grade on up. Honestly, I think middle & high school teachers could use them & the kids would enjoy them!


I was able to buy the series & dvd's through grants I've written. However, you may want to see if your school librarian may consider purchasing them for your school(my librarian is always asking me if there are art books that she should buy with her funding).

PLEASE CHECK OUT THESE LINKS!!!!!!!! THEY ARE WORTH YOUR TIME & CONSIDERATION.








***********I will say that there are some art images contained within the books that could cause issue at the elementary age. You, as the professional, will need to handle it as you see fit(and as your administration may ask of you). I'm speaking of nudies. Depending on your students & how you handle this within your room, it may just be addressing the fact that those images are found within the books, you may make little outfits for them and tape/glue those in(this is what one of my friends did), or you can pull those books that contain the questionable images only from the series, and use those as personal resources. I hate that this would even be an issue, but as you know....IT IS!*************************

July 24, 2008

Welcome To My Art Room!!!

I wanted to give you a peek into my classroom(well, at least what it looked like last year...the theme was green). This year's classroom is still in progress. I like to change my room up every year. I have the fabric for my bulletin boards on a 5 year rotation so the kids won't see the same thing twice...well...unless they fail. I use color themes for the fabric & my room: Primary Colors, Secondary Colors, Warm Colors, Cool Colors, and Green. I hand make my letters, boarders, and other such things every year. I know that sounds a bit crazy, but I really enjoy doing it! Cutting paper is like therapy for me. I believe in being extremely organized(a little OCD). So if any of you have some questions or need some tips on organization just let me know. As soon as I finish up my room(which hopefully will be by the end of next week), I'll post those photos too! I'll try to get some wider views so you can get the big picture! If you have any questions about anything.... please ask!



Crayola Crayons




Crayola is THE name in kid's art supplies, and their products are truly amazing(with a few exceptions). Their website
[ http://www.crayola.com/] is one of the best interactive & informative art sites I've found(and kids will LOVE). If I had to pick one product that I felt stood above the rest it would have to be their crayons. The quality is unmatched. The variety of color is awe inspiring. Honestly, who didn't dream of the 64 box of crayons with the crayon sharpener in the back(was it just me???). One of the greatest things Crayola has offered is Multi-Cultural colors. You can get an 8 pack of multi-cultural crayons that will meet most of your skin color needs(I teach at an ELL center...and have kids from all over the world). They offer colored pencils & markers in the multi-cultural as well, but I'm trying to focus on the wonderful crayons!!! Another amazing crayon product from Crayola is Construction Paper Crayons!!! I was not a believer when I first heard about this product. However, after getting a sample pack...I FELL IN LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The color is so vivid..it brings the art work to life!!!




So there you have it....Crayola Crayons...ya can't go wrong!!!!

July 21, 2008

Prang Watercolor


As a K-4 art teacher, I swear by Prang Watercolor sets!!!! The color is so much richer & truer than a lot of other "kids" watercolor sets out there. I won't name names, but there is a well known brand out there that offers one of the poorest quality watercolor sets I've come across(which is totally unlike this company!!!). Air pockets in the color cake, faded/light colors, and not enough product for the money! YOU WON'T FIND THAT WITH PRANG!!!!! I also love how easy it is to pop empty colors out & replace them with refills(make sure you order lots of blue & green!!!). The cases also seem to take a lickin' & keep on tickin'!! I've been using some of the same cases for over 7 yrs now!!!! Gotta love that. You just need to wash them up at the end of the school year & they're ready for another round(I usually pull the color tray out of the box & soak the boxes in a sink of warm soapy water). So, buy Prang Watercolor for your classroom(or your kiddo's at home)...you will not be disappointed!

A NEW PLACE TO CALL HOME

Here I start a new bloggie place for everything related to art! I'll be sharing my own personal art, my students art, products I love to use, fun art information, and other things artsy! Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think from time to time....the comment section is open for business!!