Category Archives: This and That

Tired but Grateful

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We are hanging our art show now. When I say “we”, I truly mean it. Our school is blessed with many fabulous parent volunteers who are willing to mount art or cut oceans of bulletin board paper. ‘We’ also means eager and trustworthy student helpers, who are pushing cartloads of finished ceramic projects and sport trophy sculptures from the art room to our auditorium. ‘We’ means our PTO president dragging the display tables into position. ‘We’ means two 4th grade tech whizzes, who will be generating special signage for the show. “We” means our unbelievably clever and creative Art Show Chairwoman, who will arrange and decorate the space until it resembles a children’s museum.

I am going to bed tonight exhausted but grateful. Thank you to all who make our art program not only possible, but special.

Art Room Blogs from Around The World

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Would you like to tour art rooms from around the world? Here are some I have discovered – all from art rooms far away from North America.

  • Australia
  • Belgium
  • China
  • India
  • Italy/UK
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Scotland
  • Spain
  • Switzerland

Australia (English): Use Your Coloured Pencils. Elementary school.

Belgium: two art rooms

China: two art rooms

  • The Carrot Revolution (English). International school based in Shanghai. High school.
  • ARTabroad (English). International school. Elementary students.

India (English): Art at Woodstock. International school based in Mussoorie. Middle and high school, with separate blog for AP art.

Italy/UK: Arteascuola. Blog by Italian middle school art teacher now living in the UK. Recent posts in English, older posts in Italian.

Saudi Arabia (English): Princess Artypants. International school based in Saudi Arabia. Elementary school.

Scotland (English): Mrs Crosbie. Elementary school.

Spain: two art rooms

  • Artistes A Les Corts (Catalan – Google Translate button on page). Elementary school in Barcelona.
  • Fem Manuales (Catalan – Google Translate button on page). Elementary school in Barcelona.

Switzerland (German): Kunst im Schulhaus Rosenau. Middle school. All posts in German and English.

These blogs are also on my blogroll under ‘art rooms from around the world’.

Do you know of other blogs from art rooms outside of North America? I would love to update this list and repost!!!! Please leave a comment or shoot me at email at k6artsandiego@gmail.com.

Netflix for Art Teachers

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Not sure if everybody knows this……..Netflix has a lot of art movies available for instant streaming.  Here is a sample queue:

Netflix queue full of art movies ready to stream.

 

Andy Goldsworthy - Rivers and Tides

 

At this moment, Netflix costs $8/month to stream – less than the cost of a single adult movie ticket. It streams to my laptop, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Wii, etc….(everything except the computer my classroom).

Which reminds me…..many of these movies in their entirety will NOT be suitable for the elementary art room. Please watch first before watching with your students. Appropriate clips from these movies may be available on YouTube.

Netflix has even more art movies available on DVD, although there is a separate price for that subscription.

Do you have a favorite art documentary? TV series? Please leave a comment.

Vintage Encyclopedias: a dusty relic that belongs in your art room!

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Old school 1979 World Book encyclopedia

Back in the (pre-internet) day…

Parents bought their school-age children an encyclopedia to help with home work/book reports  etc. They were a bit pricey, and for some it was a real luxury to have a set on the shelf at home.

My parents bought the 1975 World Book encyclopedia for me and my siblings. In 1975. When we were kids.

They are now essentially worthless. Old sets are donated to thrift shops and libraries all the time.

But you should have a set in the art room!

You see, some things never change.  Cats look like cats, the same as they did in 1975. Open the World Book Volume C and you will see tons of breeds of cats on a single page. Kids love this!

Take that volume back to your seat, kid. Draw the Abyssinian cat.

What does a lighthouse look like? Go get Volume L.  A skeleton? Volume S.  You get the picture.

Sure, I could look them up on the Google images. But I have only one computer, and I have a whole set of World Books.

If you run across a complete set at a thrift shop or garage sale, grab it! Or better yet, let your colleagues/friends/neighbors know you would like a vintage set. Someone in your town is surely cleaning out the attic this weekend.

Dear Santa: can I have your old calendars?

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Photo calendars = Reference photos!

OK…December is here. Now, before all your colleagues go home for winter break….write the following on the lunch room whiteboard:

“Can I please have your old photo calendars?’

All art teachers should have a bunch of reference photos. I can’t tell you how often a kid comes up to me and asks what a coyote/gorilla/panda/dolphin looks like.

Calendars are a great free source of reference photos. Don’t let your friends throw them away! You want 12 months of horses, dogs, dolphins, flowers, etc. You will separate the pages and sort them

A lot of people have art calendars featuring 12 months of Monet, Van Gogh, etc.

You will get a second chance to build your reference photo collection in late January: all the new calendars will go on sale! By February, any leftover photo calendars should be dirt cheap.

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