This was one of my favorite tables I have ever put together. My idea was to experiment even deeper with “not teaching.” As art educators, we feel like we always have to communicate the subject matter, explain the process, or give directions. But what if the materials became the teacher? What if you set up…
10 Open-Ended Materials for your Art Space to Nurture Creative Thinking
As I was gathering content for this post, I realized that in the 13+ years I have been writing this blog, I have never written a post about a collection of my favorite materials! I’ve written about liquid watercolor so many times. I’ve written endlessly about recyclables (and in my book!), and many times about…
Children experiment with wire and threadable materials
I have a huge collection of pinecones because I cannot stop myself from collecting them whenever I see their perfect, symmetrical shapes lying on the ground. Big, small, and in between. I now have to sneak them into the house because nobody can know this collection is getting bigger, not smaller. The pinecone is such…
Star Punched Paper Chain + More Paper Chain Favorites
As I was making a new paper chain last weekend for my mom’s 86th birthday, I realized that this classic, old-school activity really is my favorite way to decorate a room. And the best part is that you can use any paper you have, and all ages can join in and collaborate. Paper chains are…
Process Art with Recyclables: Collaborative & Big!
It has been 8 years since I wrote a blog post about gluing recyclables onto a big piece of cardboard and inviting my art students to mix their own colors and paint the structure up on the wall. Since then, I have added this project to my book, Carboard Creations, and seen hundreds of art…
Printmaking: Create Patterns with DIY Foam Stamps
Hello printmaking friends! I’m back with another DIY stamping idea for you. I’ve been on a pattern-making kick since I started Collage Club in May. Each month, I am making a postcard to go with the theme. It’s been so fun and inspiring to get back to my pattern-making roots, and it has forced me…
8 Picture Books about Famous Artists who Believed in Themselves
Singing colors, flying colors, the colors of villages, gardens, and nature… all of the artists in these eight picture books were inspired by color. But the connection between their stories goes beyond the color palettes of their worlds. Each artist felt a calling that they couldn’t ignore, even when the people around them, whom they…
Mixed-Media Process Art Weaving Invitation
It’s been a while since I’ve written about my open-studio library events. This mixed-media process art weaving invitation that I set out for a multi-age group was more prep than I usually do, but it was worth it and as successful as I had hoped! I will admit I was a little ambiguous about how…
Homemade Upcycled Crayons
The idea for these homemade upcycled crayons came from a search I was doing for my newsletter. I was trying to find some fresh sources — blogs that I didn’t know about (which is hard to imagine since I’ve been blogging for 12 years and blogs are becoming a dying breed), but guess what? I…
Potholder Weaving with Cotton Loops
I recently discovered my old-school potholder looms when I was reorganizing all my art supplies and materials in the basement. (Well, my daughter did the organizing since she could “not live with the mess one more minute,” as spoken like a true Virgo.) The loops were old and in bad colors, like the ones that…