Musical Cubism Drawing
Students will learn about abstraction by looking at the artwork of Pablo Picasso and other cubist artists, then create their own abstract drawings using the theme of music.

Weaving
Students will be introduced to a form of textile art by learning to weave using yarn and cardboard looms.  We will pay particular attention to creating a color scheme and patterned design.  Students will need to work on their weaving at home. 

Kinetic Art
Students will examine the work of kinetic artist Yaacov Agam and create their own “changing pictures” (pictures that look different from different angles) using oil pastels.

Drawing Horses
I will lead a step-by-step lesson on drawing a beautiful and familiar animal: the horse!  

People Standing in a Line
Students will learn about variety and detail as they draw and color a picture of people standing in a line.

In the Background (Beginner)
I will take a photo of each child and print it out in black and white.  Students will create an interesting and colorful background for their photograph using tempera paint. 

In the Background (Advanced)
I will take a photo of each student and print it out in black and white.  Students will create an interesting and colorful background for their photograph using design templates which they will trace through an artist’s light table.  Students will need to work on coloring the background using colored pencils at home.

Ceramic Flowers
Students will make flowers out of clay and paint a little bud vase to house them in!

Russian Easter Egg Drawing
The art of painting intricate Easter eggs is a tradition in Russian cultures.  Students will learn about this craft and draw their own detailed rendition.

Magazine Match-Up
Given one-half of a photo from a magazine, students will use their eyes and their imaginations to carefully draw what they think would best complete the picture. 

Paper Bag Row Houses
Students will use geometric shapes to build a 3-dimensional row house using paper bags and construction paper.

St. Patrick’s Day Painting
Students will use all the colors of the rainbow to paint a lucky St. Patrick’s Day picture!

Weaving with Paper
Students will cut strips of paper into different designs and weave them onto a paper loom that they make in class.  The result will be a colorful, beautiful design!

Molas
Students will learn about symmetry while making paper butterfly molas.  Molas are traditional Panamanian garments using a reverse appliqué sewing technique.

Foil Repousse
Students will create relief artwork using an ancient metalwork technique.

Acrylic Knife Painting
Students will try a new painting technique—using palette knives to create an autumn tree or landscape while learning about the use of texture in art. 

Warm and Cool Names
Students will learn about warm and cool colors, positive and negative spaces, and block lettering as they create a cool design of their names.

Ceramic Beading
in the first class, students will form beads and design a pendant out of clay that they will later make into a unique piece of jewelry for themselves or a loved one.  They will glaze their ceramic beads and pendants using a variety of colors in the second class, and then assemble their ceramic jewelry in the third class.

Spring Mural
Students will use a big white background and construction paper to create a mural full of flowers and other things of spring, trying to leave as little negative space as possible.

Visual Words
Students will brainstorm nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs and then choose one to illustrate, using the word's meaning to inform the drawing.

House Drawing
Students will head outside for a "plein air" drawing session.  They will draw a 1920s two-story house, recognizing and incorporating the architectural features from that era.

Perspective Drawing: Cityscapes
Students will learn and use two-point perspective techniques in drawing a fictional city block.

Whitney Brock Abstraction
Students will mimic the style of talented local artist Whitney Brock in an abstract piece of art that involves both drawing and watercolor painting.  (See Ms. Brock's website at www.brockworksinc.com.)

Under the Sea Drawing/Painting
Students will brainstorm as many sea creatures as they can think of and then draw and color an underwater scene.  Then, they will apply a watercolor wash to complete the watery feel.

Clay Face Mugs
Using the pinch pot (beginners) or slab-rolling (advanced) technique, students will build a clay mug and add a funny face.

Beginning Pastel Landscapes
Students will learn how to create a landscape by layering land contours with the aid of cut paper and colored pastels.

Advanced Pastel Landscapes
Students will learn about color depth as well linear and atmospheric perspective.  We will break down complex landscapes to simple shapes using chalk pastels.

Animal Sculptures
Students will use wire, paper, tape and plaster to build a sculpture of their favorite animal or imaginary creature.  The following week, students will creatively paint their sculptures with unique designs.

Radial Symmetry
Using pencils, colored pencils, and markers, students will create and then replicate an intricate design on a circular paper canvas, completing the look with carefully chosen color enhancement.

Personal Clay Tiles
Students will learn how to form clay into neat tile shapes and then use adding and subtracting techniques to design their tiles in a way which reflects their own interests.  In a later session, students will paint their tiles.

Patterned Creatures
Students will learn about patterns and use line variation to create imaginary creatures.

Color Theory
Using paint, students will begin to explore the color wheel to see how the colors relate to one an other.  Students will practice blending different colors together and will see how adding black and white to a color changes its value.  Vocabulary such as monochromatic, complementary and supplementary colors, and tints and shades will be taught.

Acrylic Floral Painting
After completing the lesson on Color Theory, students will begin to apply these ideas to a floral painting on canvas board (using acrylic paint). 

Harold and the Purple Crayon
Children will be introduced to the classic children's book, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.  After reading the story, children will use their own imaginations to turn a purple scribble into their own illustrative tale.

Morphing
Students will love learning how to morph one object into another one in five easy steps!

Still Life
Using chalk pastels or watercolor paints, students will examine the important artistic subject of still life.

Profile Drawing
Using a digital photograph of their own faces as a reference, students will attempt to draw their own profiles using charcoal pencils and black chalk, which can be a sometimes frustrating--but satisfying--medium.

Magazine Match-Up
Given one-half of a photo from a magazine, students will use their eyes and their imaginations to carefully draw what they think would best complete the picture. 

Op Art
Students will learn a little bit about the Op Art movement, in which artists maneuvered line, space, and color to create optical illusions in their art, and then try their own hand at an Op Art drawing.

Sequence of Events
Students will tell a story using only pictures as they make several drawings which will depict a sequence of events.

Make-Your-Own Eric Carle Book, Part 1
Students will learn about the cut-paper techniques used by author and artist Eric Carle and create their own book in his style!  In Part 1, we will use tempera paints to craft Carle-like textured papers and begin to draft our stories.  Students may want to read some of Carle’s books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Quiet Cricket, prior to the session. 

Make-Your-Own Eric Carle Book, Part 2
We will use the papers created in Part 1 to make cut-paper illustrations for our books!

Draw What You See
Students will learn to draw more accurate representational works of art by practicing contour line drawing and gridding techniques.

Fun with Watercolor, Part 1
Students will be introduced to the materials and techniques involved in watercolor painting. 

Fun with Watercolor, Part 2
Students will apply skills used in Part 1 to create their very own watercolor paintings!

Intro to Perspective
Students will become acquainted with the one-point perspective technique to add dimension and depth to their drawings.

More Perspective Drawing
Students will engage in guided practice to build one-point perspective skills.

Building Clay Pots
In an introduction to the world of ceramics, students will build their own clay pots using the classic coiling technique. 

Glazing Clay Pots
Students will apply ceramic glaze to their clay pots, giving them color and a beautiful shiny finish. 

Ceramic Sculpture Building
Students will create a ceramic sculpture of the creature of their choice!

Ceramic Sculpture Painting
Using paint or ceramic glaze, students will add color and life to their clay creatures.

Drawing Faces
People often say they have a difficult time drawing human faces.  In this lesson, students will learn steps to make drawing the face easier and more realistic-looking.

Printmaking
Students will use printmaking tools to design and produce specialized greeting cards.

Watercolor Landscapes
Students will practice watercolor techniques while learning how to handle landscapes in painting.

More with Landscapes
Students will use tempera paint to work more with landscapes in order to compare and contrast the different types of paint.

Scratchboard
Students will learn about value and shading using scratchboard materials. 

Collaborative Art
Using colored pencils and large paper, students will use their creativity to work together on a special group project.

Large-Scale Clay Sculptures
Students will briefly examine the use of large-scale sculptures in the outdoors before designing and building their own from clay

Figure Drawing
Students will learn specific points of reference to make drawing the human figure more correctly proportioned.

Person in Motion
Students will learn ways to position the arms, legs, head and torso in a drawing to indicate that the figure is in action.

Overlapping
Students will use the concepts of foreground and background to learn how to overlap subjects in their drawings.

Paper Mosaic
Using torn paper and glue, students will create a mosaic starring the sea or sky creature of their choice. 

Abstract Art
With oil pastels and black markers, students will study the concept of line while creating a Picasso-inspired work of abstract art.