Welcome! This blog post features a brief description of each principle of design and art projects that explore each principle in more depth. What are the principles of design? The principles of design describe a variety of ways an artist can use the 7 elements of art (line, shape, color, value, form, space, texture) to create visually pleasing compositions. … Read more
I received a phone call in my classroom one day from a friend asking if we could use Styrofoam for a project. She said she recently ordered a large shipment and each box came with a piece of styrofoam. “YES!” I said excitedly. I’m always happy to repurpose Styrofoam into art to avoid it filling … Read more
Welcome! This blog post features a guided tutorial of how to create a neurographic artwork mixed with zentangle patterns! Neurographic art is inspired by the methods from Pavel Piskarev, psychologist and inventor of Neurographica. This mindful activity helps artists to build skills using the element of art LINE to create organic SHAPES. Compositions can then be refined … Read more
After a decade of teaching high school art, I’ve recently moved to teaching middle school art. It’s a blast and there is truly NEVER a dull moment. Through some trial and error, I’ve learned that some projects are more engaging than others. Below are some of my favorite middle school art projects that have yielded … Read more
Welcome! This blog post explores a project that depicts one cohesive image divided into 7 sections which illustrate the 7 elements of art: line, shape, color, form, value, texture, and space. The elements of art the artists toolbox they can use in an endless amount of ways to create infinite art solutions. This is a … Read more
Are you a beginning artist looking to build your skills? This step by step video tutorial of a 1/2 cartoon digital portrait is a great activity to develop your skills. This tutorial shows how to use layers, opacity, blending, and more! It’s fairly easy, yet produces a really cool result! This post includes materials list, … Read more
If you are a beginning digital art who is learning how to use layers, brush tools and more, this is a really fun activity for you! For this activity, I use an awesome free program called kleki.com. I really love this program because it doesn’t distract new users with a TON of functions and options. … Read more
After nearly a decade of teaching secondary students, I’ve had a lot of time to test out a variety of 2d art projects. Let’s face it: as teachers, sometimes we plan and plan and plan. We are so excited to deliver the project, and then… it flops. Students are uninterested and the final products aren’t … Read more