Youth Art Month (YAM) is an annual observance each March to emphasize the value of art education for all students and to encourage support for quality school art programs. Youth Art Month (YAM) is in virtually every state, in many communities, in schools, libraries, stores, and other places. Anyone can start an observance--an art educator, a…

This article details the work of Raymond Pettibon. Raymond Pettibon's pictures place an equal emphasis on drawing and writing. Working with a cast of characters drawn from worlds as different as Saturday morning cartoons and politics, he tells stories that can be both amusing and critical.

This article describes one classroom's experience engaging in a lesson that challenged introductory art students to design a functional ceramic clock in an art-historical style of their choice. The clocks were sculpted in low-relief so that the hands of the clockworks could move freely around the face of the clock. Students were given an…

This article offers ideas on using the center approach to teaching art. This approach involves dividing up one's classroom into different activity centers. The teacher discusses a typical scenario that could occur in a classroom. The class begins with an entire class lesson, followed by center time. The continuation of this article appears in the…

This brief article describes the life of Maria van Oosterwijck. It also discusses her art and its significance and symbolism. A list of suggested activities for elementary, middle, and high school students is included.

This article gives a brief description of the piece of art titled "Bowl with Frieze of Lions Attacking Bulls" which is thought to be the product of a court or palace of the Neo-Assyrian period and dates to the late seventh to eighth century BC, between the reigns of Sargon and Ashurbanipal. The article highlights the piece's most notable cultural…

This article describes the Grecian "Lion Funerary Monument" dating back to about 350 BC. Significant historical, cultural, and artistic elements of the ancient monument are highlighted. Details about the artist based on the monument itself are also described and questions to consider are provided.

The author of this article chose Cambodia's Angkor temples as a jumping-off point for her students' exploration of printmaking. This article describes a lesson in which students used subjects, themes, and symbols that demonstrate knowledge of contexts, values, and aesthetics that communicate intended meaning in artworks.

Tanjore (or Thanjavur or Thanlavoor) paintings are one of the most popular traditional art forms in Southern India. These ornate religious paintings involve Hindu mythology. The paintings are noted for their adornment of gold and semiprecious stones such as rubies, emeralds, and pearls. Currently, the semiprecious stones are often substituted…

A shadow puppet is basically a two-dimensional cut-out form with moving parts. When light is projected behind a screen, the puppet appears as a silhouette, or an opaque drawing in profile. A puppet is successful if it seems to take on a life of its own. Although India is the general source of puppetry that spread throughout Europe through gypsy…

In the late 1980s, the Denver Art Museum initiated efforts to make the museum a destination for families. From 1997 to 2001, with a generous grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, these efforts came to fruition. From the moment they walk through the doors, families' needs are anticipated. For example, they can pick up a welcoming brochure, Free…

This article describes one classroom's experience with a lesson plan that involved students in a discussion about what type of memorial/monument to place at the site of the World Trade Center. A series of belief cards with statements about arts the students could or could not support; four-student design committees; and group presentations…

Meadow Woods Elementary in Orlando, Florida has a garden ceremony at the end of each year. This is a time when the whole school gathers together to celebrate another successful school year. The classrooms are built around the garden, so it is the centerpiece of the school. Students always do an art project for this ceremony. One year, students…

In the seventh century A.D. a new religion took shape. This new religion would grow into one of the world's largest, with some half-billion followers. The religion is named Islam. Islam is the Arabic word for "surrender." A follower of Islam is meant to "surrender to the will of God." The birthplace of Islam was in the Arabian Peninsula. This…

The Cincinnati Art Museum's Jain shrine is an elaborate structure that allows Jains to contemplate a life of peace, discipline, and freedom from earthly desires. This shrine, an elaborately carved canopy (typically used by royalty) with two freestanding support pillars, was made during an important growth period that saw the building of numerous…