Exploring Symbolism and the Artistic Style of Pop Artist Jim Dine

New Valentine's Day Lesson on Pop Artist Jim Dine! One of my favorites and the results are always beautiful! Click the Link Below to check it out! Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday evening. Hope you are inspired for Valentine's Day! Much love and hug's creative souls. 

The Magnificent Paintbrush-Valentine's Day Art-Exploring Jim Dine

We used tempera paint to paint these beautiful pieces. We used a variety of tools such as toothbrushes, combs, paint brushes, marker caps, and bubble wrap to create painted textures. 

Students used gray construction paper that was 12X24"inches large. 

We finished these off with charcoal around the edges of the heart shape and smudge the edges in following the contour line of the heart. Students then shared what their heart symbolized and meant to them!

Another weekend Project!

These are my Goodwill finds and I couldn't be more thrilled with my weekend decorating! 

Mr.Tiger goes WILD!!!!!

We did these in the fall for our arts and literature integration theme this year. Peter Brown visited our school a few years ago and we were inspired by his illustrative style! This is a first graders piece!! 

Student work- can't sleep!

Here are some images of student work recently. Goodnight creative souls! 

My Sunday wreath project

This is a very simple DIY project that was very cheap and could take an hour tops. The wreath was 4.99 at Michaels and the burlap ribbon was on sale for 2.99. They had a pre made ribbon there for 7.99 and I thought that was insane! I bought one floral greenery bush for 7.99 and used my 50% off coupon. The letters were given to me by a friend but can be bought at Michaels as well. Hot glue was my best friend and after assembling everything it was hung! This is the perfect everyday wreath. 

My weekend crafting, decorating, sewing and organizing!

So this weekend I transformed some of my goodwill finds into decor treasures! I love HGTV and I was in the mood to jump start my decorating in our home. We moved into our second home this September and we are almost done furnishing it and making it homey. I love finding the old and making it new! I also used some coupons and my teacher  discount at Joanne fabrics and bought some fun and funky fabrics to make new pillows. It was fun spending time being creative in a different way. What weekend projects will you think of next!? 

Sale! At my Teachers Pay Teachers Store

In honor of the new year and a fresh start I am having a sale in my entire store on Teachers Pay Teachers! Come see exciting things at The Magnificent Paintbrush!
Teachers Pay Teachers Sale!

"The Daily Duty"

So beings we are art educators, I can't help but share some of the interesting things going on in the art world. As many of the things we share with our students and in the classroom can sometimes challenge ethics and beliefs we must not forget to keep our minds open and continue to research and explore our own personal education of fine art. Here is an interesting artist that caught my eye in a news article I read tonight. She is an italian artist using world leaders as her subjects depicting their "Daily Duty."

The Daily Duty 

Critique cards

These are the fun critique cards I use with my elementary students to get them to start talking about their art and to critique each others work. I randomly distribute these out and they usually get two a person. We then do group talks or whole class discussions. Just a new and fun way to get your students thinking outside of the box! Lesson and print out will be posted soon on TPT.

"Owl" Always Love you Starry Night!

Hello there Art Teachers! How many of you have your own Etsy shop? With all of the creativity we have it is a great place to share our talents, love, and artistic voice! I have some new items added to my shop, and here is one you might enjoy! The Starry Night "Owl always love you" Necklace. Enjoy! Happy Creating.

Seraphic Arts Etsy Shop

Making Time for your ARTISTIC VOICE!

So I know that it is key to stay active and a practicing artist as an art educator. How can we teach art yet not practice our own craft, love and passion? Being an elementary art teacher is such fun, rewarding and at times overwheleming because of the large amount of tasks we have as we care and educate the young minds. So by the time we reach our homes, we run for the couch, snuggle up with our pets, and relax our brains, feet, and bodies from a running around and thrilling day of paint. This past year I promised to be more active in the art community and in my own artistic needs. So I re-vamped my ETSY account, painted and sold my work at a craft show, sold numerous pieces on ETSY and to friends and family, and had two paintings in shows both in Philly and now in Lancaster. PLEASE remember your passion and love for making art-do NOT loose that love and passion just because our jobs can be exhausting--stay creative and do what you LOVE. MAKE THE TIME!!!!!

My piece was accepted for the Crow Show that is being held in Lancaster, PA. The show is titled "Something to Crow About" and will be on display the First Friday of February. It will be on display and for sale at The Mulberry Art Studios.

My ETSY Shop: Seraphic Arts

Collaborative Art:Exploring The Starry Night

Here it is folks! The beautiful collaborative mural I have been working on with my kindergarten students through 4th grade students. They all worked so very hard on this display and have done such a beautiful job. Not all of the Starry Night Kinder paintings are displayed yet and there are a few more houses needed to be add at the bottom. The students hung and displayed this all on their own. Just a small bit of guidance from the art teacher fairy that was sitting on their shoulder as well....hehe. I shared these images on the Art Teachers Facebook Page and I am currently making an in depth resource lesson that will soon be posted on Teachers Pay Teachers. I will have a brief Free version posted on my blog within the next week. Thank you all for the compliments and support of their hard work!

Masks! MuahaHaHaHa!

So these winter months and this yucky winter weather has been such a drag! I wanted some excitement in the art room and my 6th graders are currently working on clay masks. They had to research a particular culture,festival, or event that has incorporated masks and story telling throughout time and throughout cultures. After they chose they had to write 5 facts about the particular culture they researched. Afterwards, they had to choose two different cultures and combine them into a mask design of their choice. So far they are fabulous and the students are very engaged. I can't wait to show you and to see the final results! What clay projects are you working on with your students?