important art education links

This is my no-nonsense linking page for art educators and I do keep it current, I do not however, have time to give a description for every link! If you are an art educator and would like to be listed here you may write our little staff at pickandprintgallery@yahoo.com
Art Museums Of Missouri: Nelson Atkins Museum * St. Louis Art Museum * Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art * Albrecht-Kemper in St. Joseph * Museum of Art and Archaeology in Columbia
Education In The State of Missouri: Successlink * School Closings in St. Louis * MOREAP * 
Arts In The State of Missouri: Missouri Alliance for Arts Education * Missouri Citizens for The Arts  * Saint Louis Watercolor Society * Craft Alliance * Greater St. Louis Art Association * Art Zipper * My SLART * Regional Arts Commission * Gateway Pastel Artists * St. Louis Gallery Openings * StlArtists * Best Of Missouri Hands * Art St. Louis * St. Louis Artist Guild * Ability Arts * Shakespeare St. Louis
Organizations Useful To Art Educators: Arts Education Partnership * Americans For The Arts * ArtsEdge * NAEA * National Archives Blogs *
Large Collections of Art Lesson Plans On The Web: ArtLex * The Getty * KinderArt * Crayola * HotChalk * Incredible Art Dept. * Artsonia * ArtGraphicA Tutorials  * Blick Lesson Plans * Utah Education Network * The Ontario Curriculum * Art To Remember * Arty Factory * Creative Spotlite * The Virtual Instructor * U.K. National Curriculum *   SketchStacks and Digital Art Education * AMACO * Kodak photo lesson plans * Triarco Craft Lessons Page * Video Art Lessons Free! * Tips and Instructions From Utrecht * Video from Michaels * Get ideas from JOANN community *Marvin Bartel * Huntsville City Schools * CARE *
Listings to Art Lessons and Art History About A Particular Artist: Pablo Picasso * Andy Warhol * Jackson Pollock * M. C. Escher * Wayne Theibaud * Georgia O'Keeffe * Henri Matisse *  Claude Monet 
Related to Art History and Articles About Art: Color Matters * Art Cyclopedia * Art a GoGo * Art Tutorials Wiki!
Links To Fine Arts Database: Art Images for College Teaching * Harden's Artchive * ArtServe * ARTstor * Collage * Digital Library for The Decorative Arts * Graphische Sammlung Stift Gottweig * The ImageBase * Metropolitan Museum of Art * Museum of Modern Art * National Gallery of Art * Oxford Art Online * Paul R. Jones * SILS Art Image Browser * Treasures of the Louvre * Visual Arts Data Service *
Links To Photography Database: AP Images * Africa Photos * Charles W. Cushman * Cover Search * Daguerreotypes at Harvard * I Photo Central * Matheson * Nomand's Land * Panama-California Exposition * Photography Collections * Picturing The Century * Photography from Library of Congress * Russell Lee * Stereocard Collection

Art Education Sits by Universities, Libraries and Media Research Laboratories: artjunction is by the Art Education Program of the University of Florida * artful citizenship by Wolfsonian-Florida International * collected visions * global collage *
Global Community Art Projects: planetfesto * Paint The World With Light * Smiling Face Film by Yoko Ono * FantasyDesign in Community * The First People's Project * why do you do what you do?Beaded Prayers Project * The Big Draw * Bridges to Understanding * Cross Cultural Collaborative * Global Art Project for Peace * Imagem * Rotoball 2009 * SketchCrawl * Synergy * Women beyond borders * 1000 journals * Everyday Art Assignments * The Sketch Book Project *
Special Projects by K-12 Educators and Students Of All Ages: Day of the Dead * "Black Self/White Self" * an exquisite corpse * Monster Exchange Project * Outside My Window * Pinwheels for Peace * The PostCard Project *
City Art Projects: The Pittsburgh-Green-Bridge Project * The New Orleans Kid Camera Project *
Art For The Environment Projects: ecoarttech * Shan Shui Environmental Art from China * My 100 Cardboards * Earth Day Groceries Project *
Art To Feed The Hungry: Empty Bowls Project *
Professional Development Credit: The Art of Education or AOE * NaeA listings *
Art Teachers Do Blog: Art Lessons For Kids * The Art Cart * Fun Art * Fugleblog * Elmwood's Art Studio * Art Makes Kids Smart * The Art Classroom * Art @ the Heart * Art at RMS * Art at the Center * Elementary Art Exploration * That Artist Woman * Digital Art Bytes * Teach Kids Art * Ms. Motta's Mixed Media * Ms. Julie's Place * modern art 4 kids * MaryMaking * Learning IT *Brian's Education Blog * ARTopia * ArtTechTivity * For the Love of Art  * DeepSpace Sparkle * artolazzi * Art Projects For Kids * Art Is Messy * Art Class Works * Apples Love Oranges * Department Art * Art Teacher Blog * Art With Mr. E * daisy yellow * The Virtual Classroom * Curator's Corner * Teaching Picasso * Teaching for Artistic Behavior  * Mrs. Jardin's Blog * Oodles of Art * Multimask * Mrs. H's Pride and Art * Lines and Dots and Doodles * Dawn's Brain * Choise-based Art For Students With Disabilities * Middle School Art Teacher Project * Art Workshops * Art Teacher's Guide to The Internet * Art Paper Scissors * Aesthetic Realism: or Why I Love Teaching Art * The AB Art Studio * One Crayola Short * Blogging With Brit * Stephanie Garrison * Mrs. Picassos Art Room * Laugh Paint Create * Manual Escanigo * There's A Dragon In My Art Room! * Vivid Layers * Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists * Kids Artists * Artful Artsy Amy * Use Your Coloured Pencils * MN Art Gal * Art Class Works * Artolazzi * McWilson's Menagerie * Adventures In Art * Arts Smarts * Chilhuly Art Lessons * Creative Art Lessons * Art Teacher Blog * B An Artist * Fun Art 4 Kids * Art Teacher Adventures * Art For Small Hands * Art Is The Best Part of The Day * My Adventures in Positive Space * Katie Weymouth * Painted Paper in The Art Room * Elementary Art Fun * Kids Art Market *Flamingo Rose Studio * Art Lessons From Belgium * Live Love Teach Art * Stuck In The Mud Pottery * Meggle's Art Room * Beth Macre * St. Helen Artroom * Ms. Banstras Artroom * The Teaching Palette * Learning Is Messy * The Chocolate Muffin Tree * Clare Wilkinson * Mrs. Brown's Art * Art Explorium * Ms. Art Teacher * Livingston Art Room *Jennies Art and Design * Art Babble * Art Class Inspiration * Art Ed 2.0 * Art on the wall * Art Teach Guide To Internet  * Wonder Brooks * From Studio To Classroom * Sarah Cress Art Educator * Sarah's Art Room * Art In Class * Chocolate Muffin Tree * The Art of Education * When Pigs Fly! *
Gateways to Art Related Topics: Art Navigator * Digital Imaging Project * Art History Sites * Links to Museum of Modern Art * Art Links On The Web * Internet Art Resource * Digital Librarian: Art Page * WWW Virtual Library History * Art History Webmasters * AMICO *
Art Links For Young Students: Architect Studio 3D * Tate Kids, Art Detective * artpad * Toolkit * Getty Games * Haring Kids * Inside Art * Kaleidoscope Painter * kids Art Institute of Chicago * Matisse's Pieces * Renaissance Connection * Mark Kistler's Online Art Lessons * smARTkids * Disney Art Attack * art junction * Art Masterpiece * picassohead * Colour Factory * Famous Paintings * PBS: Africa * Pixar * Portrait Detectives * Kids Corner * Tessellations * Learn About Sculpture * Wacky Kids * The Color Test * NGA Kids * What is a Print? * Leonardo * artsonia * Stop Motion Animation * Create a Glass Sculpture * Paint Like Pollock * Sumo Paint * Arty Factory * Odyssey Online Ancient Americas * Birmingham Museum * ProtoZone * Create a Landscape *

Sometimes it can be difficult to locate web pages of all the school districts in Saint Louis when you are filling out applications for either substitute teaching or permanent employment. The following list of the St. Louis Couny/City School District web pages is included here and kept up-to-date for my colleagues' convenance: Affton 101, Bayless, Brentwood, Clayton, Crystal City 47, Desoto R-V,  Ferguson-Florrissant R-II, Festus R-VI, Fort ZumWalt, Fox C-6, Francis Howell R-III  Grandview R-II, Hancock Place, Hazelwood, Hillsboro R-III, Jefferson County R-III (Festus)  Jennings, Kirkwood R-VII, Ladue,  Lindbergh R-VIII, Maplewood-Richmond Heights, Mehlville R-IX,  Normandy, Northwest R-I (House Springs),   Parkway C-2, Pattonville R-III, Ritenour, Riverview Gardens, Rockwood R-VI,  St. Charles, St. Louis City, Special School District,  Troy R-III, University City,  Valley Park,  Webster Groves, Wentzville, Windsor C-I
Find teaching jobs across the country today: Although most public teaching positions are advertised on state education web pages, I have found private positions posted on major search engines.  jooble * monster * indeed * snagajob * career builder *

kathy grimm copyright 2011 

an abstract/realistic portrait lesson plan

The teacher's sample of an
abstract/realistic portrait.

Topic: An abstract and realistic portrait
Topic: introducing the differences between abstract and realistic portraiture.

Goals & Objectives:

• I will expect that 80% of my students will demonstrate proficiency at the GLE level for the completion of this portrait assignment. 
• Art GLEs are 5^th grade level benchmarks for the Fine Arts Content Standards in the Show-Me Standards for Missouri Public Schools. Pupils are expected to refine their skills and increase their control of each media they use to complete art projects.   
• At each grade level, students are to demonstrate their knowledge from previous years as well as those specified for their current grade level.

GLEs:

Strand I: Product/Performance for Subject Matter: Fine Art

A.3. Communicate ideas about subject matter and themes in artworks created for various purposes

Grade 4 - Portrait: Create facial features in correct proportion, Exaggerate, distort, or simplify features to create an abstract portrait, Still Life: Exaggerate, distort, or simplify observed objects to create an abstract still life, Landscape: Create an original seascape

Grade 5 - Portrait: Create a portrait from observation, Still Life: Create a still life from observation that shows the illusion of form, Landscape: Create an original outdoor scene to show the illusion of space

Strand II: Elements and Principles – Proportion

F. 2. Select and use principles of art for their effect in communicating ideas through artwork.

Grade 4 - Identify realistic facial proportions

Grade 5 - Identify and use relative size (realistic scale)

Grade: 5th -6th

Length of Class Period: 55 min.

Frequency of Class Period: once a week

Time Needed: two class periods

Facility & Equipment Requirements:

• One computer lap top
• Room with good lighting
• Large tables, approximately ten, each seating four students
• Two sinks
• Dry erase board
• Drying racks
• Cabinets for storage
• Projector for viewing computer video, CDs and DVDs

Resources needed: Visual aids such as: books, slides, web pages, reproductions and sample art works.

Materials per student:

Students should collect or be provided with the following materials:

• white drawing paper
• crayons, markers, and colored pencils
• a large photograph of a person torn from a magazine or a photograph they may cut in half of a person
• scissors

Step-by-step studio activity specifics:

Phase 1: Introduction: Clarify goals and establish set: The goal of this lesson is to teach students the difference between an abstract portrait and a realistic portrait and to also teach them how to create an original artwork that includes both perspectives.

• The first objective is to teach students a clear understanding of the differences between realistic portraits and abstract portraits. Each child should be able to either write or explain out loud what these differences are by the end of the unit using the common vocabulary attributed to the characteristics of both portrait types.
• The second objective is to train the eyes and hands of students as they process through the lesson plan. Every child in the classroom should turn in a completed art assignment by the end of the unit.

Teacher's sample Venn Diagram with answers.

Phase 2: Provide examples and non-example pairs: 

• In this case I will either introduce the lesson with a slide show, with an actual display of artwork or with a book display in which the pairs of abstract and realistic portraits will be shown side by side during this concept lesson. The resources that are available will determine which of these introductions I use. 
• We will then most likely have a lively discussion about the differences between abstraction and realistic portraiture, during which I will expect students too participate in filling out a graphic organizer (Venn Diagram, just left) that I will both draw on the board and hand out work sheets for them to take notes on. The lesson should take approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes or two and a half class periods. 
• After class discussions, I will hand out the art project materials and review the instructions. I have attached a sample graphic organizer to this lesson plan. I have filled out the answers in red, so that a substitute will understand the anticipated responses from the class. Below is a list of teacher generated focus questions that may be used during the presentation as well.

      I’ve also included a vocabulary list just below that students will need to hear the instructor use in reference to the slide presentation and will be included in the quiz they are to be given after completing the portrait art project.

Vocabulary list:

1.  portrait - A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.
2. profile - an outline of something (especially a human face as seen from one side)
3. frontal view - a head-on view of the sitter, when the sitter directly faces the viewer
4. side view - a view from the side of something
5. representational portrait - representational is another word for realistic when someone is discussing art (used especially of art) depicting objects, figures,or scenes as seen; "representational art"; "representational images"
6. abstract portrait - In the case of a portrait, a person's face is represented by strategically simplifying all types of information associated with their appearance.
7.  patron - The person who pays for an artist to have either his likeness recorded or someone else's.

Teacher Generated Focus Questions: that I will ask the students during the slide show:

• What characteristics make a realistic portrait look real?
• Do you think an artist would need a lot of training to create a portrait like this? If so, why?
• What do you think is the difference between an abstract portrait and a realistic portrait?
•  What are the words we might use to describe an abstract portrait?
• What are the techniques an artist might use to create an abstract portrait?
• What is the difference between a profile and a portrait?
• What is the difference between a frontal view and a side view?

Primary Art Activity, The Portrait Art Project: Students will learn about portraits through the individual activity of the art project combined with the discussions they hear and by observing both professional artwork and the artwork of their peers. Students may do all of these activities in a relaxed social environment grouped together with their peers at tables. This kind of environment encourages children to interact and learn information from each other. School children learn artistic languages by the constant use of those languages within a peer environment. They may not always be aware of this experience as educational. Artists call this learning activity "modeling" or "simulating." Students also use art projects to learn process and knowledge through "discovery" which will immediately lead them to "inquiry". Both of these methods are constructivist models that have been used in the art classrooms and academies for centuries.

Phase 3: Check student attainment of concepts: After the students have finished their primary art assignment they will be given both a short quiz worth 30 points and a rubric evaluation of their art project worth 70 points. I have included both a sample quiz and a grading rubric with this lesson plan.

Phase 4: Analyze student thinking processes: A copy of "Analyze Your Art!" in this packet. Discussions concerning the student projects will follow the return of quizzes and rubrics. This discussion is similar to a critique but varies slightly in that only the attributes of each project are pointed out. It is not a time for students to discuss their opinions about each other’s talents, but a time to learn “how” to analyze the visual information in front of them.

Modifications for Students With Special Needs:

Modifications for the hard-of-hearing or deaf student:

• Student will be seated closer to instructor so they will be better equipped to hear instructions or read lips
• Student will be provided with written instructions so that they read about the discussions and demonstrations
• The instructor may use a amplification devise provided by the school or student’s parents

Modifications for the student with limited vision or blindness:

•  will be allowed to observe samples of art projects with their hands and for extended periods of time
• Students will be provided with safe tools and one-on-one guidance during a demonstration of the project
• The project may be slightly adjusted to accommodate the student’s limitations or for safety reasons
•  Student will be given ample time to exist classroom before large crowds gather outside of the classroom.

Modifications for students with mild brain injury:

• Students will be provided with duplicate instructions for home and school. Student will not need to remember to carry home materials to review.
• Students will be given ample time to exist classroom with a pre-determined aid or peer before the official end of a class.
• Instructor will provide for parent e-mail communication concerning the progress and needs of their student.
• Student may be given special seat assignment in order to enable his participation in class appropriately. Specific peers may be better equipped to articulate projects visually for this student.

Cleanup Time & Strategy: Students will be instructed to put away art materials neatly in their containers, clean off their tables, and recycle their trash two minutes prior to dismissal. Teachers should rinse off the brayers and glass sheets.

Formal Assessment: Short Quiz for Abstract/Realistic Portrait Unit (worth 30 pts.)

All lesson plans and photographs by Grimm copyright 2011

links to graphic organizers

       Graphic organizers are visual representations of knowledge, concepts or ideas. Teachers use them to relieve learner boredom, enhance recall, provide motivation, create interest, clarify information, assist in organizing thought processes and to promote comprehension.

      I've provided links below to online collections of graphic organizers. These options are generic and may be used by homeroom teachers as well as art teachers.

1. Graphic Organizers From edHelper
2. Graphic Organizers from Education Place
3. Graphic Organizers from TeacherVision
4. freeology has Free Graphic Organizers
5. Graphic.Org has graphic organizers
6. Enchanted Learning's graphic organizers for elementary teachers
7. Education Oasis Collection of Graphic Organizers
8. WriteDesign Online Graphic Organizers
9. teAchnology has graphic organizers
10. Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers

free clipart for teachers on the web

Free Internet Clipart Collections I Find Useful For Educators: Animal Pictures Archive * Certificate Creator * Classroom Clipart * Clip Art Topics, A To Z * Cooltext * Discovery School's Clip Art Gallery * Free Education Clip Art  * Gifs Now * Microsoft Office Clip Art and Media * Teacher Files * Clipart Pal * J. S. Magic *

Links To Image Libraries & Collections: American Memory * UNESCO's  photobank * Time Pix * Kodak Features * Lycos Image Gallery * National Geographic * Corbis.com * Libweb * Library of Congress * National Archives of Canada * DEFA Film Library * Research Centers * Center for Jewish Film * UCLA Film/TV Archive * Black Film Center * Library of Congress * National Library of Education * Air Force Library * National Archives * National Library of Medicine * Internet Law Library * White House Press Room * National Agricultural Library * Resources for School Librarians * school-libraries.net * lib-web-cats * British Library Images Online * Life Photo Archive * NYPL Digital Gallery * Picture Collection Online * World Digital Library * Visual Collections * The Commons * Culture.fr * Smithsonian Images *View Finder * Terra Galleria Images * National Photo Collection From Israel * Images of England * Canadian Illustrated News * A Sampler of Medieval Images * Hagley Digital Archives * Picture History * Oxford Portraits * National Gallery * Napoleonic Period * Lighthouse Postcards * Agricultural Research * World War II History * Hate On Display *  Images Canada * Hedda Morrison Photographs of China *ARC * British Library Online * Canadian Heritage Gallery * Ad Hoc Digital Library * Database of Early American Jewish Portraits * ArchNet Library * Architectural Collections * Art Crimes * Black Archives of Mid-America * Archive of Historic Gardens * American Theological Library * Political Americana * Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi * Digital Image Access Project * The Digital Mirror * Digital South Asia Library * Gallica * The Winterton Collection of East African Photographs * Muschenheim Digital Archive * World Digital Library * Fish and Wildlife Service * Dirksen Center's Editorial Cartoon Collections * EIKON * Expeditions and Discoveries * Farber Gravestones * Hagley Index *  Smithsonian Photography Initiative

Search Internet Directories and Search Engines For Images: BUBL LINK * Creative Commons * Digital Librarian * Flickr * AltaVista Image Search * The Amazing Picture Machine * Artcyclopedia * Digital Collections and Content * Images *  Google Image Search

Art Images At Virtual Museums: Artcyclopedia * CGFA Carol Gerten's Fine Art * Mother of All Art History Links * Web Gallery of Art * WebMuseum * World Art Treasures * Great Buildings Online * Victoria and Albert Museum
Digital Photography Collections At University Libraries: University of Washington * St. Andrews University * University of Arizona * Georgia State * CSU Libraries * UCDavis * Duke * Louisville * UC Santa Cruz * UO Libraries * UB Libraries Aerial Photographs * Princeton University * Harvard University * HBCU Library Alliance *  University of Delaware * UM Michigan * Cornell University * University of Delaware * Early Manuscripts at Oxford University * UCLA Digital Archive of Popular American Music * Women Working From Harvard University *  Calisphere
Search For Moving Images: British Pathe Film Archive * Prelinger Archives
Links To Images In Advertising: Ad*Access * Emergence of Avertising in America, 1850-1920
Links To Image Collections About Each State of The Union, Providence, Territory Etc: AlabamaAlaska * American Samoa * Arizona * Arkansas * California Archive *  California * Colorado * Connecticut * Delaware Postcards *  Delaware * District of Columbia * Florida Heritage *  Florida Video * Florida * Georgia * Guam * Hawaii * Idaho * Illinois Digital Archives * Illinois * Indiana * Iowa * Kansas * Kentucky * Louisiana * Maine * Maryland Digital Culture *  Maryland * Massachusetts * Michigan * Minnesota * Mississippi * Missouri * Montana * Nebraska * New England * Nevada Lake Tahoe * Nevada * New Hampshire *New Jersey Digital Highway *  New Jersey * New Mexico * New York * North Carolina * North Dakota * Northern Marianas Islands * Ohio * Oklahoma * Oregon * Pennsylvania * Puerto Rico * Rhode Island * South Carolina * South Dakota * Tennessee * Texas Bird's-Eye View * Texas Portal to Texas History * Texas Postcards *  Texas Tides * Utah * Vermont * Virginia * Virgin Islands * Washington * West Virginia * Wisconsin * Wyoming * Columbia River Basin * Appalachia * Heritage West * Mountain West * Northwest * Rocky Mountains * Upper Mississippi Valley * Western Trails * Western Waters *  
Digital Image Collections Of American Cities: Chicago Public Library * City Sites * Cleveland * Los Angeles * New Haven * Byron of New York * Philadelphia * Pittsburgh * Richmond * RochesterSeattle * 
Digital Image Collections Of Science and Technology: Caltec Archives * Comparative Mammalian Brain Collections * Emilio Segre Visual Archives * Eye of Science * JPL * NOAA * NASA * Paleo Art * European Space Agency * Wolfram Research * Hagley Digital * Planetary Photojournal * Science and Society Picture Library *  Visible Earth * The Visible Human Project * Wellcome Images *

links to historic homes and house museums

      Historic house museums in the United States differ a great deal one from another. Some are organized around the person who lived there or the social role the house had. Consequently, they may contain objects that belonged to the inhabitants. This approach is mostly concerned with "authenticity". Other historic house museums may be partially or completely reconstructed in order to tell the story of a particular area, kind of life or period in time. This approach is guided by the "narrative" of the people who lived there. In each kind visitors learn about what they are seeing.

      Important to all historic house museums, however, is that the structure once was intended, or at least used, as a place of human habitation, and that the contents of the structure, now a museum, were intended for such places. Thus, if historic structures, though once homes, do not principally contain objects originally intended for the home AND have them arranged in a home-like ambiance, but instead have such objects arranged like a more typical museum, or principally contain displays and objects not originally intended for a home, then they should not be called "historic house museums."

• Mount Vernon, is the former home of America's first president, George Washington.
• Colonial Williamsburg, an entire collection of buildings dating back to Colonial America.
• Native American Cliff Dwellings, are located in several State National Parks.
• The Pilgrim John Howland House is the one house located in Plymouth still where early American pilgrims actually lived.
• The John Alden House was inhabited by the youngest of the men who came to America on the Mayflower.
• Both the Custom House and the Derby House are located in Salem, the first town of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, 1626. These homes are preserved by the Maritime National Historic Sites Association.
• The Paul Revere House, at 19 North Square, is the oldest house in Boston and is the former home of Paul Revere.
• Not far from Revere's house is The Old State House Museum. It burned to the ground in 1747 but was rebuilt because of it's important historical significance. The Declaration of Independence, the repeal of the Stamp Act and the declaration of peace with England were all officially announced from this building's balcony.
• The Ironmaster's House built in approximately 1636, was restored by Wallace Nutting.
• Eleven house museums at Historic Deerfield.
• Visit homes of the 1800's at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Mass.
• In Amesbury, Mass. visit the homes of Mary Baker Eddy and John Greenleaf Whittier.
• There are several interesting homes along the Historic Seacoast of Massachusetts: The House at Yarmouth, built in 1721, The Squire Thomas Cooke House, built in 1765 in Martha's Vineyard, The Aptuxcet Trading Post, 1626, The Stoney Brook Mill at Brewster, Nantucket's Old Mill and The Jethro Coffin House, built in 1686.
• Fort Western in Augusta, Maine.

Homes In Missouri:

• The home and mill belonging to Waltus L. Watkins is very near to the town I grew up in. It has a marvelous man-made lake there and also a lovely bike path. The home and mill are in excellent condition. I grew up in the once small town of Liberty, MO. This little town had quite an unusual history. It would seem as though the townspeople could never make up their minds during the Civil War about who's side they were on. There are several historic homes there, in fact, that have old brick tunnels beneath them where slaves were hidden during the day and released at night. These tunnels have been filled in with clay and/or concrete because they became unstable over the passing of years. When I was young, I helped give guided tours through one of these beautiful old homes on Water Street during the holidays. Water Street is very near to the town square where Jesse James in broad daylight robbed the Clay County Bank. History enthusiasts can also tour the old James Family Farm in the nearby town of Kearney. Not far from the town square is William Jewell College. This college had a tumultuous past during both the Civil War and World War I and you can read about it here. Visitors should not pass up the chance to take two walking tours in Liberty. There is one of the college campus and another of the Lightburn Historic District. Included in that college tour, I'm assuming, is a quick look into the historic cemetery on Jewell campus.
• When I was a school girl, students often took day trips to Fort Osage, the very first outpost of the United States built following the Louisiana Purchase. It was built by William Clark to show the British and the Spanish that the U. S. could protect their territories. It also had a very active trading post.
• The very first permanent settlement in Missouri was at St. Genevieve, founded by the French in 1735. I love the historic charm of the architecture in this town.
• See the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) in Hannibal, MO.
• St. Louis, gateway to the West, has many historical homes people may tour year round. The oldest building in this city is the Manuel Lisa Warehouse. It was built by a Spanish fur trader in 1818. In the old Cathedral there are exhibits portraying the early history of St. Louis. Overlooking the river is the Old Courthouse. It was completed by 1864 and it was used by the county/city for 85 years. Dred Scott was tried there to defend his status as a free man. The Eugene Field House still stands on South Broadway and is open to the public. Robert Cambell, who made a fortune in trade, built an ornate Victorian mansion on the Southwest corner of Fifteenth and Locust Streets. Grant's Farm is home to the Hardscrabble House. It was built by Ulysses S. Grant during the early years of his marriage to Julia Dent before the Civil War.
• The Sappington House Museum was built by slave labor in 1808. It is located very near to the city of Kirkwood, Mo. Directly behind it is a charming library housing rare books and city history documents. There is also a tearoom at this complex where visitors can have brunch or desert.

villains serve an important purpose in children's literature

       Sometimes teachers may avoid reading books with villainous characters in them because they are afraid of offending parents or choosing an inappropriate topic for a particular age group. These are important considerations when one's audience is a bit young.  But, when a child reaches a more mature age, it is a mistake to avoid the portrayal of villains in their literature selections. Students need to feel a sense of self empowerment when fighting an enemy. They need to be taught that with outside help from their family and community leaders, they can fight injustice and should not be afraid to do so. 

      Children should also be made aware of their own tendencies to act a villainous part towards others, so that they may learn what is proper conduct and what behaviors are unacceptable. They must be taught the difference between correct conduct and incorrect conduct. Villains inside of story books provide for the "safe" observation of normally "unsafe" circumstances. Books with villains afford parents and teachers the opportunity to teach right from wrong without putting children in actual realistic danger. Religious leaders, the government, community educators, police officers etc... are candid about who we are, where we come from and how we should behave. Below I've listed a collection of books that I've used with my own children to teach them "how" to discern evil from good and also to teach them to laugh at villains so that they can choose not to be afraid of what can be changed. 

• "Sukey and the Mermaid" by Robert D. San Souci, Illustrated by Brian Pinkney - Within the context of a fairy tale, a little girl finds courage to defeat an abusive home environment. She also discovers that she has friends who will help her defeat the villains in her environment.
• "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" by Linda Williams, illustrated by Megan Lloyd - a wonderful book to read at Halloween time to very small children. This story teaches children to manipulate "scary things" (not evil, but scary) for a productive purpose on a very simplistic level.
• "Piggie Pie!" by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Howard Fine - One of my favorite books ever to read aloud. This story is about just "how" creative pigs can get when threatened by a silly, old witch.
• "Judy and the Volcano" by Wayne Harris - A story about how an enemy can be transformed. Judy wants to be everyone's hero, but, first she must learn how to be a friend to the girl she envies, Madeleine Corsy.
• "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig" by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury - Consider what you may look like to your enemies.
• "A Flower for Ambrose" by Anna and Edward Standon - When I was small, my father brought this book back to me after taking a short trip to Chicago. It is about an elephant named Ambrose who struggles to preserve a beautiful flower but he fails. (death is the villain of this story) Ambrose's many tears serve to water a dying plant and not long afterward the entire desert blooms because Ambrose has watered it with his very own tears. Little did I know as a child that this would be a story I would relive over and over throughout my entire life. But, my earthly and heavenly fathers knew it very well. The book is probably out of print. You will need to contact a book dealer to find it. (Delacorte Press, New York, 1964)

excellent video by Lian Quan Zhen

      

      "Join ArtistsNetwork.tv and artist Lian Quan Zhen as he shows you how to introduce Chinese painting techniques into your watercolors so you can loosen up and paint more freely. Using only watercolor brushes, paints and paper, Lian explains how to use the materials to bring in the strokes and style of Chinese brush painting. After painting a few small studies designed to get you comfortable with the techniques of spraying, blowing, spattering, finger painting and using your brush in new ways, Lian moves on to paint a pair of ducks in a sunset-filled pond combining traditional and Chinese watercolor techniques. By the end of this video you'll have be able to create beautiful, spontaneous pictures and, most of all, to have fun while you're painting."

where do "big ideas" come from?

        Who, what, when, where and how do art teachers manage to come up with goals for my child's education? Although this may seem like a mystery for many parents, there is no real mystery to it at all. Goals or Big Ideas in the classroom are derivative of many sources. Parents can learn to think and analyze these goals by considering first the multiple origins of those ideas woven into the thinking processes of art educators who write lesson plans. 

• Human instinct or natural survival are popular sources in the development of big ideas. Parents can recognize these by noting objectives that have to do with fine motor skills and the basic manipulation of materials. These objectives are seen as fundamentally necessary with all people no matter where they come from or what they believe in. Often times state schools encourage their teachers to pursue these goals above all others because it means that they will not need to worry about displeasing parents from culturally diverse backgrounds. However, a teacher who avoids teaching big ideas from any other resources besides these, avoids teaching his students to think about the why of art and this ultimately is a inferior art education. The best art education is based upon a healthy diet including a variety of influences.
• Social or Community Values are usually those politically hot topics driven by all kinds of people from a wide variety of cultures. These big ideas will test the metal of an art teacher. How to teach variety without teaching in a condescending way and without insulting the intelligence of the parents and students in their care, becomes very important in the writing and deliberation of these lesson plans. A good teacher will be very selective here. Remember, no matter what you believe, there will always be someone who is insulted by it somewhere. Students need to be challenged and appreciative of differences in people in order to receive the highest form of art education. My reason for arguing this lies in the fact that students who learn to process through a wide variety of opinions while still maintaining the enduring qualities of their own beliefs are smarter, stronger, and ready to take on many of life's challenges. It is wonderful to keep little ones innocent but this does not mean that they should be naive. I understand that people often use these two words interchangeably but that is not how I am comparing the two. 

To be naive in my experience means that a student lacks wisdom and is easily misled.

To be innocent means that one maintains cultural values that dictate moral convictions.

• The media or the marketplace are often categorized under visual culture in many teaching publications. However, I have listed them apart from the visual culture defined by social groups or from community values. My reason for doing this is because I believe that popular media often represents a powerful subgroup within a specific political party or belief system. These influences may also be, quite frankly, economically driven or laced with some other form of prejudice. The origins for big ideas based upon a wealthy, smaller population that means to influence or propagate private agendas may cause cultural havoc on young impressionable minds. It is probably better to save these lessons for mature students.
• Big ideas have always included some personal agenda in the designing of lesson plans. Personal agenda does not need to be seen as negative. For example; if an art teacher is a sculptor and not a painter, this may increase the number of sculptural lessons that he will teach to your child.  Most teachers educate with those resources that they feel most comfortable with. However, there can be great negativity in personal agendas. If an art teacher does not believe that he has not benefited greatly in his choice of career, he may not teach art with the enthusiasm necessary to encourage your child or to believe in himself.
• Genetics influence art education but to what end we are not very certain. There has been little study in this field in terms of art education as of yet. However, we are aware that the chromosomes specific children receive from their parents do directly influence the way in which they process creative information. Not only do Gardner's theories of education have much to do with this concept but those students born with a disability or who are particularly gifted may also influence the way a teacher writes and implements an art lesson plan.
• Human History influences big ideas tremendously in nearly every lesson plan that your child will be taught. The obvious lessons are those that are based upon a specific artist or a past event.
• Big ideas influenced by philosophy are often categorized as forms of indoctrination. Students are taught to follow and accept those principles common to a particular school of thought or art movement.
• Big ideas specific to psychosomatic education are commonly referred to as age appropriate materials or gender specific materials. Psychosomatic education relies heavily on socialization as well as genetics so this is why I have included it on this list in addition to genetics.

article by Kathy Grimm copyrighted 2012 

teaching art movements: street art

      Street art is art, specifically visual art, developed in public spaces — that is, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives. The term can include traditional graffiti artwork, sculpture, stencil graffiti, sticker art, wheatpasting and street poster art, video projection, art intervention, guerrilla art, and street installations. Typically, the term street art or the more specific post-graffiti is used to distinguish contemporary public-space artwork from territorial graffiti, vandalism, and corporate art.

Traditional street painting on a whole new level. 

      Artists have challenged art by situating it in non-art contexts. ‘Street’ artists do not aspire to change the definition of an artwork, but rather to question the existing environment with its own language. They attempt to have their work communicate with everyday people about socially relevant themes in ways that are informed by esthetic values without being imprisoned by them. John Fekner defines street art as "all art on the street that’s not graffiti".

Riverdance flashmob in Central Station Sydney.

      Whereas traditional graffiti artists have primarily used free-hand aerosol paints to produce their works, "street art" encompasses many other media and techniques, including: LED art, mosaic tiling, murals, stencil art, sticker art, "Lock On" street sculptures, street installations, wheatpasting, woodblocking, video projection, and yarn bombing. New media forms of graffiti, such as projection onto large city buildings, are an increasingly popular tool for street artists—and the availability of cheap hardware and software allows street artists to become more competitive with corporate advertisements. Much like open source software, artists are able to create art for the public realm from their personal computers, similarly creating things for free which compete with companies making things for profit.

Yarnbombing

 

      Traditional graffiti also has increasingly been adopted as a method for advertising; its trajectory has even in some cases led its artists to work on contract as graphic artists for corporations. Nevertheless, street art is a label often adopted by artists who wish to keep their work unaffiliated and strongly political. Street artists are those whose work is still largely done without official approval in public areas.

      For these reasons street art is sometimes considered "post-graffiti" and sometimes even "neo-graffiti." Street art can be found around the world and street artists often travel to other countries foreign to them so they can spread their designs. Read more . . .

Street Art Documentary:

• Rock Fresh (2004), a documentary film about the challenging world of the graffiti artist
• RASH (2005), a feature length documentary by Mutiny Media exploring the cultural value of Australian street art and graffiti
• Bomb It (2008), a documentary film about graffiti and street art around the world
• Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010), a documentary created by the artist Banksy about Thierry Guetta
• Roadsworth: Crossing the Line (2007), a documentary film about the legal struggle of Montreal street artist Roadsworth
• Street Art Awards (2010), opening of the street art festival in Berlin
• [Las Calles Hablan] (2013), Las Calles Hablan, a feature length documentary about street art in Barcelona

learn about the piu piu project

"The Piu Piu or "dancing skirt" are Maori Textiles worn at traditional Maori religious and cultural events like Kapa Haka and Matariki. They are worn by both men and women and have been used in Maori life for hundreds of years.

This amazing Piu Piu maker, Weaver, and Artisan featured in the film is Leilani Rickard. She is one of the few Maori weavers left who has the knowledge and skill to make the Piu Piu in the ancient and traditional ways with raw materials like the Harakeke plant, swamp mud dyes, and geothermal processes only found in New Zealand. She is a true Maori Artisan."

NOTE: This Documentary Short Subject was made entirely with CLoMoSo technology including an HTC EVO 3D Cell Phone and an Apple MacBook Air Laptop.

Featuring:
Piu Piu Artist: Leilani Rickard
Piu Piu Assistant: Christopher Grant
Produced and Directed by James Obenshain, The CLoMoSo Organization
jobenshain@clomoso.com
www.clomoso.com