Curated OER
Principles of Design (Flowers)
Explore the art of floral design throughout history with these detailed slides. Information is provided about the use and design of fresh flowers in cultures such as Egyptian, European, and Asian. Images to demonstrate these floral...
Curated OER
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Art
Kids may be a little resistant to this rainy day idea, but it could produce some amazing art. They paint a watercolor picture of anything they like. When they are done, they take their paintings outside and let the rain work its magic!...
National Gallery of Canada
Social Realism
Examine social strife in art. Class members first observe some pieces, and then find an image to inspire their own art. They outline the picture, analyze the composition, make alterations, and color their work.
Incredible Art Department
Notan Collages - "Expanding the Square"
Notan is a Japanese word that expresses the interaction between light and dark. Learners explore Notan while creating dimensional art pieces that examine positive and negative spaces. They'll discuss the art of Notan, create their...
National Gallery of Canada
Who Am I?
Connect design elements and principles to identity a culture with a discussion and related art activity. After analyzing artwork in relation to design, class members talk about personal and cultural identity. Using items that represent...
National Gallery of Canada
Reinventing the World
After examining and discussing Guy Ben-Ner's Treehouse Kit, a contemporary art installation with a sculptural and video element, small groups work together to create short silent films. The films should be built around a particular topic...
National Gallery of Canada
The Body Tells Its Story
Incorporate sculpture into your art curriculum. To start, pupils discuss the artistic process and topics of marginalization. With the discussion in mind, individuals select images to inspire sculptures of people that they will present to...
National Gallery of Canada
The Ideal Trophy
Invite your pupils to represent a club, team or other group with a trophy of their own creation. Learners examine the Taylor Cup by Laurent Amiot and then prepare trophy designs. When the sketches are complete, pupils sculpt the final...
National Gallery of Canada
One Look Is Worth A Thousand Words
Facial expressions can communicate complex emotions. Examine expressions in several hyperrealistic works of art before beginning a project. Learners will create their own clay faces that show an emotion using either photos or their own...
National Gallery of Canada
Transformation
Create colorful cool or warm butterflies with simple materials. Class members draw their designs, spray the marker to diffuse the colors, and attach pipe cleaners to form the shape of a butterfly with antennae. Individuals must be able...
National Gallery of Canada
Panoramic Landscapes
Combine landscape with collage to create unique art pieces. Class members examine works of art before creating their own pieces with photos of a special place. Learners create a panoramic image and add in figures.
National Gallery of Canada
Build a City of the Future!
Tap into your pupils' imagination by asking them to design futuristic, ideal cities. They must discuss and take scale and size into account, looking at some model pieces of art for inspiration and analysis. The final product for each...
National Gallery of Canada
A Unity Wall Drawing
Build class community with an art project. Learners first examine and discuss works of art. They then contribute to a class mural by tracing their hands and decorating them in relation to their own cultures. The final mural incorporates...
National Gallery of Canada
Tantalizing Tessellations!
Examine repeating and intricate patterns with a study of M.C. Escher and a related art activity. Pupils view and discuss the artwork before creating their own tessellating patterns. Step-by-step instructions for creating a template are...
Curated OER
Minimal Animals
Have fun creating imaginary creatures with this symmetry lesson plan! Your class will paint one half of their imaginary creature, fold their paper in half, which will result in a symmetrical figure. What a great art project to combine...
Curated OER
Abstract Planes in Paper Sculpture
High schoolers create maquettes of abstract sculptures utilizing the elements of art; line, shape, value, color, space and texture and the principles of design; balance, emphasis, contrast, rhythm and movement, pattern and unity. These...
Curated OER
Learning from the past: Ancient Mosaics
Budding artists study the history and significance behind ancient mosaics and mosaic murals. They study multiple examples of ancient mosaics, sketch a design, and use clay tiles to create thoughtful mosaics of their own.
Curated OER
Understanding Symmetry Through Visual Art
Have your class explore symmetry, radial balance and fractional parts in natural and man-made objects in their environment. Learners list examples and identify symmetrical and asymmetrical designs. Pupils are given a box of crayons and...
Curated OER
Paper Maché Mancala Game Boards
Seventh graders create three dimensional works of art from two dimensional plans, develop skills in papier-mach?? technique, utilize elements and principles of design to create 3-D form, and develop math/strategy skills in playing the...
Curated OER
Humourous Head Planter Spike: Ceramics Lesson
What a great activity. Kids create humorous ceramic character (heads) spikes to enliven a planter. Modern art is full of expressive and exaggerated forms and your class gets to create them out of clay. This would be a lovely activity to...
National Gallery of Canada
Make a Parfleche
Examine American Indian art and culture by observing contemporary art and creating original pieces. Class members discuss artwork included in the plan and use these images to help inspire their own work, which should represent their...
Curated OER
Line and Pattern Design Paper Sculpture
The students create patterns and repeat colors for unity. They explore organic shapes and demonstrate awareness of design principles and art elements. They then create 3-D paper relief from a 2-D surface and demonstrate the difference...
Curated OER
Tony Cragg-Evidence
Students demonstrate an understanding of basic elements and principles of art making such as unity, variety, movement, and meaning found in daily experiences. They also describe the meaning of students¿ own artwork in a written statement.
Curated OER
Give It All You’ve Got Heroes and Visual Art
Sure, your young artists probably know Van Gogh and Picasso, but are they equally as familiar with Frida Kahlo and Andy Warhol? Small groups examine the work of famous artists. Then, they create their own hero portraits in Cubist style...