Herman the Jester and the ABC’s of Art, by Rafael Filion, is a tremendously useful book for teaching art theory to very young children.
It’s ideal as the basis of a daily or weekly art lesson. It’s also a great preparation for taking young children to art museums. In fact, it’s one of the best I’ve [...]
With Glorious Glues! Art with Adhesives, art Teacher Paula Guhin has put together a wonderful little book that showcases the many uses of glue in art making.
All of her projects are rated either easy, moderate or advanced and can be used with all ages.
The lessons are well written and easy to follow. Tips to evaluate [...]
Starting with Giotto and continuing on through current artists, Ms. Kohl and Ms. Solga have created multiple art lessons based on individual artist. Each lesson includes a very brief biography, a list of materials and an easy to follow process. All the illustrations are black and white. They include student work, work of the [...]
The Polymer Clay Techniques Book by Sue Heaser is a recipe book for crafters, as opposed to artists.
Nevertheless, Sue Heaser has an outstanding reputation and presents a great range of projects.
There’s something here that would appeal to every member of your family, and that can’t be said for most art and craft books!
I like the [...]
This is an excellent book for those just starting out with drawing and also intermediate level students. There is good basic information on how to use pencils, as well as creating value and textures. There are exercises design to help you incorporate perspective in your drawings, including drawing cubes, cylinders and conical objects.
Pencil Drawing Techniques [...]
“In a world where differences in culture and ethnicity sometimes bring conflict, learning about cultural differences in arts and crafts can help students appreciate and respect one another.”
Though first published in 1981, this quote from “Art From Many Hands” still rings true.
Ms. Schuman covers fine arts and crafts from all over the world, including Africa, [...]
“This book is about drawing; about the experience of drawing and seeing drawings; and about the possibilities of extending our traditional concepts concerning the parameters of drawing”, R. Kaupelis
Experimental Drawing by Robert Kaupelis is a very good text on the infinite varieties of drawing. Written by a college art professor, it is intended for beginning [...]
Discovering Drawing, by Ted Rose and Sallye Mahan-Cox
This is an excellent textbook that offers a tradition approach to teaching drawing. Discovering Drawing starts by defining what drawing is. It covers the elements and principles of design, basic drawing techniques and includes information on different subject matter, including a chapter on expressive drawing. Art history, how [...]
Painting Beautiful Watercolors from Photographs, by by Jan Kunz
This is a wonderful book if you are interested in learning about using photographs as reference material. The author gives explicit information on photographing flowers, people, animals and still life. She includes tips on lighting and painting the illusion of light.
She also includes solid information on making [...]
As a beginning art teacher at the elementary and middle school level I found Art Smart invaluable. The activities provide a fun and creative way to teach art history. I’ll never forget seeing half a class of 6th graders lay on the floor while their partners traced around them on bulletin board paper to create [...]
