The task of twenty-first century art education is to contribute to the blossoming of the child's personality. In this article, I approach this challenge from two principal directions, both of which provide a window onto unfamiliar terrain. This project sought to answer the following research questions: How do plastic, spatial (3D) creative…

Parents and early childhood teachers in Chinese societies and the United States have had dissimilar views about appropriate art instruction for young children. The Chinese view is that creativity will emerge after children have been taught essential drawing skills. The American view has been that children's drawing skills emerge naturally and that…

Suggestions to help art students at any level produce an accurate and craftsmanlike value scale are provided. Values scales are vital in terms of skill development and as a means for creative action. (RM)

Presents an art lesson in which first grade students learn about abstract art. Explains that the students learn about the work of Joan Miro and explore one of his paintings call "People and Dog in Sun." Describes how students use scribbles to make their own abstract art. (CMK)

Describes an art project suitable for middle and high school students in which they either combine identifiable parts from different animals to create one creature or take one animal and creatively distort it. Explains that this lesson enables students to be satisfied with their animal-inspired artwork. (CMK)

Discusses the use of perspective, or showing things as the human eye sees them, when creating reflections and transparencies in works of art. Provides examples of artwork using transparency, reflection, and refraction by M. C. Escher, Richard Estes, and Janet Fish to give students an opportunity to learn about these three art techniques. (CMK)

Offers an art activity that provides a balance between structure and an opportunity for students to be creative. Explains that the students begin drawing pictures of a clown through five teacher-directed steps and then the teacher leaves the children with half- finished drawings allowing them to creatively finish them on their own. (CMK)

Discusses an art project in which students created drawings of mop heads. Explains that the approach of drawing was more important than the subject. States that the students used the chiaroscuro technique, used by Rembrandt and Caravaggio, in which light appears out of the darkness. (CMK)

Describes an assignment that requires students to develop an original concept for their artwork where they utilize mixed media and repetition within their drawing as a starting point. Explains that students learn about principles of design and the frequency of repetition to satisfy compositional needs. (CMK)

Discusses the importance for teachers to question personal paradigms by changing their beliefs about teaching practices. Explains that instead of having second-grade students use bright colors to create African masks, students can develop their shading skills instead. Provides instructions for a lesson where students use pencil shading when…

Through the use of a visual literacy process of instruction as an initial stage in perceiving and creating, beginning college art students can acquire knowledge and skills for completing successful drawings. This process includes the following steps: selecting a simple and familiar subject; studying the entire form of the subject; looking for big…

Aims to show that children have a "functional use of drawing" which contrasts with the mechanistic stages model of drawing development. Observes that young children's images often show extended time sequences. Argues that, when considered from this viewpoint, children's drawing abilities develop gradually from a high to a low variety of…

In authoritative teaching methods, whereby the teacher controls the social interaction and other classroom activities, the actions of many children are often in response to what they perceive to be the teacher's expectations and the requirements of traditional school evaluation practices, such as examinations and tests. In this kind of school…