This is a project that I designed for high school students who have experienced the Coronavirus Pandemic. It's based on a New York Times article that features illustrations from Artists, Designers, and Illustrators who made drawings of their neighborhoods from the windows. Students learn to interpret works of art and discuss their emotions. This lesson is for students who are remote learning, connects to ELA, and utilizes Google Draw. You can explore the full lesson here.

Inspired by the work of Georges Seurat and other Post-Impressionist painters, discipuli were tasked with creating works of art inspired by the de facto leader of the art movement. Art and Society students shot photographs on their smart devices and carefully traced the images onto bond paper. Then they painstakingly applied dabs of color with illustrator markers to achieve the spectacular effect you see to the left. 

Neo-impressionism is the name given to the post-impressionist work of Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, and their followers who, inspired by optical theory, painted using tiny adjacent dabs of primary color to create the effect of light on natural subjects. 

Artists practice external attention to people and things outside themselves and document them for those who might have missed those things. This sketchbook assignment challenges students to pay close attention to their surroundings and record them in their sketchbooks. Students were given 4 weeks to complete 20 half-page assignments and the results were fantastic. See some of the drawings and the assignment here. 

When teaching my art history classes to students at Brooklyn Latin High School, I have relied significantly on Nicola Giardiana's work and her Pyramid of Inquiry. By using this method, my students have effectively analyzed artworks ranging from ancient Egypt to DADA and World War 1. This tool is excellent for encouraging a thorough examination of art pieces, fostering deep observation skills. I have found it extremely valuable in teaching art and enhancing visual literacy. Explore some of my Art and Society class slides here, along with additional resources for implementing this model. You can find the Art and Society syllabus here.

After studying one of the most well-known paintings in art history for a couple of weeks, discipuli were handed a blank sheet of paper and asked to write down everything they could recall about the Renaissance masterpiece created by Sandro Botticelli between 1485-1486. Discipuli then turned the paper over and attempted to draw the Birth of Venus from memory. See some of the drawings here. 

One component of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program's core is the Comparative Study which is mandatory for all IB Visual Art students. I had the great pleasure of working with a student on this wonderful CS that compares Van Gogh, Monet, and Hokusai. The student received a score of 6 out of 7 possible points. See the CS here. 

Students investigate three simple photography techniques that Street Photographers, Documentary Photographers, and Social Photographers use to create drama, meaning, and scale. Students then try their hand at these techniques. View the lesson slides here and the student work here.

Students investigate the work of legendary photographers and recreate the photos to the best of their ability. The results are spectacular.  What’s pastiche? Pastiche art uses the distinct imagery or style of another artwork, while still infusing the artist’s own style. This allows artists to celebrate the great artists in art history, whether they’re paying homage to them or making a sociopolitical statement. See a selection of the work here.

GRADE 10-12

The goal of this extra credit assignment is to have students explore and analyze works of art in a more active way than on the typical field trip to an art museum. Students wander around the MET, see the collections, and write mini-essays about what they see based on writing prompts. Students will employ vocabulary from the principles of design and the elements of art. The visit is driven by student inquiry and scaffolds lessons based on the pyramid of inquiry. See the student-facing directions here.

GRADE 11

Students were asked to make a personal collection in their bedroom of items that are meaningful to them. After taking pictures of the collection, students organized the collection and carefully recreated it on a large sheet of paper using the grid method. See the works here.

Objectives: Students work together in teams to identify looted works that are in the process of being repatriated. Students research the artwork's provenance of the works and research it's history. Then, students tell the story of the work of art. See the accompanying slide show for the lesson here. 

Using the same techniques curators of art museums use when they create an exhibition, students will work together to create a miniature museum in to-scale models of rooms of the school building made of foam core. This STEAM lesson can be modified for J.H.S. You can explore the H.S. version and full lesson here. 

One component of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program's core is the extended essay which is mandatory for all IB diploma students. I had the great pleasure of working with a student in a supervisory and editorial capacity on their extended essay. The student created a research question that was inspired by a lesson from my Art and Society class about Georges Seurat. As a new teacher, I was delighted when they received an "A"!  See the paper here. 

High school students create a whimsical architectural form based on the work of Frank Gehry that demonstrates an understanding of sculpture as Three-Dimensional Media. By allowing students to demonstrate independence through exercising their imaginations and constructing meanings, using basic tools to gain knowledge of media and compositional elements, and mastering materials and techniques, this project connects to English Language Arts. By problem-solving design issues that may arise, applying creative solutions, identifying basic structures in works of art and understanding how the structures are interpreted, and learning to value processes, this project connects to the Common Core Learning Standards for Mathematical Practice. Explore it here. 

My artwork aspires to the condition of magic. Incorporating empty bottles, concrete, and miscellaneous items that I find on the street, in thrift stores, and from my family and friends, I make memory jugs that investigate the self-deprecating nature of memory. The technique of layering stuff over stuff over stuff has been a consistent feature of my work for the last decade. I was honored when Free Arts NYC invited me to teach the technique to children. This project satisfies many of the anchor standards found in the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts for Pre-K to 2nd grade such as engaging in self-directed and collaborative imaginative play, exploring materials, and brainstorming multiple artmaking approaches to an art or design problem. I found that the adults had as much fun making these "Mind's Eye Vases" as the children did, something that often happens in my art studio.  You can see pictures from the project here.

This is an impromptu lesson that I created and performed on Google Classroom for Hillcrest H.S. to show the students the immediacy and malleability of the medium of charcoal. The lesson is loosely based on the work of the artist William Kentridge. 

The goal of this elementary school lesson is to engage the young student through visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, and social activities that can show the versatility and dynamic properties of paper. The lesson ends with a Process Drama performance of "Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China." This lesson connects to Science, Math, and ELA. You can explore it here.

Elementary school students will learn to utilize the medium of collage to capture emotions, feelings, and their imagination. Students learn to share their own stories and the stories of others, interpreting one another's experiences to make a work of art. This project connects to ELA, Science, and Math. You can explore the project here.

This elementary school collaborative painting project makes painting less intimidating. The goal of this lesson is to engage the young student through basic painting concepts and creative narratives. From simple beginnings, students move toward a more complex and personal project where they invent names for colors and eventually illustrate their dreams with tempera paint. This project connects to Science and ELA, explore it here.

This elementary school project introduces young artists to relief printing from hand-carved styrofoam plates. The goal of this lesson is to challenge students with a somewhat complicated printing process that requires precision, preparation,  and planning. This project connects to ELA, by using relief printing to tell a story about an animal with human attributes. Explore it here. 

Elementary school students will learn to make puppets based on Molière’s play from 1662, The School for Wives. The object of this lesson is to contemporize a 300-year-old play. This project connects to ELA, geometry, and math. Through working with other students and performing parts of the play, the students explore teamwork. See the project here.

This lesson plan combines smartphone photography with traditional drawing techniques to explore the uses of technology in the art studio. This project slows down the process of taking pictures and asks children to consider what they are doing with their phones when they take a selfie. Students will understand that portraits are a reflection of the self and not just a throwaway activity that's increasingly devoid of meaning. See the project here. 

This lesson invites elementary school students to explore their imagination and create monsters using sense imagery. Students will learn the properties of air-dried clay and create ceramics. The project connects to ELA and Science and you can see it here. 

This student-centered high school lesson plan is inspired by the abstract ink drawings of Howard Hodgkin. Students learn about the possibilities and variations of mark-making, the history of abstract art, and ink drawing. Students learn to take risks, hone their perceptions, and solve problems. Explore the project here. 

High school students learn how to transform images from a newspaper into a collage and then into a protest painting. Students learn how passion can inspire public action and how works of art such as Picasso's Guernica: Testimony of War, from 1937 inspired change. Students make strong connections through visual arts in this project by recognizing the societal, cultural, and historical significance of political art that is used as a protest against wars, and connect this project to other disciplines such as history and English Language Arts. Explore the lesson here.