Happy Spring 2022! As we approach Mother's Day this weekend we wanted to share a few of our favorite creative resources and products that you can use to celebrate the special mothers in your life.
Note Cards & Greeting Cards
Choosing a greeting card for Mother's Day can be a bit overwhelming. With so many designs to choose from, finding the perfect sentiment can be challenging. We have a great solution. Our line of handcrafted note cards and print-on-demand greeting cards allow you to customize the interior with a personal sentiment. You can give them for Mother's Day, a birthday or just because.
Keepsake Paper Flowers
Use the flower drawing video below to create a keepsake paper flower bouquet or flower crown for Mother's Day. You can add glitter, stickers and paper gemstones to embellish your creation.
After cutting out the paper flowers and gluing them together, we added a 2.5" x 14" pink paper strip to the back of it. We glued a piece of ribbon to each end and tied it together to complete the crown.
Coloring Books
We offer a variety of coloring books for people of all ages. Coloring promotes mindfulness and relaxation. Click on each title to purchase the book.
Make sure to explore our website to discover more creative resources. Share some of your favorite ways/products to celebrate Mother's Day in the comments below.
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 While Spring seems to be a bit hesitant this year about warming things up, we are ecstatic that it is officially here. Over the last year we've been presenting ideas about how to create art units that connect to different visual art careers such as animation and puppetry. Today we want to share some tips and resources related to fashion design that you can use to build or add to a fashion unit in your art curriculum. Fashion is such an important part of our everyday lives. Adding a fashion unit to your curriculum can be as simple or developed as you'd like. Young artists really seem to enjoy exploring the art of fashion because they connect to this subject personally. Picture BooksWe love using picture books with younger learners in our creative space. Ann Lowe was a visionary fashion designer and seamstress who owned her own designer dress salon during the mid-20th century. Her dresses were worn by wealthy clients including first lady of the United States, Jackie Kennedy. The beautifully illustrated children's picture book below written by Deborah Blumenthal and illustrated by Laura Freeman is a great resource to introduce young artists to her beautiful work and story of perseverance.  Black Fashion DesignersLearning about current fashion designers can help young artists make connections to the real world; they can also discover a potential career path related to visual art. There are a dynamic group of Black fashion designers working today that can be referenced in your lessons. Here are two contemporary designers who create beautiful clothing that can also be easily connected to the Elements of Art. Native Detroiter, Tracey Reese is a prolific fashion designer who has been in the industry for over 20 years. Her creations are colorful and vibrant. She recently developed a line of clothing made from more sustainable materials. Christopher John Rogers was born in Baton Rouge, LA. He recently designed the dress worn by Vice President Kamala Harris at the presidential inauguration in 2021. This award-winning artist continues to create eye-catching designs that inspire people from diverse cultural backgrounds,  Fashion Designer, Tracey Reese  Fashion Designer, Christopher Join Rogers Fashion in Fine ArtFashionable clothing has been and continues to be an important subject for painters and photographers to include in their portrait renderings. We selected several works of art that display figures wearing stylish clothing. Feel free to develop your own collection of works. Initiate a conversation with young learners about the fashions the subjects in each piece are wearing. Here are a list of questions you can ask to begin a conversation: 1. What place or event do you do you think the figures in the paintings are going to or coming from? Explain. 2. Would you wear or do you own an outfit similar to what the individuals in the works of art are wearing? 3. If you were a fashion designer, which outfit would be similar to the kind of fashions you would design?
 Amy Sherald, A Clear Unspoken Granted Magic, 2017, Oil on Canvas More Fashion Art Resources To ExploreA few more art lesson/activities you can add to your fashion design unit include:
Abstract Fashion Design Art Lesson
$5.99
This multimedia art lesson is a great way for young artists in grades 4-12 to explore fashion illustration and learn about the prolific artist, Amy Sherald. Explore our website to discover more fashion themed art lessons and resources.
This Resource Includes:
Fashion Design Art Lesson Bundle
$13.99
This is a great set of lessons to explore art related to fashion design and textiles. Inspired by prominent artists including Kehinde Wiley and Ellis Wilson, feel free to tailor the lessons to fit your curriculum. Explore our website to find more great art resources inspired by amazing Black visual artists Wedding Dress Design Art Lesson
$5.99
Inspired by the children's picture book, The Wedding written by Angela Johnson, this art lesson was designed for young artists in grades 3-12. Explore our website to discover more great art resources and tips. This Resource Includes:
 Happy Black History Month 2022! Even though our website is dedicated to highlighting Black art history all year long, February is one of our favorite months. This year we're taking a look at Black visual artists who created works of art featuring other Black visual artists. Gwendolyn Knight & Augusta SavageTalented painter Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence was mentored by renowned sculptor Augusta Savage at the Harlem Community Center during the Harlem Renaissance. They both created works of art of one another. Mrs. Savage was dedicated to her students and community. Mrs. Lawrence was also a dancer and amazing partner to her famous artist husband, Jacob Lawrence.
James Van Der Zee & BasquiatAt age 95, prominent photographer James Van Der Zee photographed 21 year old self-taught artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Van Der Zee spent his career capturing the beauty of Black people and culture using photography. Basquiat was a dynamic abstract painter who experienced world-wide acclaim while he was alive.  James Van Der Zee (American, 1886–1983), Jean-Michel Basquiat , 1982, gelatin silver print, 10 x 7.87 in. (25.4 x 20 cm.) Laura Wheeler Waring & Alma ThomasLaura Wheeler Waring was a prominent portrait painter of distinguished African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. She was also an educator who enjoyed a long teaching career. Alma Thomas was also a committed educator who prioritized her teaching career above exhibiting her exciting abstract paintings for many years.  Laura Wheeler Waring, Portrait of a Lady, 1947, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Vincent Melzac, 1977.121 Beauford & Joseph DelaneyBeauford and Joseph Delaney were artistic brothers who garnered attention in New York during and after the Harlem Renaissance. While both artists painted a large collection of portraits, Beauford explored abstract expression in his work. He also lived in Paris and developed a close friendship with famed author, James Baldwin. Joseph taught art in New York and later became an artist-in-residence at the University of Tennessee.  Image of a portrait of Joseph Delaney by Beauford Delaney in Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney by David A. Leeming (Discovered on http://lesamisdebeauforddelaney.blogspot.com) Take a look at the art resources below to learn more about these artists. What do you think of this collection of images? Which piece is your favorite? Comment below. Great African-American Artists Memory Game
$8.99
Using this game is a fun way to teach students in grades K-12 about prominent African-American artists who have contributed to the development of visual arts in the United States.
This Set Includes: • Lesson Ideas & Directions • 26 Pairs of Artist Portrait Cards • 26 Artist Facts Cards • Back Side of Cards Sheet Featured Artists: Alma Thomas Augusta Savage Clementine Hunter Edmonia Lewis Elizabeth Catlett Faith Ringgold Gwendolyn Knight Harriet Powers Lois Mailou Jones Margaret Burroughs Meta Warrick Fuller Minnie Evans Selma Burke Aaron Douglas Beauford Delaney Charles White Gordon Parks Hale Woodruff Henry O. Tanner Horace Pippin Hughie –Lee Smith Jean-Michel Basquiat John Biggers Richmond Barthe Romare Bearden William H. Johnson Rainbow Shapes Collage Art Lesson
$3.99
Inspired by Alma Thomas’ Untitled Abstract paintings, this lesson is a way great to help young artists develop fine motor skills. While this lesson was designed for young artists in primary grades, it can be tailored to use with older artists. Visit www.artforthecreativesoul.com to find more art lessons, resources and tips. This Resource Includes: · Lesson Prep/Tips · Rainbow Shapes Collage Art Lesson (with step-by-step photos) Great African-American Artists Coloring & Activity Book 2.0
$19.99
Our latest coloring book features another group of amazing African-American visual artists. This resource is a great way to introduce students to artists such as:
Nancy Prophet Edward Mitchell Bannister Robert Scott Duncanson Vivian Schuyler Key Beauford Delaney William H, Johnson Gordon Parks Margaret Taylor-Burroughs Norman Lewis Charles Alston Varnette Honeywood Carl Owens Eugene Grigsby Allan Crite Annie Lee Augusta Savage Creative Writing Lesson
$4.99
This fun creative writing lesson is a great way to foster art history in the classroom. After students complete a word search activity about the great artist, August Savage, they will use the words to write a story about her. Common Core standards are supported with this lesson.
The Lesson Includes: -Teacher Lesson Plan -Word Search Activity Sheet -Newspaper Template -Word Search Answer Key Great African-American Artists Coloring & Activity Book
$19.99
This newest release compliments the art lesson book, Great Art Lessons for the Creative Soul by Alicia L. McDaniel. Each artist is highlighted with a coloring portrait sheet, biographical info, research questions and a simple art activity. There are cross-curricular connections to music, technology, science, social studies and ELA.
The Featured Artists are: Jean-Michel Basquiat Romare Bearden Selma Burke Elizabeth Catlett Aaron Douglas Minnie Evans Meta Warrick Fuller Clementine Hunter Lois Mailou Jones Gwendolyn Knight Jacob Lawrence Edmonia Lewis Palmer Hayden Sargent Claude Johnson Horace Pippin Harriet Powers Faith Ringgold Augusta Savage Hughie Lee Smith Henry O. Tanner Alma Thomas Laura Wheeler Waring Charles White Ellis Wilson Hale Woodruff Alma Thomas Portrait Art
$6.99
Celebrate great women artists with our Alma Thomas Portrait Art Print by Alicia L. McDaniel. You can print this PDF formatted portrait art on your personal printer or take it to a print shop to print a different size. Explore our website to find more art education resources featuring Alma Thomas.
This Art Resource Includes: · Artist Biographical Info · Alma Thomas Portrait Art Print (Total Print Size, including border, is 8.5” x 11”)  Happy 2022! We're almost halfway through January and just starting to experience mild winter weather where we live in southeastern North Carolina. As the temperature drops, ideas for winter themed art activities go up on Pinterest, social media, etc. Read further to review a brief list of some cool winter themed art resources that you can start using today.
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 Lois Mailou Jones, "Winter Night", c. 1950, Lithograph on Paper |  Jacob Lawrence, "City college is like a beacon over Harlem", 1943, Gouache on Paper, 53.3 x 35.6 cm. (21 x 14 in. |
Winter Picture Books
As you have perused our website, you have probably figured out that we love to use children's picture books as sources of inspiration for art lessons and activities. These colorful winter themed children's picture books are fun to read and great for your art library. Click on the cover to learn more about each book.
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Winter Art Lessons
Create your own paintbrushes to do this colorful Skier Painting and purchase our Snowy Day Pajamas Art Lesson to use with The Snowy Day book. What types of winter themed art resources do you love to use? Leave a comment below.
Season's Greetings!! As we move quickly towards the end 0f 2021, we hope you're experiencing a joyous holiday season. After the popular response to our No Sew Baby Sculpture video (which could also be used as puppet), we wanted to share more thoughts about the art of puppetry. While puppets are a great tool for telling stories in the classroom and encouraging playtime with younger learners, they are even more exciting to create. Here's a small sample of puppeteers, characters and activities to enhance the puppetry unit in your art curriculum.
Puppet Creation
Puppetry is such a fun unit to explore because you can use a variety of materials, techniques and styles to create one. Moreover, this unit can be used in grades Pre-K-12. They can be simple small finger puppets made out of paper or larger marionettes composed of wood and fabric. You can also make a hand puppet with a paper bag or an intricately cut shadow puppet.
Puppets can be modeled after animals, people, or fictional characters from your imagination. Check out this simple hand puppet we made using felt fabric, a recycled sock, a low-temp hot glue gun, stickers, and puff paint:
Puppets can be modeled after animals, people, or fictional characters from your imagination. Check out this simple hand puppet we made using felt fabric, a recycled sock, a low-temp hot glue gun, stickers, and puff paint:
1. Grab a sock. 2. Cut the shapes for the puppet out of felt. 3. Use the hot glue gun to glue the shapes to the sock. 4. Use puff paint and stickers to add details to the puppet.
Black Puppetry Featured on TV
The iconic television show Sesame Street is a great example of how puppetry can be used to entertain, educate and inspire. The puppetry featured on the show also displays great craftsmanship and creativity. While most of the characters on the show are not normally identified racially, there are a few puppets that have been used to represent Black culture throughout the history of the show:
 Actor Matt Robinson was the first black actor to voice the first Black Sesame Street character "Roosevelt Franklin" . Graphic from www.watchtheyard.com |  Segi appeared at the 2015 Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala, puppeteered by Geri Cole and voiced live by Naturi Naughton. Image from www.muppet.fandom.com |
Puppetry in the Theatre
One of our favorite examples of puppetry is displayed in the phenomenal broadway production of the Lion King. We were mesmerized by the life-sized puppetry when we saw the show for the first time. Have you seen any other cool examples of puppetry used in a theatrical performance?
Puppeteers in the Community
Black puppeteers are an important part of the puppetry community. We had the pleasure of seeing some of the amazing puppet creations of multimedia artist Tarish Pipkins in person. His puppets are fantastic and made using recycled materials. His work has appeared in several music videos and he facilitates workshops around the country. Visit his website to learn more about his innovative creations.
We are equally impressed by the performances of talented ventriloquist Megan Piphus. She has mastered the art of puppetry and is distinguished with being the first Black female puppeteer on Sesame Street. Learn more about this phenomenal performerar on her website: https://www.meganpiphus.com
Ventriloquist Megan Piphus will perform at the “Living Objects: African American Puppetry Festival and Symposium.” (Photo: David Teran) Who are some of your favorite puppet characters? Share in the comment section below and have a wonderful holiday season!
Happy October! Fall is such a beautiful and inspiring season. It's also a very contemplative time of year for us. We were recently thinking about the art of animation and how fun it is to explore. Animation is a great art unit that connects with other subjects across the school curriculum. Here are some tips, activities and resources you can use to begin building an animation unit for your art program.
1. Character Development
Well developed characters are the heart of great animations. Share a list of some of your favorite animated characters (as shown below) from comic books/tv shows/movies with your students and have them to make a list of theirs. Lead them in a discussion about the lists. Ask questions such as "What qualities do you like about the characters?" or "Which character has the coolest design?" Meanwhile, you can connect some of the examples that students share to the Elements and Principles of Art.
Hair Love by Matthew Cherry, Sony Pictures
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Disney's, The Proud Family
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Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures
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After the discussion, they can create an original character. They can draw or paint the character or use an iPad/computer to create it. Encourage young artists to keep their character designs simple. For artists in grade 3+, they can also design a movie poster highlighting their original creations.
2. Create a Simple Storyboard & Animation
Todd Finnagan, Storyboards || Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
Illustrating a story board is a great way to help young artists develop critical thinking skills. After you share some examples of storyboard art with them, they can plan out a simple 4 frame storyboard with their original character. A storyboard is a visual organizer depicting action scenes in a story. You can also display examples of comic book/strip illustrations to further explore how storyboards work.
Young artists can further use their characters to create a simple hand-drawn animation like a thaumatrope, flip book or stop-motion animation. Here's a simple 2 Frame animation that we created with a simple character.
Young artists can further use their characters to create a simple hand-drawn animation like a thaumatrope, flip book or stop-motion animation. Here's a simple 2 Frame animation that we created with a simple character.
3. Learn About Important Black Animators
While there are prolific Black animators who blazed a trail like Floyd Norman, Frank Braxton, Leo Sullivan and Ron Husband, there's a whole new generation of Black animators creating eye-catching stories with dynamic characters.
Graphic depicting Bruce Smith, Taylor Shaw and Peter Ramsey for an article by Annalease Yip on www.cbr.com
Creatives like Bruce W. Smith, Taylor K. Shaw and Peter Ramsey are adding their talents to a variety of exciting animated projects. You can learn more about these phenomenal artists by visiting www.CBR.com to read a fantastic article detailing the multimedia projects they are affiliated with.
There are many more art lessons that you can add to your animation unit including 2D/3D computer animations, animation in multimedia presentations, video game animation, animation careers. etc. Make sure to explore our website to find more resources connected to this topic. and share below in the comments about how you explore the art of animation in your creative space.
Hello! We hope your new school year is off to a great start and your art supply stock is abundant. Collecting and experimenting with new art tools is such a fun experience. Check out this short list of some of the art supplies we enjoy using in our creative space.
Drawing/Coloring
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Oil pastels are so cool to draw and color with; they are great for blending. If you're looking for good quality alcohol-based markers, then the Chameleon Pens are the way to go. These markers work well for creating gradients of color.
Painting
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We purchased this lovely watercolor set from Sis Art Supply and love that the set comes with a water brush pen. Kwik Stix are great for younger artists to use. They're vibrant and a little less messy than liquid tempera paint.
Paper
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This Creatology Bright Couleurs Vives paper pad is great for collage projects. Capitol Chic Designs created this lovely paper pad. You can get both products from Michaels. (They are available as of the first release date of this blog post.)
Adhesives
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Elmers Craft Bond glue stick and liquid Glue-All are the main adhesives that we use in our art studio to create personal works of art. They work great on a variety of art materials.
Cutting
 |  Some Exclusions Apply Use Coupon Code BTSSALE21 at Checkout! |
We definitely keep a smaller paper trimmer at hand for various creative projects. Make sure to explore our website to find some great art products. From 8/31-9/2/21 use the 10% Off Sale coupon to save on your entire order. What are some of your favorite art tools? Let us know in the comments.
Hello! We hope you all are having an enjoyable and healthy summer. As we head towards the end of summer and back to school, we want to share some of our newest art resources connected to some of our favorite summer activities and children's picture books.
Going to visit family at our annual family reunion was one of our favorite things to do in the summer. The colorful children's book Family Reunion by Chad & Dad Richardson and Ashleigh Corrin reminds us of those wonderful experiences. Make sure to also check out our Family Reunion Collage Art Lesson which is inspired by the book and art of Synthia Saint James.
Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall is one of the cutest stories from our children's picture book collection. Taking our children to the pool and seeing their excitement was wonderful to watch. Our new Swimming Pool Collage Art Lessons are a great resource to use with the young artists in your family. The lessons are also inspired by the Pool Series of paintings by the prolific artist Derrick Adams.
While we were saddened to hear of the transition of award-winning artist and book illustrator, Floyd Cooper, we are so grateful for the gifts he shared with the world. His inspiring illustrations enhanced a vast array of children's picture books including the story, A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story written by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan. Visiting fun amusement parks and carnivals is definitely some of our favorite childhood memories from the summer. Make sure to purchase and download out Colorful Carousel Art Lesson to add to your art lesson library.
What are some of your favorite summer activities?
What are some of your favorite summer activities?
We didn't want the month of June to end without sharing a simple creative art project for Black Music month. This simple Jazz Royalty collage has cross-curricular connections to music, math, and social studies. Furthermore, it's inspired by the amazing pianist, singer, producer, composer and actress, Hazel Scott.
 Legendary Artist, Mrs. Hazel Scott |  |
Hazel Scott was a beautiful musician who spoke several languages and hosted her own television show in 1950. She also appeared in numerous movies while speaking out against racial inequality. You can learn more about this phenomenal artist here. Check out the steps below to see how we created the collage.
Jazz Royalty Art Collage
Materials
- 6" x 7" White Paper
- 3 1/2" x 7" Red Paper
- 3 1/2" x 5" Brown Paper
- 1 3/4" x 1/2" Black Rectangles
- Black, White and Red Scraps of Paper
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Glue Stick
- Pencil
- Black & Red Sharpies
- Hole Puncher
- We used the pencil and ruler to measure 2 1/2" from the edge of the white paper and draw a vertical line. Then we measured 1" marks to draw horizontal lines.
- After folding the brown paper in half length-wise, we drew half of a head, neck and shoulders on the folded edge. We cut the brown paper while it was folded.
- We traced the pencil lines with the black sharpie.
- Meanwhile we glued the red rectangle on the other half of the white sheet and the brown cut-out on the red paper. We glued the black rectangles on the black horizontal lines to look like a piano.
- We finished the collage by using the paper scraps to cut out shapes for the details of the portrait like the eyes, mouth and hair. The markers were used to add details, music notes and a title. A hole puncher was used to cut out circles for the necklace on the portrait.
There are so many things that bring us joy. This year we are ecstatic about our upcoming creative activities connected to Juneteenth. Click on the poster below to learn more about our upcoming Juneteenth celebration. We love partnering with amazing creative entrepreneurs to share high-quality events. We also enjoyed creating the Juneteenth Wall Hanging Art below; continue reading to see how we created it.
This paper wall hanging is a great activity to add to your Juneteenth celebration. Each participant can write a word to add to the art. You can also make a new piece each year and display them at subsequent Juneteenth gatherings. Feel free to tailor the activity to fit your celebration.
Here's how we made our Juneteenth Wall Hanging Art:
Materials We Used
Here's how we made our Juneteenth Wall Hanging Art:
Materials We Used
- 9" x 18" Construction Paper
- Paper Rectangles (Various sizes and colors)
- Letter Stencil
- Word Stamps ( We made the stamps with foam letter stickers & foam rectangles.)
- Markers (We used paint, permanent & water-based markers in various colors.)
- Red & Blue Stamp Pads
- 15" Straw
- Tape
- Black Ribbon
- Glue Stick
1. We used a letter stencil to write the date for Juneteenth. 2. We made the foam stamps and stamped them on various colors of paper.
3. We wrote different words related to Juneteenth using the markers. 4. Then we glued the words to the 9" x 18" paper in different directions. 5. We wrapped the top of the wall hanging around the straw and secured it with tape. We added the ribbon around the ends of the straw.
Make sure to explore the products below and share below how you will celebrate Juneteenth.
Juneteenth Coloring Set
$4.99
Celebrate Juneteeth with this coloring set. There are four coloring sheets displaying symbols for this important time in American history. This set can be used along with your Juneteenth curriculum and works for ages 4 to adult.
This Set Includes 4 Designs:
- Hibiscus Flower
- Juneteenth Flag
- Freedom Fist with Broken Chain
- Juneteenth Logo Design
Art For The Creative Soul
Hello! Welcome to our Blog. We enjoy sharing art lessons inspired by amazing Black visual artists and creatives.
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