In high school, many students take art as an elective and do not realize the significance and necessity of art in the "real world". In the past I have been asked by art students, "How can I use what I learn in art to make money or get a job?" We did this video two years ago to briefly explain how one can use the skill of drawing to establish a successful art career in the real world.

Today, we want to share some simple ideas for maintaining and presenting a professional art education teaching portfolio. Most college students who major in art education are required to create a professional experience portfolio before they graduate from college. The school that I graduated from many years ago, encouraged us to create a binder to keep and present our teaching experience information in.  Over the years after graduation, I continued to add pictures, lesson examples, fliers, workshops, etc. to the portfolio. It's important to do this because, you may need to interview for a new teaching position. Meanwhile I ended up with a huge stack of teaching experience that was to large to fit into a regular 2" binder. I finally decided that I wanted to create a more concise way to present my teaching portfolio. Thus, I created two new versions of my portfolio. 

First, I created a digital version of my portfolio using Power Point. It included, pictures of my certifications, resumes, student work ,awards, personal artwork, lessons, etc. What's great about a digital portfolio is that you can send it to a potential employer to preview before an interview. You can also create a free website of your portfolio using websites like www.weebly.com.The second version, which works really well in an interview, is a picture book using websites like www.shutterfly.com . This version is small, sleek, easy to carry/present and is very impressive to administrators who are interviewing you. I also created a smaller booklet displaying student artwork from classes that I taught over the years. Do you have any creative ideas on how to present and maintain a professional portfolio? Share them by commenting below.

We had a great time at our virtual book launch party this past Monday. This "scrapbook" page displays some of the high lights. We appreciate everyone who stopped by, signed the guestbook and left beautiful comments. Here's what some people said:

"I was having a rough day and got the call to visit the virtual party. I had a great time playing the game and learning about the resource. I even won a prize."

"You are filling a void, particularly for classroom teachers (instruction) with information and lesson plans, etc."


"Congratulations on a great book! We can't wait to use these lessons at Jordan High School in Durham, NC. Thanks for your contribution to art education!"


Special thanks to everyone who visited the party. We are planning more events in the future. Make sure to visit the website regularly and share it with others. Have a great weekend!

This week we wanted to share a creative bulletin board idea using one of our art resources. Using the 4 Basic Pencil Shading Techniques poster, you can create an outstanding display in 5 easy steps:

1. Choose a bright background paper to cause the resource to standout.
2. Use a border that will compliment the resource. We created the one used in the picture above.
3. Create a fun sign to place at the top.
4. Select interesting examples of pencil drawings using various shading techniques.
5. Mount each sheet on black construction paper.

Send us examples of how you use this poster in your classroom and we'll post them on our website.