This lesson is taught to help students explore and express movement through art, a fundamental concept in art education that deepens understanding of rhythm, energy, and cultural storytelling. By engaging in both painting and weaving, students learn how color, line, and texture create dynamic compositions, while the weaving process reinforces rhythm and layering. This hands-on, multidisciplinary approach not only connects students’ personal experiences with music and dance, making the content relevant, but also builds on prior skills in painting and design. Overall, the lesson integrates technical skill development with conceptual exploration, aligning seamlessly with the art curriculum.

This lesson introduces students to the concept of atmospheric perspective, where objects appear to change in size, color, and clarity as they recede into the background. Students will create artwork featuring basic shapes of their choice (e.g. hearts, shoes, ice cream) arranged on a watercolor background. The shapes should be drawn with colored pencils and incorporate shading, size variation, and thoughtful composition to create a sense of atmospheric depth. 

The day’s purpose was to introduce 5th graders from local elementary schools to elective classrooms to make an informed decision between band, orchestra, choir, and visual arts as they move on to middle school the next school year.

I spent President's Day at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis as a representative of Herron School of Art and Design as a part of their community outreach programming.  We spent the day working with the visitors on a dinosaur fossil rubbing activity and coloring activity.