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Edgar Degas was not yet famous, but was on the point of aesthetic and commercial success when he left Paris in the fall for his New Orleans visit of about four months, during which time he painted 22 major works. It might be said that he was having a midlife crisis at this time. He had been painting ballet and horse pictures to assist his father's failing banking business. However, he was not yet sure of himself and was searching for his identity, ready for a change. The Franco-Prussian War in 1871 had found Edgar hoping to be a sniper and volunteering for the National Guard, but something was wrong with his eyes--perhaps ophthalmia. So Edgar was ready for a break from Paris when his younger brother Rene arrived and persuaded him to visit his New Orleans relatives. Rene, who may have been the only one to recognize Edgar's genius at that time, had written home for them to "prepare a fitting reception for le Grrrande Artiste." New Orleans made quite an impression on Degas, in spite of the fact that the city was struggling to recover from the Civil War. He was fascinated with America and enjoyed the mild climate at that time of year. The Degas House, at 2306 Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans, was built during the early 1850s and is now a charming bed and breakfast resplendent with history, beautifully restored rooms and numerous reproductions of Degas' paintings.

Provides background information on the lives and works of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Focuses on the artwork of the artists and the museums where their work is displayed. Includes museum photographs of their work. (CMK)

Focuses on the home of Charles Demuth that is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Describes, in detail, the house and the Demuth Tobacco Shop, which is located next door to the house. Includes information on the life and work of Demuth. (CMK)

Focuses on Thomas Hart Benton, describing his house and studio in Kansas City, Missouri. Considers issues such as his life as the child of a congressman, his formal and informal art education, and his artwork. (CMK)

Provides an interview with Ken Young, a retired art teacher, who in order to gain students' interest in art history impersonates various artists by researching their backgrounds and dressing up in costume. Focuses on why he began impersonation, his research on the artists, makeup, and his experiences with impersonating artists. (CMK)

Summarizes the life of artist Allan Houser focusing on his childhood and his family life, the development of his artistic endeavors, and his career as an artist. Comments on the Alan Houser Compound that is a 104-acre compound and sculpture garden that houses over 30 of his sculptures. (CMK)

When he painted a portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II (1552-1612), Giuseppe Arcimboldo used his imagination, and portrayed him as "Vertumnus," the Roman god of vegetation and the seasons. It's fun to find the different fruits, vegetables and flowers he used: pea-pod eyelids, a gourd for the forehead. Court painters of the time usually produced flattering portraits of rulers, to be displayed at the palace or give to foreign dignitaries for prospective brides. It is lucky for Arcimboldo that Rudolf had a sense of humor and appreciated his imagination and sense of fantasy. In this activity, students may look at photos of different creatures: mammals, birds, fish, insects and reptiles and think about mixing the different parts of their bodies to make a fantasy creature.

This article features the painting "View of Toledo," based on Toledo, a very old city located on a high plateau in Spain. By the time the artist El Greco painted the picture, he had lived there for 31 years. When one looks at the picture, one will see a storm approaching and will see the city as if it were lit by a flash of lightning. What main colors does the artist use? How do these colors and the strong dark and light values affect the mood of the work? In this activity, teachers let their students describe what is in the foreground, middle ground and background and take a walk with their eyes starting at the bottom of the composition and traveling upward to the distant city. This activity will let them understand and apply media, techniques, and processes.

Artists often paint the different seasonal activities people engage in and the way the world looks as changes take place. The weather for each of the four seasons is different. Farmers plant crops and gardens in the spring and harvest their crops in the fall, just like "The Harvesters" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. To begin, children will observe the deciduous trees that are near the school and notice the thick, heavy trunks and the branches of the trees. In the fall, the leaves change color, turning from green to the warm colors of yellow, orange and red. Out from these observations, the students will make their own work of art.

A humid summer haze covers the River Seine and the grassy bank where young men and boys go swimming on Sunday. Everything seems so quiet, still, and very hot. They wear hats to protect them from the hot sun. The artist Georges Seurat used warm tones to give viewers the feeling of the hot sun. Seurat was trying to catch the dazzle of hot sunlight in a new way. He later developed a special way of painting, called "pointillism," a process of applying tiny, colored dots close together that blended in the viewer's eye. This article presents an art activity for grade two students in which they will be asked to make a symmetrical sun design using the warm colors of red, orange, and yellow. In this activity, students will: (1) understand and apply media, techniques and processes; and (2) reflect upon and assess the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others.

In this article, the author discusses the different two- and three-dimensional art forms. She also describes the different media that can be used in these art forms.

Artworks are not produced in a vacuum, but by the interaction of experiences, and interrelationships of ideas, perceptions and feelings acknowledged and expressed in some form. Students, like mature artists, may be inspired and motivated by their memories and observations of their surroundings. Like adult artists, students may find that their own cultural and personal background contains a stimulating basis for their own creative activities. Looking at the many diverse kinds of artworks--those created in world cultures in recent times, as well as long ago--provides adult artists and students not only with knowledge about art, but also with the attitude that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to make art. The works of other artists have always been a source of inspiration for artists, creating a springboard for followers. Today's technology has provided artists and students with access to a wider range of artworks than was ever available before, in the form of books, slides, posters, large reproductions, the Internet, CDs and DVDs--as well as exhibits in art museums. History, along with mythology and religion, were thought to be the only acceptable subjects for artworks at one time. When students seek inspiration from history and literature, and use these sources for their artworks, they are working as artists. Teachers can guide and motivate their students to explore numerous inspirational sources by asking questions, providing visual resources, and activating their thoughts, feelings and perceptions.

A rich and stimulating opportunity awaits teachers who plan to connect or bring together an art project with another subject area of the curriculum, thus addressing the sixth listing in the National Visual Arts Standards. While art is important in its own right, the reality is there is often too much content in the curriculum nowadays and not enough time to teach it. With the emphasis on standardized testing in reading, writing and math, teachers are simply not willing to include subjects that won't help them prepare students for these tests. Enter the visual arts! "Arts & Activities" publishes a number of articles that show how art-making can be multidisciplinary. In this article, the author offers some ideas on how to bring together an art project with another subject area of the curriculum.

When one creates an artwork, the "ingredients" are the elements of art: (1) line; (2) color; (3) shape/form; (4) texture; and (5) value. How they are used makes up the principles of art: (1) balance; (2) emphasis; (3) proportion; (4) movement; (5) rhythm, repetition and pattern; (6) variety; and (7) unity. Students will gain a better understanding of the artworks of the great masters by analyzing how they handled the principles of art, and students will also gain confidence when creating their own artworks. This article reviews each of the principles.

Having a career in art is based on strong inner feelings that tell a person what it is he or she wants to be, regardless of one's age. By becoming familiar with the lives of artists and what has inspired them, with knowledge of their working processes, teachers can better plan activities for the students in their care. This article takes a look at the lives of a few of the now-famous-artists and offers suggestions for teachers in motivating all students regardless of whether they show special aptitudes in art.

In this article, the author presents a checklist of basic materials for two-dimensional activities that are necessary for an elementary-school art program. She also provides a few tips on how to use them.

A field trip to an art museum is a very special occasion for students, one they will long remember and that will initiate an association with museums that will endure throughout their lives. When teachers plan ahead and schedule a date and time for their class to attend, the museum will probably provide some pertinent information. Some museums may send items in the form of leaflets or visual materials to help prepare students for what they will be seeing. This article presents museum-related books and helpful pre-museum resources for a museum visit.

Students have taken a look at a number of artworks--sculptures, paintings, buildings, murals, masks and other art forms--and have learned who made them, in what country the artist lived and when they were made. They may even remember in which museum a painting now resides. But, do students have any idea as to why these artworks were created? In this article, the author takes a look at some of the many functions and purposes of artwork--the many reasons art has been created and continues to be produced.

Describes the process for creating a baker's-dough mural that would become a permanent part of the community and relates a visit made to the Sacramento (California) Boys & Girls Club by General Colin Powell. Discusses Powell's part in creating the mural. Includes the steps for how to make a Baker's-dough mural. (CMK)

Children can be motivated to transform their thoughts, feelings and perceptions into visual expressions for drawing and painting. A variety of means are available to help them produce diverse and creative artworks. This article offers a few challenging ideas to get one's class whizzing along.

In this article, the author discusses how the view society has taken in regard to the status and role of the artist has evolved over the centuries, and in different countries and cultures. In general, the public has sometimes lacked understanding and has not accepted some of the more avant-garde artworks, while some artists have achieved recognition and a high status. When people study the contributions and lives of artists, and ponder the meaning behind the images they make, people gain a better understanding of the role of the artist in their own lives and in society in general.

Teachers can function more effectively in the lives of their students when they are aware of the divergent work habits students as individuals and professional artists encounter, share, and utilize. A study of the lives of artists often tells things they have said or written--or what has been written about them in regard to the way they create and produce art--and reveals habits and thought processes that are involved in and contribute to the creation of their art. Teachers' familiarity with these similarities and relationships can help them deal more effectively and sensitively with their students, who are oftentimes involved in similar working processes.

What makes an artist a great master? Why are some artworks held in higher esteem than others? In this article, the author considers why the contributions and creations of some artists have made it through the years. A short quiz using just a few of the abundant facts and fascinating information found in "The First Time: Innovations in Art" is included.

Teachers can help students become more fluent and confident in creating their own art, as well as being consciously aware of the art elements--line, color, shape/form, texture, space and value--when they view the art of others. In this article, the author reviews and defines the characteristics of each element separately, basic elements that are likely included in an introductory art course.

The National Art Education Association (NAEA) has clearly defined the role of art with six content and achievement standards that are broad in coverage and designed specifically to ensure a thorough and comprehensive art program for K-4, 5-8 and 9-12. To meet the standards, students learn vocabularies and concepts associated with various types of work in the visual arts, and must exhibit their competence at various levels in visual, oral and written form. The visual arts include drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, design of all sorts, architecture, film, video and folk arts--all involving tools, techniques and processes. In this article, the author reviews how the National Standards for Visual Arts Education came to be.

Students have completed their two-dimensional drawings, paintings, prints or collages, and there they are--in a neat stack on a shelf. They deserve to be shown to the students, fellow teachers, visiting parents and administrators. They need to be matted or mounted, and placed on exhibit in a corridor, hallway or special bulletin board. By matting or mounting students' works, teachers honor them--they are visually stating that students' work is important and it deserves to be suitably displayed and labeled, just like in commercial galleries or art museums. In this article, the author provides some tips on how to make the most of the display.

The figure has "figured" prominently in the choice of subject matter for many artists throughout history. Whether they may choose to depict it in an abstract or expressive form, most artists are quite capable of realistic portrayals of the human form. And all people know that one of the very first drawings made by young children is a symbol for the figure. Seen first is the very familiar "head-feet" representation. As children emerge from the symbol stage, they want to make more realistic drawings and make comments such as, "It doesn't look right" or "I can't draw." This article presents some tried-and-true aids to help children make figure drawings with which they are satisfied, and that encourage them to continue drawing. All of these suggestions assist the student in learning to see and observe accurately. Continued practice with figure-drawing activities will result in happier students, as they look at their work and see that it actually "looks right."