Hosting a family art night can be the best way to build support for your art program, boost parent involvement and advocate for your program within your community. In this episode, I share my experiences with my own family art night both as a parent and as the organizer.

I walk you through what worked for me, how I set up the event, what projects were successful ( and which ones weren’t!) and ways to incorporate fundraising.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 

How to set your intentions for the event and why it's important

What a family art night can offer families in regard to a community building and bonding experience

How a check-in table can get the parents involved (and informed)

The benefits of a hostess

How to choose the right art projects for your event

How to create an Art Board for self-guided art exploration

How to manage wet art projects

LISTEN TO THE SHOW:

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast App. 

Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

SHOW NOTES: 

Symmetrical Butterflies

Foam Printing 

Antique Flower Still Life

Paint Brush Rocket Mural Project

Circle Painting Project

On today’s episode, I’m talking with Sally Haughey from Fairy Dust Teaching. If you’re not familiar with her work, you really need to check out her blog, Fairy Dust Teaching.  Sally and I chat about the best way to engage young children in the art making space. You’ll learn why the method Sally uses is just so important and effective with not only young children, but ones of all ages.

This episode is for anyone who struggles with finding the right balance between a creative art-making space and behavioral expectations.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 

How Sally decided to become a teacher based on her own struggles and her children’s struggles in the public school system

How she saw the arts change the lives of at-risk children

Why Sally says TRUST is the most important thing when it comes to classroom management for at-risk children

How and why songs hold children’s attention better than anything else

What three things Sally does when children enter the art room

How Sally teaches art projects with a wide range of ages

How Sally addresses poor behavior with the children in the classroom

What is the difference between Reggio and Waldorf-inspired art and how Sally uses both in her teachings

How Sally gauges the rhythm of her classroom in order to maintain a positive flow

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast App. 

Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

For all the budding singers out there, DOWNLOAD SALLY'S ART SONGS PDF to get you started....

Just click the blue box, enter your name and email and I will email you the PDF. Make sure to check your junk mail (or promotions folder in gmail).

SHOW NOTES: 

Fairy Dust Teaching Website

Teacher Resources on Fairy Dust Teaching

One of the hardest parts about being an art teacher is advocating for your art program. Feeling vulnerable to budget cuts, constantly aligning with new standards, accommodating everyone’s perception and expectation of what art should be can be very challenging.

Recently I asked the Sparklers to share what their biggest struggles are right now in the art room…I love questions like this because it really gives you insight on how people are feeling and what their current struggles are. And the most fascinating thing for me is that everyone can relate.

Today’s episode addresses three very common struggles in the art room: reduced class time, art project expectations and explaining or defending art techniques or art philosophies.

You may be surprised what all these struggles have in common and how to best eliminate them from your day.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 

Why one of the hardest parts about being an art teacher is advocating for your art program

Like children, no two art teachers are alike

How as a creative you do have the capacity to think outside of the box to solve problems

Why you should look at changing your perception of the problem - instead of battling the administration

How the amount of excitement you show will affect the engagement of the children

How your children are your advocates, and the way you talk to the parents through the art

Questions to ask yourself to help define your art room intentions

How your end-of-the-year art show will answer every question that parents and administrations have about your art program

How the Four Agreements have transformed Patty's life

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast App. 

Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

SHOW NOTES: 

Letter to a First Year Art Teacher AME 001

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) by Don Miguel Ruiz *affiliate link

Since the creation of Deep Space Sparkle’s Members Club (join waitlist) last June, I’ve made it my goal to help serve and support teachers on their path as art teachers.

One of the newest features of the membership is the Sparkler Spotlight. This is where I share members stories on how they became an art teacher, what they struggle with and where they find their inspiration. I’m excited to announce that my first spotlight is member Kristina Massey!

Kristina has her own art studio called Corbie Arts in Washington State and teaches after school classes to a small but growing number of students. She joined The Members’ Club to reduce the amount of work she spent in creating a curriculum for her classes but now is wondering how to best use her time in building a business.

In this episode, we’re flipping the format and Kristina is asking me the questions! If you are a studio owner or teach after school art class, listen in as Kristina and I chat about artsy business stuff.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE: 

Why it is important to identify the intention of your class and attract the people that you want to serve

How to educate parents on the style of art that you are using to teach their children

How we are living in a time where everyone is revisiting or reconnecting with their creative side

How teachers can make more of their time to create more profit

Why as an entrepreneur you need to experiment with things to find out what changes are necessary in your business

Why if you find one social media platform that is working for you, you have to “double down” on that one!

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast Ap. 

Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

SHOW NOTES: 

Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun (Lab Series) by Carla Sonheim

Jasmine Star Creative Brand Strategist

Creative Bug online creative classes

Art Made Easy Episode 39 with Meri Cherry

After hosting pop up art classes in her garage, art teacher and blogger Meri Cherry listened to her intuition and opened her first art studio in Southern California. Eight months later, Meri serves her creative community by offering everything from toddler art sessions to family art nights.

Learn how Meri created a thriving business and an art studio of her dreams.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 

How having children changed Meri’s career path

How her business was able to take off after she was able to give herself permission to go for it

Meri’s biggest piece of advice for pursuing your dreams

If you should go all in or take baby steps in opening your own studio

How Meri differentiates between fine art and a more process-based art

Why is it important to give children the unstructured time of process art

What is pacing and Meri incorporates that into her art classes based on age

Why Meri recommends Instagram to advertise her studio classes

What are the top two platforms for advertising

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast Ap. 

Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

SHOW NOTES:

The Complete Artist's Way: Creativity as a Spiritual Practice by Julia Cameron

The Mind Your Business Podcast with James Wedmore & Phoebe Mroczek

Meri’s Blog

Meri’s Facebook

@mericherry (across social media)

Does this sound familiar?

You teach a lesson and it goes terrific: the students understand the concepts and are totally engaged, but then you go to teach the same lesson at a different school, and it fails. The students don't grasp the concepts and want to do their own thing. What do you do?

This was the discussion last week inside the Members Club Facebook group. First time art teacher, Traci Ann wondered why this happens and how it can be avoided.

If you’ve taught art for any length of time, you know this happens and that it happens to both seasoned and brand new teachers.

This week’s episode addresses what to do when a proven project doesn’t work out so well and how you can pivot to ensure that your students get the most out of their time with you.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 

Why it is important to assess your classes’ strengths and abilities

How to alter the lesson plan based on the outcome of the assessment

How negative thoughts about the class room teacher’s management plan can affect your teaching abilities and/or outcome of your projects

My advice when a lesson plan gets out of control (and how to regroup and start over)

How to acknowledge problems or critique children’s work

How to think on your feet when a project is not going well for a numerous amount of students

Why it is important to be on the lookout for how students can help you refine the process of how you are teaching certain projects

Whether or not templates should be used

How to be mindful or the length of each project and the attention span of the children

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast App. 

Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

YOUR TURN...

What's your strategy for dealing with projects that don't go as planned?

Share your tips, strategies an experience so we can reassure all of the new art teachers out there that this will happen and it is fixable!

Do you feel overwhelmed when you look at your stacks of lesson plans and project ideas? Ever wondered how other art teachers store their lesson plans and samples? And what is the best way to store artwork?

Start the year off with an organized mindset by hearing how Patty organized her hundreds of lesson plans and stacks of student art.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 

Why it’s never too late to organize, regardless of what point in the year it is

How mindset plays a key role in successful organization

Why listening to how other art teachers do things is a good idea

Why identifying your organizational style is the first step to take

How different themes can be organized and used later as reference tools

What my criteria for throwing things out involves

What you can do with teaching samples so that they can be used in the classroom

How to effectively divide your lessons on the masters

How (and why) organization is moving from binders to being done on computers

Why the first day of art class is the perfect time to make a student portfolio, and how do you make one?

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast Ap. 

Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

DOWNLOAD THE ORGANIZED ART TEACHER PDF

SHOW NOTES: 

Evernote

Dropbox

Pinterest

Are you looking to incorporate a few STEAM art activities into your curriculum this year? Ana Dziengle from Babble, Dabble Do is this week's guest on the podcast. If you haven't met Ana before, I know you'll love her. She's the type of girl you want as a friend. And since she is originally from Santa Barbara, I'm claiming her as mine! Ana shares her favorite STEAM projects that engage kids and encourages them to think for themselves. And isn't that what we all want? This episode is perfect for anyone wants to explore a few STEAM projects with their kids.

Things you will learn in this episode:

How Ana visualized the lifestyle she wanted and was able to make the hard decision to get it

How Ana incorporates art and science together

The many different aspects of being creative

Why being artistic doesn’t mean it has to be through a traditional medium

How to entice children with a magical component of art

What STEAM projects are and why they should be incorporated in projects

Why it is important to choose projects based on the age group of your kids

How to step back and let the child’s project unfold without inserting what outcome you think the project could and should have

How to prepare your children to not negatively compare their work

Why doing projects alongside the children creates a great dynamic

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast Ap.  Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

DOWNLOAD TWO STEAM BOOKLETS!

Thanks Ana for providing two AMAZING activities...these are super cool, folks. To get yours, just click on the yellow box, add your name and email and the zip file containing the two PDF's will be emailed to you. If you use safari on a MAC, the zip file won't open. Try CHROME instead.

SHOW NOTES:

Ana’s book, Steam Kids

Dyed Snow Flake Project from Babble Dabble Do

20 Science projects for Kids from Babble Dabble Do

Don't Move the Muffin Tins: A Hands-Off Guide to Art for the Young Child by Bev Bos

www.leftbraincraftbrain.com

Are you looking for ways to spruce up your art program? Move beyond traditional lesson plans with artist trading cards, a flipped classroom and QR codes.

Nic Hahn, author of the popular blog, Mini Matisse, shares how she transitioned to a choice-based art room, how she uses videos to flip her classroom plus she shares the art projects that have been the most successful with her students.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

How working with different age groups gives you added perspective as a blogger

How Artist Trading Cards help the learning process for students

How her focus on Careers in Art has exposed the children to all sorts of possibilities

Why reflection in the art room is needed, and how Nic ties pop culture into the curriculum

Why she uses QR codes in her classroom

How questions she receives online leads the direction of her blog

How presenting the masters of art to her classes allowed Nic to grow as an artist herself

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast App. 

Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

SHOW NOTES:

Yuko Larson and Nic Hahn's Trading Cards

Bit-O-Bios Art Biography

QR Codes Lesson Download

Careers in Art Sample Lesson

Download Careers in Art

See Saw App

The holidays don’t need to be a time for stressful schedules and hectic classes. Make this season your best ever by determining what your holiday intentions are, how to navigate your school’s holiday celebration parameters and what projects to do with your students that will deliver smiles for all.

In this episode, Patty addresses the big issues art teachers face every December:

What should you do when your school doesn’t celebrate the Holidays?

How to handle children who can’t participate in anything remotely seasonal.

How to set your intentions so you can enjoy the season and bring focus to what brings you happiness.

A list of non-religious art projects you can do in a short amount of time.

How Parkinson's Law applies to teaching art

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Subscribe to Art Made Easy and receive new episodes directly on your phone via your podcast App. 

Note: If you have an iPhone, subscribe in iTunes. If you have an Android phone, subscribe in Stitcher.

5 NON-RELIGIOUS ART PROJECTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Click the yellow button below and add your name and email to the form to download your project plan.

NOTE: The PDF will be sent to your email. Make sure to enter a correct email address and check your junk mail.

SHOW NOTES:

Teachers Pay Teachers : Deep Space Sparkle will be participating in the Cyber Monday and Tuesday sale on November 28 and 29.