2025 National Art Education Association Conference, Louisville, KY

This year the National Art Education Association Conference was held in Louisville, KY from March 20th-22nd. The call for proposals were sent in summer of 2024 and I was thrilled to have four sessions accepted!

The key note sessions were brilliant with presentations from artist Nate Powell, the Guerilla girls and the past president of NAEA Dr.Wanda B.Knight. I attended several wonderful sessions and excited to implement those ideas at Zamorano!

 

My first session was titled "Podcasting in the Elementary Art room" and it was great to present to a room full of enthusiastic educators!!! It was great sharing the Elementary Art Talk podcast at Zamorano!

 

My second presentation was "Stop Motion Animation in the Elementary Classroom" where there were groups of participants that stopped by to see my presentation every 10 minutes! It was great sharing the work from Zamorano's 5th graders!

The third presentation was titled "The Art of Motif Making" and was a make and take session. It was great to share my love for saree motifs, the meaning behind each and teaching participants how to weave paper, design their motifs and repeat them in their work.

Presenting in Elementary Carousel Make and Take was amazing! We were six elementary art educators from different parts of the country presenting a make and take project! I taught participants how to create Explosion books and loved the energy and enthusiasm in the room!!!

 It was also great to see 5th grade Zamorano student Mila Vila's artwork published on the back cover of Davis publication's 2025-26 advocacy planner and 3rd grader Samantha Guilas's art that won fist place at the San Diego Youth Art Month!

 

Week of 3/17/2025 - 2nd and 3rd grade - Week 2

It was another great week with 2nd and 3rd graders!

2nd graders worked on a Kolam art! Kolam is an art form from India where traditionally dots are created at the door steps of homes using rice flour every morning. Dots are connected with lines and color filled inside the shapes. Kolams are symmetrical in nature and believed to bring good luck and prosperity to homes! An interesting aspect of Kolams is that once created, the critters would eat the rice flour during the course of the day and a new Kolam would be made the next morning focusing on its ephemeral quality and teaching people to not get too attached to what they were creating!

Each student was given a 12" brown card stock with 5 rows on 5 dots traced with a black Sharpie. I also gave each student a white paper inside a sheet protector that had the 5 rows of 5 dots. We practiced how to create a Kolam with a dry erase marker together incorporating symmetry. Once done, students erased what they had created and created their own unique Kolam. This step is crucial in building confidence and skills. Students then created their Kolam on the brown paper by looking at the white paper. They used red, blue and yellow tempera paint to color their shapes incorporating symmetry. We let works dry during the 1st class.

Students returned later in the week to use white tempera paint to outline their shapes using a narrow paint brush, add a border and details to complete their works.

I love hOw everyone started their work with the same 25 dots and yet every work in UNIQUE!

  3rd graders painted their cupcakes using acrylic paint and followed up with a written component where they came u p with a name for their cupcake, flavors present and cost for their cupcakes!

 

 

 

Week of 3/10/2025 - 2nd and 3rd grade - Week 1

 This week 2nd and 3rd graders returned with a new schedule with 2nd graders receiving an additional hour for art during their rotation!

2nd graders looked at the works of artist Alma Thomas and we had a great discussion about everything she did to pave the away for future African American artists to proudly create and display their art in museums!  "Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas" by Jeanne Walker Harvey was a great book to read for this lesson!

Students first created several curved and wavy lines on a 9"x12" water color paper using a pencil. They then used paint sticks to color the shapes that were formed. During the next class, they used tempera paint and narrow paint brushes to create marks inside the shapes using contrast.

 3rd grade students created art inspired by artist Ruth Asawa. We looked at her sculptures and had a great discussion about what she used, how she created the art and what it reminded us of! I read the book - A Life Made by Hand ": A story of Ruth Asawa which talks about what inspired the artist to create works that became her trademark.

Students used 9"x1" paper strips in different colors to practice a variety of fold, curls and cuts to create sculptures incorporating symmetry.

 

 

 

Week of 3/3/2025 - UTK, Kinder and 1st grade - Week 2

This week students returned to create sculptures, create Alma Thomas inspired art and paint their clay works that were fired!

UTK students created patterns on jumbo popsicle sticks using markers - I love seeing how confident they are at this time of the year having practiced patterns for several months now! We looked at the works of artists that use popsicle sticks to create their works such as Randy Tipe, David Hrobowski and Ellen Xu to see how they use this medium to create the most amazing works!

Students arranged and glued their ticks together. I hot glued a wooden dowel to their works, drilled a hole in wooden cubes and hot glued the dowel into them. It's nice to see how unique each work is! 

Kinder students created art inspired by artist Alma Thomas. We looked at several examples of her work and discussed what a trailblazer she was! Students first create three circles and five vertical lines on a 11"X14" brown tag board. They then used a pencil top eraser to dip into tempera paint to create marks inside the spaces. We also left the pencil lines showing just like the artist did - students asked me several times if we were going to erase the lines as they are so used to doing this for other lessons! I love how colorful their works look!

 

1st graders returned to paint their clay pieces - I demonstrated how to dip their paint brushes in acrylic paint and take the time to paint the sides and top and leave the bottom part with their names as is. I also encouraged students to look at the colors available and have a plan as to what color they wanted in which areas.

 

Week of 2/17/2025 - UTK, Kinder and 1st grade - Week 1

 This week UTK students created art inspired by "Dhurries" which are rugs from India!

We looked at a few examples and had a great discussion about what students noticed. It is always nice to hear students using  art vocabulary confidently at this point in the school year. There is more engagement with multiple students raising hands to answer which is lovely to see!!

 We first created 3 vertical and 3 horizontal lines on a 11" X 14" brown poster board using a pencil. Students then colored each shape that was formed in a variety of colors using paint sticks. They then cut construction paper of different colors and glued them inside the boxes.

 

Kindergarten students created art inspired by the story "Go Away Big Green Monster" by Ed Emberley. We read the story first and I love the simple text and the  bold illustrations! Once done, students cut the ears that I have pre-drawn for them with pencil. This step usually takes them about 8-10 minutes as the poster board is thick compared to construction paper or card stock that we typically use. Once done, students draw a variety of lines using a pencil and color the areas using paint sticks. Then they cut circles and add 1-4 eyes using white construction paper and a mouth using black construction paper. After this, I give students white paint to add patterns on the monster's body and triangular teeth to complete their work.

1st graders created book illustrations - I love this lesson as it incorporates writing with art!

I first pick out a book and ask students what they notice on the front cover - title, author and illustrator name and an image. We talk about why this information needs to be included on the front cover and then the purpose of the spine and back cover. I read the story after which I tell students they are going to become book illustrators and if they could design the covers and spine, what would that look like?

I give each student a poster board that has the spine drawn with pencil. We first use a chisel tip black Sharpie to write the title bold as this is what people first look at. We then illustrate the front cover after we discuss who/ what was the main character(s) in the story. Then we write "By" followed by the students name. Students also write the title on the spine, illustrate the back cover and use color pencils/ crayons to color their work to complete it.

 

Week of 2/24/25 - 5th Grade Legacy Mural

 It’s 5th grade Legacy Mural painting this week!!

We have a beautiful design created by our awesome 5th graders!! I am so proud of how students responded to the prompt “what has been your favorite memory of Zamorano?” using the Sketchpad website.

14 images were selected, students created 3 final designs in small groups out of which the final design was selected.

I stayed back after work the Friday before until 7:30 and traced the design 6 pm on wards. I am so glad it gets dark quick and I can use the projector.

A few things I have learned the last 3 years -

1. Giving myself enough time for students to work on the individual and final design.

2. Submitting the paperwork to the school district for approval (this is a requirement) at least 2-3 weeks in advance.

3. Requesting our custodian to clean and hose down the wall.

4. Checking to make sure the projector is working, getting the extension cord from the supply room and making sure it reaches the wall where the design needs to be drawn, making sure the multiple plug outlet is working and keeping admin and custodians on board about when i am staying back after school to draw the mural design.

5. I use a fine point Sharpie to trace the design and also have my phone to look at the design to give me more clarity.

6. I have a large cart to carry supplies including paint, brushes, a container with soapy water for used paintbrushes, rags, wipes, paper towels, paint rollers, tarp, painter's tape, pencil and eraser for any corrections of the design.

7. I also send out a schedule to the 5 5th grade teachers about 3 months in advance just to make sure there are no conflicts and if they do, I work around it. Teachers send 5-6 students per group for 30 minutes. 

With each group, we look at and discuss the final mural design - I make several color print outs so students can see what the area they are painting needs to look like. I also add dots in the color the wall needs to be painted. 

 We discuss the paint which is exterior semi-gloss house paint and how students need to wipe their fingers on a wipe/ paper towel right away. Each student is given a section to paint. I first demonstrate how to dip the paint brush into the paint, hold it sideways and move it to create outlines and then fill in the inside areas. I instruct them to step back every few minutes to see what areas of the wall the have missed and go back to fill it in. We talk about only moving the wrist to paint and cover small areas at a time and not the arms that most students want to do!

 We talk about safety - students that get up or down on a ladder do so with their hands free so they can hold on to the sides and climb. I give them their paint and paint brush once they are up and I hold it when they come down. They also need to be mindful of who is painting near them and not wave their arms.

Here are photos and the progress from day 1 to completion on day 5!

 

 Annndddddd here is the finished 2025 5th Grade Legacy Mural!!

 

 

Week of 2/10/2025 - 4th and 5th graders - Week 2

 This week 4th graders worked on their art submissions for Outside the Lens's media arts show Voice Out - this year their theme is "Change". Students had a table talk about what the word change meant to them. Some said quitting baseball and moving to basketball, changing the world to have people produce less trash, being more kind and so on. We then did a quick write on a white board of all the words that come to our mind while hearing the word change. Next, students, used a Google search to come up wit 2-3 simple drawings of the words they wrote.

Once done, each student took a photo of themselves with their face showing, hands in the shape of a heart etc. and we used the website remove.bg to create a transparent background and add a solid color. Students then imported this photo on Google Chrome and used the different tools available to create illustrations from their white board. Here are some examples - it was interesting to see how each student interpreted the same word in different ways to create their work! 

5th graders finished deigning their work on Tinkercad for their 3D printing - after receiving student feedback on what they can design, I gave the option of designing either a pendant or a trophy using just 3 forms. It was nice to give students options this year. I will print their works for them and they will have the option to paint it using acrylic paint! Stay tuned!

5th graders also started their weaving lesson. This is one of my favorite projects to teach as I am able to bring in so much of what I learned while pursuing my Masters degree in textile design! We look at fabric, discuss what weaving, warp, weft and a loom is and how there are weavers around the world to weave cloth. I show students weaving examples from Ghana, India and Mexico!

Each student was given a cardboard loom and a long piece of yarn. They learned how to loop the yarn around the notches to add the warp on the loom. Next, they threaded a needle, knotted the yarn around the needle and on the bottom right warp. They used an over under movement to weave their yarn. Once there was just a small amount of yarn left, students tied a knot and cut off the weft. They then repeated using a different piece of yarn. We will continue working on this next class to finish.