An art teacher caught me off guard once when she asked where my lessons came from. “Everywhere! You know…here and there. Some are original. Some are modifications of other people’s lessons.” It made me think. My answer was honest. My lessons weren’t sourced from some secret location that I kept private. For that matter, you can even find many of my best lessons for free at My Art Lesson. I am all about sharing. Yet, can art teachers give insights into how a great lesson comes to be?

A lesson is born

So, I have pondered this question about precisely what the process of creating an art lesson is. Let me walk through the birth of one of my art lessons. I had a lesson that came to me in the early days of the pandemic. Needing to get out of my house yet stay away from others during our forced Covid quarantine, I started taking a walk in a local cemetery that had a paved road that looped through the grounds. It was tranquil. The graphic designer in me couldn’t help but start noticing and appreciating the variety of beautiful letter forms sculpted on the headstones and grave markers. Then I could feel the art teacher in me awaken. “There is a lesson there…somewhere.” 

My brain started pondering all the potential. I remember seeing people taking rubbings at the Vietnam Memorial in DC years ago when I visited as a teen. I was aware that gravestone rubbings were created for a variety of reasons: historical preservation, genealogy, or just memory making. What does it take to make a rubbing? Very little. You create a rubbing by grazing a pencil, crayon, or charcoal piece across a piece of paper that’s placed on a headstone. When rubbed gently, the headstone inscription and markings are reproduced on the paper.

Now, of course, headstones aren’t the only thing that can be rubbed. I spent many happy times with “Fashion Plates,” a toy that had mixed and matched plates that created complete outfits for a woman. I could change plates so she had a t-shirt or a blouse on top and another plate to change her bottom half from jeans to, say, a skirt. On the flip side, there were different plates that I could use a colored pencil to rub to add a pattern or texture to the clothing. As I pondered the gravestone letters, I thought of all the letter forms and textures that existed right in our homes.

At home, I walked around to find some examples. I found them everywhere- embossed type on a cookbook, raised letters on the top of a pill bottle, raised letters on mason jars, textures on the bottom of shoes, etc. So, here the type and texture lesson was born. A low-cost, highly visual project that teachers could teach remotely during the pandemic. It was a massive hit with over 800 visits to that page alone. 

Here are some truths that I have found about creating art lessons:

  1. Lesson ideas need time to “ferment.” Sometimes for hours, days, months, and even years.
  2. Lessons can come from anywhere at any time. Ideas churn in my brain and will pop seemingly from nowhere at times. Be ready to capture them. I keep a list on my phone in an app. 
  3. Lessons don’t have to be original. Search the internet, your colleagues, Pinterest, books, etc for full lessons. 
  4. Don’t be afraid to make a lesson your own. I used a lesson from a colleague who took it from Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. My colleague had her students draw a still life by drawing the negative space.  They then cut the negative shapes and placed them on black paper. When pondering the lesson, I wondered if I could simplify the still life to help students stay focused on the negative shape. That lead me to use wood planks and bricks to create several “shelves” on which I placed interesting shaped objects (a teapot, a vase with fake flowers, etc) that I put a white shaft of paper in front of and a light projector behind the still life so the whole still life was described in black and white shapes- or other words, positive and negative shapes. This adaptation was very successful. 
  5. Visit high schools’ art shows, competitions, online galleries, etc. Look at the local Scholastic Art Shows and Congressional competitions. 
  6. Reach out to art teachers and ask questions about how they did a project. I had a colleague to whom I explained the technical steps of the lesson she asked about. After my explanation, she then asked, “What did you say to the kids. Exactly how did you word it to them?” I knew exactly what she meant. There is a particular frustration in seeing your lesson being executed poorly by another teacher. So, my colleague was asking the right questions! Lessons are about the process and steps that build. You can understand the project, but it’s the students who have to grasp it as well, and that is the art of teaching.  
  7. Join Art Teacher groups on Facebook! There is so much collective wisdom in those groups where you can always find a willing virtual colleague to answer a question, provide a lesson, or talk you through a process.  
  8. Utilize art education websites (like My Art Lesson, The Incredible Art Department, Art Of Ed University, etc) and art education blogs. Some companies put out lessons with their products, like Blick and Amaco. See our lists at the end of this article.
  9. Continue your education. Go to workshops, learn new ideas and skills, and bring them back to your teaching. Visit galleries, and learn about contemporary artists, historical artists, and art from different cultures. Some lessons will flow. 
  10. YouTube. The pandemic created a boom in teachers recording and sharing lessons; take advantage.

As promised, here are a few favorite websites of teachers to help find lessons or inspiration.

My Art Lesson
Education Closet
Artsonia
The Incredible Art Department
Arteascuola
Brown Paper Bag
SchoolArtsRoom
Art Prof
Make a Mark Studios

Do you have a favorite website that isn’t on this list? Please share your favorite websites, books, blogs, etc., where you find art lesson ideas and inspiration.