Our Blog
Are you looking to further your artistic knowledge or become a better art teacher? Our blog posts are well researched and based on facts for students, teachers, parents or anyone looking to further their artistic knowledge. Put on the kettle and enjoy the reading...
The holiday season is the perfect time to embrace creativity and spend quality time with your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or young person in your life. One fantastic way to do this is by engaging in art projects that celebrate the spirit of Christmas. Not only does it allow kids to...
How can dinosaurs and art lessons help develop critical thinking skills!?
Creating artworks of pre-history
How can we illustrate what we have learnt about our world before there were written records, before we humans even existed? Depicting dinosaurs is one example. Artists create impressions of...
Drawing a cat is one of the first animals I do with kids. We start our drawing journey with circles and lines. These become faces of family. Then we move on to animals they know like cats, dogs and perhaps rabbits.
Many households have a pet cat. They are an animal that can live inside, sit on...
When our children feel sad, are hurt, maybe unwell or injured we want to help them feel happier. Art as therapy is a well-known strategy that helps release the happy hormones in our bodies. There are four of these that health practitioners refer to when considering why some experiences trigger...
It’s said that a dog is man’s best friend - ‘man’ referring, of course, to all of us - mankind. From an early age we draw those we love most, those closest to us - our pets and people. Circles, lines and squiggles become more recognisable as drawings are enhanced...
How often do we see the artworks created by our teenagers and young adults displayed at home…? Fridges, walls, doors, classroom windows and display boards are adorned with the artwork of younger kids. Are the pieces created by older kids hidden in visual diaries or sketchbooks or art...
So, what IS an insect and what isn’t and how can we draw insects? The simplest and quickest way to identify an insect is by checking it has six legs, three body parts and probably wings - like bees, beetles and butterflies. Spiders are NOT insects because they have eight legs, two body...
I watched flashes of yellow, white and black as nearly a dozen beautiful little New Holland Honeyeaters flapped and fluttered and frolicked amongst the lime green leaves of my young Port Wine Magnolia bushes. Their twittering was a delight to hear as they enjoyed the cooling sensations of the...
Here are some arty ideas to help engage children as they start school. These lessons can also help you as the educator, whether at school in a classroom or in a homeschooling environment, to learn more about your students.
We often start the year by asking children about what they have been doing...
From an early age we create imaginary creatures and friends. What we see in our mind’s eye is enhanced by the stories we hear and see as young children. This visual artistry plays a big part in how we deal with reality. As parents and educators, whether in the classroom or homeschooling, we...
Here in South Australia, the kids are excited to be on holidays, parents are frantically getting ready for Christmas and the weather is normally hot and dry. Or… the kids are already saying they are bored, parents are torn between finding activities for them and trying to ensure Christmas...
Floods. Droughts. And something called La Niña or is it El Niño? La Niña means Little Girl and El Niño, Little Boy (in Spanish). A couple of mischievous kids playing with our weather!
Just like pranksters, we don’t always know what they are getting up to but we...
As parents and educators, we help children develop skills and understandings through teaching about patterns. Patterns are repeated designs which may be manufactured or appear in nature. Observing patterns can help develop the ability to predict and hypothesise. Creating patterns improves our...
As children start to pick up pencils, crayons and paint brushes they delight in changing colours. Becoming more proficient with their artworks, increasing awareness of what colour is and how to manipulate it to suit their purposes and feelings is something we can help them with.
One of the first...
How does the way we portray ourselves on the outside reflect who we are on the inside? Why do we so often ‘judge a book by its cover’? When do we take the time to open the pages and look inside - to get to know people? What shapes our identity? And how can drawing or painting a self...
Kids taking photos
Kids see grown-ups taking photos and want to copy. We can help them with the dangers and delights of becoming a cyber-savvy photographer creating clever digital imagery - and turning some into artworks!
All round the world, kids are taking a break from formal education, whether...
The Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, the Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza… How and why were these huge structures built?
I was thinking about these well-known but diverse icons as INDEPENDENCE DAY and...
Our website - online art lessons for teachers and parents to use with kids
Artventure has many sides to it, evolving over the years based on the needs of our members and feedback from the community. Starting as an online environment full of videos encouraging children to draw, this grew to...
Hmmm... Wabi Sabi and Wasabi? Just to clarify - both originate in Japan, both have a connection with nature. Wasabi is a plant from which a spicy condiment is made to add to foods. On the other hand, Wabi Sabi is a sensitive approach to aesthetics, a way of seeing beauty in things...
For kids, boating can bring such pleasure. Boats in the bath. Boats in the pool, the creek, lakes, rivers… So many different shapes and sizes. From boats to ships. Watching ships transporting cargo as they leave for far away ports, going from country to country. People holidaying on yachts...
It’s a risky thing, as an emerging artist, to choose to create artworks that are slow to make and/or evolve. In a way, it feels like a deliberate act of defiance against the fast-paced risk-reward systems that contemporary society seems to prize. The artist is making a statement about the...
The Bilby is a native Australian animal sometimes called a rabbit-bandicoot because it has a long nose like a bandicoot and big ears like a rabbit. It is for this reason that some Australians consider replacing the Easter Bunny with an Easter Bilby. But why would you want to exchange a cute bunny...
Artventure: Unveiling the Unique Realm of Art Education Beyond YouTube
In the digital age, YouTube has become a ubiquitous platform for learning and entertainment. However, when it comes to exploring the world of art and nurturing creative talents, Artventure emerges as a distinct and superior...
The heading of this blog is a play on a phrase found on the website www.sketchbookproject.com The project is run by not-for-profit organisation the Brooklyn Art Library in New York. The idea behind the Sketchbook Project came about in 2006 and the library has been operating as a storytelling...
