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...
Slip. Slop. Slap. It’s hot. Let’s take the kids to the beach! Slip on bathers and a top. Slop on the sunscreen, and slap on a hat! Grab the boogie boards, buckets and spades. Pack the cricket bat and a tennis ball. Slip on the thongs (Aussie version of flip flops!) and throw in the towels. Let’s go!...
Have you been caught up in the elf craze? Classrooms and bedrooms have cute little elves popping up all over the place. Or maybe he’s sitting in the fridge hoeing into the cheese. The delight on a kid’s face when they discover their elf has moved and is now spread-eagled on the floor holding headpho...
How awesome is the artwork above! This was created by David Follett who is an illustrator, a cartoonist… His job is to draw! He is paid to follow his passion. Dave is also part of our extended family. I love being a part of an arty, creative family! Artists get so much pleasure from producing their ...
The line of creativity that taps into visual imagery, is the same as that which taps into the lyrics of a song, or a lyrical passage from a piece of music. It’s hard to create in a void, that hollow space where nothing happens. Every creative act needs a point of inspiration. But in this age of digi...
When we create artwork lessons for you on ArtEyeDeer, we sit at a fantastic old table, with our artwork in front of us, the video camera positioned overhead, and two large light reflectors either side of the camera to diffuse and even out the light. Pretty ideal conditions for making and recording a...
Purpose of pictures
As a mum, I have loved rereading picture books with my children - some from when I was a kid, many newly published. Obviously the purpose was to help them learn to read and broaden their understandings of the world around them. The purpose of the pictures is to help provide visu...
Often, our first experiences of artwork are drawings or paintings in children’s story books. Babies and toddlers listen as the story is read to them and look at the pictures. Gradually the pictures start to make sense and children connect the visuals, the words and reality. But do we always need wor...
I just like it, it’s pretty cool”
Working out the “why, what, how” of responding formally to artworks for senior students
In a previous blog, we unpacked an alphabetical range of art terminologies commonly used by us, as your presenters, in our ArtEyeDeer video lessons. We’re always conscious of i...
Ask any homeschooling parent and they will tell you that educating your kids at home can be challenging and rewarding at the same time. This is particularly true for when your kids become teenagers. Can you see advantages, especially for the development of artistic abilities?
Perhaps you’re already...
Art had a backseat
Decades ago in education, art had a backseat. In secondary education, it was expected that Maths, Sciences and humanities be studied over the performing arts. Art was not valued as a subject. How many jobs are there that would need art?!
Now it’s a visual world
There is increas...
It can be a bit of a daunting task writing about the artwork you create.
Artists face this prospect all the time in the daily pursuit of their art-making. They are asked by galleries to submit an artist’s statement about a body of work for exhibition; they write statements for entry into art awards...
But what does that word actually mean?
In almost every ArtEyeDeer lesson we use art terminology that helps us, as your presenter, to categorise concepts, styles, approaches, techniques and processes. Sometimes the terms are self-evident, and at other times their meaning may not be quite so clear to...
How much time young people spend looking at a screen is controversial, to say the least. So the consideration of whether to allow, even encourage, children to use digital technologies for drawing will be based on our perceptions of the importance of these skills, an understanding of the child’s pers...
We learn by observing, experimenting, exploring, making mistakes, and through explicit teaching.
Making the first marks
What a joy to watch the delight on a toddler’s face when they see the marks they make with a crayon on paper. Can I do that again?! How we react as viewers has an impact also on ...
How do we reflect on our own artwork and respond to art created by others? What is it that results in us experiencing beauty? This questioning and wondering is often referred to as aesthetics: the theory of art and beauty. If something is referred to as aesthetic, it is seen as pleasing to the sense...
Creating your art on different surfaces.
When we record our ArtEyeDeer videos, we’re conscious of keeping the surfaces that you make your artworks on accessible.
By surfaces, we’re predominantly referring to paper, but from time to time, we like to introduce related surfaces like card, or cardboar...
The full curriculum in The Arts can cover Media Arts, Drama, Dance and Music, as well as Visual Arts. The focus here is to consider how Visual Arts can be taught across other curriculum areas as well as a standalone subject. Whether you are a classroom teacher or home educator, trying to fit in
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Does the quality of the materials you use to make artworks matter?
The answer is a surprising “Yes” and “No”!
As far as possible, it’s always better to purchase once, and purchase well. But it’s also equally important to realise that good materials require good maintenance routines that will keep ...
Art draws on tools and materials. The tools might be our hands and the materials, sand. The artwork might be a hobby, a lesson or a career. Providing our children at home, or our students at school, with diverse opportunities to develop their artistic skills can be expensive, but does not need to be...
Lift Off!
I can’t believe we’re finally launching Art Eye Deer!
In 2007 I sat with one of my best friends in Sydney and she asked me “if you could do anything in the world, what would you do?” and I responded with “I would teach art to kids all over the world”. Going worldwide seemed impossible so...
Camping is an awesome experience to give to all kids. Here are 5 things we did over the weekend with our kids while camping to keep them busy:
1. Collect fire wood(Check your local fire ban rules/restrictions.) Throw on some shoes to protect from scratches and watch out for snakes (if you're
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Involving kids or groups of people in artworks can bring communities together and give children a sense of being part of something 'bigger' than themselves. It's one of my favourite things to do: get participants to create their own drawings or paintings and then bring
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You might be surprised to find that art and maths actually have a lot in common. For instance, angles and patterns are found in both art and maths. Measurements are necessary in both art and maths too, but maybe they are a little bit obvious. The following list of five things you’ll find in both art...
Whether it’s your first year as an art teacher or you’re experienced at teaching art to teens, beginning a new year of art classes can be intimidating for anyone. Teenagers can be difficult to teach at times, seeming to challenge every rule. They can be disruptive, hardheaded, and occasionally even ...
