Ms. Walker's Art Info

Monday, March 2, 2026

Design for Marketing Day 1 Info

Since the portal is down, this is where you can access:

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Wearable Tech Camp Overview

Thank you, campers and families, for a wonderful week!

Below are some resources and inspiration for your campers:

Our projects this week:

More to explore:

Wire to Wear exhibit from the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago
TechnoChic, creator of our Blinky Bowtie kits and several tutorials we used
The "Wearables" category on Instructables.com
Earsketch - code music (currently available in Python and Java; blocks to be released this year)
Construct 3 (code games online)
MakeCode Arcade

Some of the hardware that is compatible with MakeCode Arcade

Hour of Code from code.org

Buzzing Timer Headband/Wristband + how to charge your LiPo battery

Buzzing Timer Headband/Wristband

We built our circuit for the buzzing timer we gave you based on this tutorial by Becky Stern for Adafruit: Buzzing Mindfulness Bracelet

Code

If you need to update the code on your Gemma M0, you can head to this page of the tutorial

You don't need the "Code Writer" program that we used at camp to make changes to your code -- you should be able to use any text editor, like TextEdit on Mac or Notepad on Windows.

MakeCode

If you like coding in MakeCode and feel comfortable with that from playing with your Micro:bit, there is also a version of MakeCode that is compatible with the Gemma M0, which you can find here:

About MakeCode for Gemma
Direct link to MakeCode (add "Gemma" as your board after you click "new project")

Gemma M0

If you want to learn more about the Gemma M0, here is the official Adafruit overview for the product, and here is an overview from CircuitPython

Battery Charger

We sent you each home with a Lipo Battery (3.7v 100mAh) and a battery charger from Adafruit.

Use a USB to microUSB cable (one came with your Micro:bit) to charge your Lipo battery from a USB port, like this:

There are two LEDs on this tiny charger - one red and one green. While charging, the red LED is lit. When the battery is fully charged and ready for use, the green LED turns on.

Disclaimer: For use with Adafruit LiPoly/LiIon batteries only! Other batteries may have different voltage, chemistry, polarity or pinout. More details here.

We hope you are enjoying your new Micro:bit!

Below are some links and resources to help you get started and stay inspired.

Where to code:

MakeCode for Micro:bit - https://makecode.microbit.org/
More ways to code are explained here, including Scratch and Python: https://microbit.org/code/

Learn about your Micro:bit

Get some official details on microbit.org
Get a nice overview of the hardware from SparkFun
The Adafruit Micro:bit learning center also has some great lessons and project ideas!

(you have a version 1 device if you got it from Wearable Tech camp in July 2022)

Where to find ideas for projects:

Micro:bit's official "Projects" page: https://microbit.org/projects/
Instructables: https://www.instructables.com/circuits/howto/micro:bit/
Hackster: https://www.hackster.io/microbit/projects

There are a ton of companies that sell cases, accessories and kits that let you build robots, games, wearables, useful home projects, and more using your Micro:bit. The sky is the limit!

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Sublimation & Heat Press Resource + LED Tote Bag Tutorial

Sublimation + Heat Press

Here is a Google Doc with instructions for how to:

Set up your artwork for sublimation printing (mirrored!)
Print your artwork on sublimation paper (mirrored!)
Set up & use the heat press

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17bqlngmfGonzOEFuwvbZh1goNav2oUV8-XM478xvnbw/edit?usp=sharing

LED Tote Bag Instructional Video:

https://youtu.be/0dYgqPnpaFw

Monday, July 18, 2022

LED wristband tutorials

We are going to use these two tutorials:

1. No Sew Felt Wristband:
https://learn.adafruit.com/Learn-Soft-Circuits-No-Sew-LED-Wristband

2. Wristband with reed switch:
https://www.instructables.com/Friendship-Bracelets-20/

Here are some more images to get you inspired!

Seahawks wristband pic links to the tutorial

Link to The Crafty Avenger's post that features the butterfly bracelet above

Here is a tutorial from Natasha of TechnoChic, who created our Blinky Bowties and our Tote Bag kits:

https://www.instructables.com/Simple-Wearable-Projects-Light-Up-Bracelets-4-Ways/

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

DIY Mini Sketchbook Instructions

You are going to make two (2) DIY mini sketchbooks today.

You will use 5 sheets of drawing paper for each sketchbook.

You will use a pushpin to poke holes in the spine, then use your fingers to insert single staples, and use your ID card to flatten down the legs of the staples.

Check out this video tutorial for instructions: https://youtu.be/tn_Hq4nfOk8?t=72

Start at 1:12, Stop at 3:48

Some notes:

We will not trim off the “page creep” because we are only using 5 sheets of paper
You don’t need to use a ruler to mark where to poke the holes – use your staple as a measuring tool and mark how wide it is.
You can have your staple arms on the inside or outside of the spine – go with your personal preference.

Unless you are a remote learner, keep one sketchbook in the classroom to use in September, and bring one home.

When you are finished you can start decorating your sketchbook or draw in it :)

2020 Art Room & STEM Lab Rules & Procedures

If you don't have access to Canvas yet, please open the following Google Slides presentation:

2020 Art Room & STEM Lab Rules & Procedures

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Art Movements Around the 1918 Flu Pandemic

For students who have been assigned to read Anna Purna Kambhampaty's article from TIME magazine, How Art Movements Tries to Make Sense of the World in the Wake of the 1918 Flu Pandemic, here are some resources to provide you with background information that will put the story into context.

First, a super brief overview of the development of modern art.

What was Popular Before Modernism Developed?

According to MoMA.org, "the birth of modernism and modern art can be traced to the Industrial Revolution." New forms of technology, norms for work, methods of travel, and standards of living all created a change in the type of art that people wanted to create and view.

Before the 19th century, artists were most often commissioned to make artwork by wealthy patrons or institutions like the church. Much of this art depicted religious or mythological scenes that told stories intended to instruct the viewer.

In the mid-1800s, the French Academy of Fine Art was considered the authority on what was good art (and what wasn't). The Academy supported carefully detailed works that were meticulously planned, posed, and staged. Artists would have models pose in the studio while they made studies (practice sketches and paintings), drew inspiration from old masters, and explored a variety of compositional options, before creating their Neoclassical & Romantic masterpieces, such as these:

Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps or Bonaparte at the St Bernard Pass, 1800-1

Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, 1830

During the late 1800s (19th century), artists began to take an interest in creating art that explored everyday life and personal experiences. The development of photography in 1839 also meant that it was no longer up to painters to capture realism, thus setting the stage for art movements that captured the impression and emotions of reality.

Early Modern Art Movements

I have grabbed a headline from MoMA.org for each of the following art movements, included two or three iconic pieces, and provided a bulleted list of key features and artists.

This is also an excellent resource: Early Modern Art History Timeline from ArtFactory.com

*All dates are approximate ranges in which the style developed and was active or growing

Impressionism (1865-1890)

These artists rejected the French Academy. They attempted to capture the impression of scenes from everyday life.

Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise, (1872), oil on canvas, Musée Marmottan

Claude Monet, Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge, (1897-1899)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party, (1881)

Characteristics:

Everyday subject matter (not carefully posed models)
Often worked outdoors (not in a studio)
Wanted to capture the subtlety of light, shadow, and color in a scene
Visible brush strokes and dabs of unblended color give a sketchy or blurry look to work

Most Prominent Artists:

Claude Monet
Pierre-Auguste Renoir

This work seems common to us now, but it was a slap in the face to the academy and was CRAZY at the time... one art historian described the development of impressionism as a group of French artists who collectively "dropped their trousers and mooned the Academy."

Post-Impressionism (1885-1910)

Artists working independently in their own distinct styles, unified by their interest in expressing emotional and psychological responses to the world through bold colors and expressive images.

Vincent van Gogh, ‘The Starry Night’ (1889)

Paul Gauguin, Arearea (1892)

Georges Seurat, Study for "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte," (1884)

Characteristics:

Not one unified style, but several key stylistic developments:
Use of colors and textures to represent emotions or mood rather than realism
Symbolic motifs, unnatural color, obvious and painterly brushstrokes

Most Prominent Artists:

Vincent Van Gogh
Paul Gauguin (flatter textures than his peers)
Georges Seurat (pointillism)

Fauvism (1905-1910)

The "wild beasts" of the early-20th-century art world.

"Fauves" means "wild beasts" in French, and is how one art critic described the artists of this movement after an early exhibition of their work.

Henri Matisse, Portrait of Madame Matisse. The Green Line, (1905)

André Derain, L'Estaque,(1905)

Characteristics:

Arbitrary color -- not realistic, seemingly chosen at random
Obvious brushstrokes and dabs of unblended color
Heavily stylized images -- subjects may be flattened or mildly distorted
Often considered a precursor to cubism and expressionism

Most Prominent Artists:

Henri Matisse
André Derain

Expressionism/German Expressionism (1905-1925)

Amid the destruction of World War I, German and Austrian Expressionists responded to the anxiety of modern life.

Edvard Munch, “The Scream,” 1893

Franz Marc, “Blue Horse I,” 1911

Characteristics:

Goal to depict the world as it felt, not as it looked
Exaggerated angles and flattened forms, distorted views
Vivid and shocking color

Most Prominent Artists:

Edvard Munch
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Egon Schiele (featured in the TIME article)

Cubism & Abstraction (1907-1914... and later)

Cubist artists shattered conventions of representation and perspective.

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907

Georges Braque. Man with a Guitar. Céret, summer 1911-early 1912

Pablo Picasso, Girl before a Mirror (1932)

Characteristics:

Abstracted, geometric images

"Broken" and distorted shapes and forms

Picasso, Braque, and their contemporaries developed many styles of cubism:

Analytical cubism -- more simple, often monochromatic

Synthetic cubism -- more colorful and energetic

Most Prominent Artists:

Pablo Picasso

Georges Braque

Surrealism (1916-1950)

In a revolution against a society ruled by rational thought, the Surrealists tapped into the “superior reality” of the subconscious.

Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 1931

Rene Magritte, Son of Man (1964)

Characteristics:

Artistic, intellectual, and literary movement (art, video, sculpture, writing)

Concerned with human psychology, discovering the "subconscious mind"

Often explored dreams and stream-of-consciousness experimentation

Nonsensical, creepy, dream-like imagery

Most Prominent Artists:

Salvidor Dali

René Magritte

Meret Oppenheim

Artists & Movements Mentioned in the Article

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)

Austrian symbolist painter

Left: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907), Middle: The Kiss (1907-08), Right: restored section of Medicine (1900-1907)

Dada

Readymades

“Readymades” are prefabricated, often mass-produced objects isolated from their intended use and elevated to the status of art by the artist choosing and designating them as such.

The Fountain, (1917) commonly attributed to Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp, Bicycle Wheel, 1951, after lost original version of 1913

Bauhaus

A school (like, an actual college-level school) and movement of art and design
Most prominent areas of creation & influence:

architecture, furniture & appliances, graphic design

Emphasized minimalist, functional design

No ornamentation
FORM + FUNCTION --> good design is simple, elegant, and works well

IKEA would not exist without the influence of the Bauhaus!

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Spring Break Art & Design Inspiration

We've gone to virtual school, we're doing distance learning, we're self-quarantined, we're social distancing... whatever you want to call it.

We're staying home. And it can be hard.

If your school is on spring break right now, that can be a blessing... but it can also get boring.

I've compiled some resources that you can use to help yourself stay creative and stay artistically active while staying home.

Enjoy!

---

I'm posting daily creative challenges on this Instagram account during my school's Spring Break:
https://www.instagram.com/cwalkerartmemes/

No Art Supplies? No Problem! List of Non-Traditional Media

Quarantine Still Life Challenge (can be photography, drawing, painting, anything)

Illustrator Sara Beth Morgan created this 5-day drawing challenge:

see the post on Instagram

Most of the ideas above -- and more -- are also posted on this Padlet that I made for my school's Art Club.

There are plenty of illustrators hosting free online classes right now!

My Graphic Design students shared some of their suggestions for ways to keep artistically active during spring break:

I hope you find some inspiration! Have fun and stay safe.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Make Something that Moves!

If you're following my #springbreakartchallenge on Instagram, then you're probably here for inspiration for the April 11th challenge: make something that moves!

If you have Pinterest, you can browse these ideas and more here: pinterest.com/cwalkerart/make-something-that-moves/