Sorry! This blog will be inactive for a while

Finishing up grad school became the death of blogging often, clearly. And now that grad school is over, work has kicked into high gear! Therefore, this blog will not contain new posts for a while.

Thanks for checking in,
Melanie

Project 8: Edible Art

Your kids are going to love this project because it combines two favorites of children: eating sugary snacks and playing with their food. This is basically a recipe that you will whip up with your kids, and then they will create a sculpture or bas-relief from it. No baking required!

This recipe is an old family recipe for soft mints. My grandmother made these for holidays and events, and my mother carried the tradition by putting the mints into small molds of baby booties and using them at baby showers. They were always such a hit! I hadn't made these mints myself until one of my best friends got the urge to make them when I was visiting her right before Christmas 2009. We had a great time coming up with shapes for the mints using various kitchen tools she had since she didn't have any sort of molds or small cookie cutters. The mints came out great and in varied shapes and sizes!

Materials

• 1 (one) 16 oz package of powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
• 4 oz of cream cheese (1/2 of an 8 oz block)
• flavoring, or extract (I use spearmint extract for mints, but for this project , I'll be using orange extract)
• food coloring (not required, just a nice addition)
  
• medium-sized mixing bowl
• spoon
• tray, cookie sheet, large plate, cake stand, or something to put the sculpture on

Instructions

1. Get your kids prepared to be in the kitchen by having them roll up sleeves, pull back loose hair, and wash their hands. Everyone will also want to take off any hand jewelry, unless they want sugar in every crevasse!
   
2. Get out a medium-sized mixing bowl and spoon.
3. Have your kids put the cream cheese in a microwavable bowl (this can be your mixing bowl if it is microwave-safe) and soften the cream cheese by zapping it in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Be sure they don't cook it too long, as it shouldn't be melted, but rather softened.
4. Have your kids stir the cream cheese in the mixing bowl with a spoon.
5. Tell them to slowly add about a half cup of powdered sugar to the cream cheese. Your kids will mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until blended. Tell them to stir slowly and gently, as the powdered sugar can go everywhere! The powdered sugar pretty much just melts in the cream cheese.
6. Have your kids continue to add about a half cup of powdered sugar to the mix at intervals. It will start to get tough for them to stir when you get down to the last fourth of the bag of powdered sugar, so you'll need to assist at that point.
7. You'll want to add the flavoring and any food coloring before it gets too difficult to stir. You can actually add it early in the mixing if you'd like.
8. Once the rest of the bag of powdered sugar is being mixed with the cream cheese, you'll probably need to begin kneading it with your hands. It should be very dough-like (a little sticky, but it doesn't stick all over your fingers).
9. Continue to work it with your hands until the powdered sugar blends in.
10. Now your kids get to create their edible art! They can either work directly on the serving dish, or they can work on wax paper or foil and then transfer their masterpiece to the serving dish.
11. There is no right way to create this edible sculpture, so let your kids have at it! You can guide them on what looks right, how to form a ball by rolling it with their hands, etc.
    
12. They can make a 3-dimensional sculpture, like this: or they can do a bas-relief (a more 2-dimensional sculpture) by cutting out shapes with a toothpick or butter knife and placing the pieces together, like this:
13. Important tip: this dough is very heavy and loves to sag. Avoid tall sculptures, as they will seriously droop and become blob-like. I tried a standing-up rabbit for this project, and by the end, the rabbit had a very large belly and bottom!
    
14. You'll notice that the more you work with the dough, the drier it becomes. To soften it back up a bit, wet one finger and knead it with your hands. A little bit of water goes a long way, so don't use any more water than needed!
    
15. Once your kids are done creating their art, place the sculpture in the refrigerator. Keep in there until you are ready to serve, as it stays a little more firm when it is cold. It will remain soft, even if it has been in the refrigerator for a while.
    
16. Be sure to take pictures!

My kids are done with the project, now what?

• This project can be done for birthday parties, holiday meals, gifts, or even as a rainy day activity. Help your kids think of different things to create from this recipe.
• Try different flavorings! Your local grocery store will have many different extracts to choose from. I've seen coconut, raspberry, lemon, almond, peppermint, spearmint, orange, etc.
  
• This recipe makes a wonderful and edible topper for cakes, so have your kids create something fun for the centerpiece of a cake!

You might also like:

1. Kitchen Daily has a helpful section called Cooking with Kids that provides ways to invite your kids into the kitchen with you. I think you'll find the articles helpful to your family in many ways.
2. Disney's Family Fun shows some very creative ways for kids to make food resemble things like animals (my favorite is the strawberry mice!). These types of activities can get your kids excited about being in the kitchen while practicing their creativity at the same time.
3. Kids Health is a wonderful resource for healthy eating for kids. This Web site has a section for the kids as well as for the parents, and it even has recipes for those who have certain types of medical conditions. After this project, your kids may need some healthy meals to combat all the sugar!
   

Project 7: Origami Story

For this project, your kids will combine the Japanese art form of origami with storytelling. I learned this project from a storyteller that came to my classroom in fourth grade, and I never forgot it. It is so much fun to do, especially in front of a few people. I perform this project for others a couple times a year, and it always gets a good reaction. This is really a performance art piece, since it can only be viewed as an entire work of art in real time. I change the story a little each time to fit the audience (e.g., name the story's characters after audience members).

I have included written instructions with images as well as a video so you can teach this project to your kids in different ways.



Materials

• a piece of computer paper (8.5" x 11")

Instructions

Folding

Do this project in full (story and folding) in front of your kids before teaching them these folding instructions. It will help them understand what the final product is supposed to be.

1. Have your kids do the origami-folding portion of this project a few times before trying it with the storytelling. They will need to know the folding steps by heart to perform this project well.
2. These folding steps don't have to be precise and to an exact measurement.You'll see from my video that everything still works great even if the folding isn't perfect.
   
3. Have your kids fold their piece of paper in half by bringing the top down to the bottom. Have them crease their folded edge.
4. Tell your kids to rotate the folded edge so that it is away from their body (folded edge at the top).
5. Next, have them bring the top right corner down to the middle of the page. Then, have them do the same for the left corner.
6. Now, they will fold up the top layer of the bottom of the page so that it overlaps the bottoms of the folded edges. Tell them to turn it over and do the same for the other side.
7. Now they can open it - this should look like your normal paper hat. This is Stage 1 (you will know what Stage 1 means when we combine the story with the folding steps).
8. In the open position from Step 7, have your kids pull the front and backside of the hat so that it begins to fold the other way.
9. Have them crease the hat in this new folded position.
   
10. Tell them to take the bottom tip of the top layer and fold it up to the top point.
11. Now have your kids open it. This is Stage 2. It should look like a fireman's hat from the side.
12. Have your kids put the front of the fireman's hat face down.
    
13. Tell them to fold up the remaining layer up to the top point, just like in Step 10.
14. When your kids open it, it should resemble an admiral's hat. This is Stage 3.
15. Have your kids fold the open admiral's hat just like in Step 8.
16. At this point, the top sides of the folded piece are not attached to the top. Tell them to take both the right and left sides and slowly pull them away from the top. They will need to pull a little hard so that it full expands. (This is the part that really gets the ooos and awwws during the performance!)
17. Have your kids crease the bottom of the newly opened piece. It should resemble a boat. This is Stage 4.
18. Now, have your kids tear off the left corner (about an inch or so) of the boat. This is Stage 5.
19. The, tell them to do the same for the right corner. This is Stage 6.
20. Next, they will tear off the top of the middle section of the boat. This is Stage 7.
21. Finally, they will open the piece carefully by unfolding the paper, but leaving the main centerfold from Step 3 intact. The paper should now look like a t-shirt. This is Stage 8.

Story combined with Folded Stages.

Your kids will be conducting the folding exercise throughout the story. The idea is to never halt the story, but rather keep it flowing while folding the individual stages. Try to teach your kids to slow down their folding if the story is going longer, or slow down the story if their folding is taking a little while. They will learn to have their folding stages ready at certain points in the story. The story below is in quotations, and the instructions are in italics.

1. Your kids will begin folding to Stage 1. Their folded Stage 1 hat should be ready by the time they come to the end of this step. "Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved playing outside. One day, he wanted to go play, but it kept raining and raining. He asked his mom, 'Mom, can I go play outside?' She told him, 'Only if you have a hat so your head doesn't get wet.' So, the little boy went to his bedroom and began making a hat to wear. When he was done, he went to his mom and said, 'Look, Mom! I now have a hat to wear outside in the rain!'" Your kids will now open the Stage 1 hat as in Step 7.
2. Your kids will begin folding to Stage 2. "His mom said, 'Okay, have fun!' So the boy was playing outside in the rain, splashing through puddles, and having a great time. All the sudden, he heard sirens, and he saw a fire truck drive by his street. He said, 'I can't be a fireman with this kind of a hat. I need a fireman's hat!'" Your kids will open the Stage 2 hat as in Step 11.
3. Your kids will now begin folding to Stage 3. "So, the boy wore his fireman's hat and pretended he was helping the fireman put out the fire. A little while later, it began to rain really hard, and it started to flood. The boy realized, 'I need a boat, but I can't be an admiral of a boat with this fireman's hat. I need an admiral's hat!'" Your kids will open the Stage 3 hat as in Step 14.
4. Your kids will begin folding to Stage 4. "Once the boy became an admiral, he realized, 'I can't be an admiral without a boat!'" Your kids will open the Stage 4 boat as in Step 17.
5. Your kids will tear each corner of the boat off at certain points in the story below.
6. "So, the boy began steering his boat. But all the sudden, he ran into a tree and tore a hole in the side of his boat!" Your kids will tear the left corner of the boat for Stage 5 as in Step 18.
7. "The boy's boat was still good enough to float, so he continued along his journey. He turned a corner, and oh no! He ran into another tree and tore a hole into the other side of his boat!" Your kids will tear the right corner of the boat for Stage 6 as in Step 19.
8. "The boy's boat was still in good enough shape to float, so he kept moving along. Then, all the sudden, a big wave came up and turned his boat over and ripped a hole in the middle of his boat!" Your kids will tear the middle part of the boat for Stage 7 as in Step 20.
9. "The boy's boat began to sink because of all the holes. But the boy said, 'I'm not worried because I have a life jacket!'" Your kids will unfold the boat for Stage 8 as in Step 21.

My kids are done with the project, now what?

• One great aspect about this project is that your kids can make the story their own. They can name the boy (or girl), have the boat ran into a cow instead of a tree, or make the story a little more intriguing by adding more details to the story.
  
• Practice makes perfect! To really be successful at combining the story with the folding, your kids will want to practice this project again and again.
• Use props! Your kids can use a doll or stuffed animal for the boy (or girl), Lego pieces for houses, trees, or the fire truck! They can even act it out as a play.

Other things you might like

• Activity Village has quite a few origami projects for kids. Videos too!
• Tammy Yee's blog is dedicated to origami for kids. You can print the designed paper she uses to make amazing origami (you'll need a color printer). Be sure to find origami projects that are appropriate for the ages of your kids.
• The Easy Origami for Kids blog has videos about making origami. Videos may help some of your kids who lean toward visual learning do well with this project.
• Artists Helping Children is a great resource for origami projects for kids, including fabric origami!
  

Project 6: Blind Contour Drawings

Introduction

Blind contours are a great way to loosen kids up and help them not be apprehensive about drawing. This drawing method is also a great warm-up exercise if your kids need something to get their creative juices flowing. As an added bonus, blind contours are really fun to look at and compare! The key to a good blind contour is a lot of detail and not looking at the paper. Every time you do a blind contour (even of the same object) you get a new result (see my two blind contours of the same person below).
Contour drawings illustrate the lines of an object and should represent much of the detail the object has. Contours are only lines as opposed to regular drawings that might have shading.

To do a blind contour drawing, as you can probably guess, you don't look at your paper at all. You focus your eyes on the object your a drawing, and your pencil moves as your eyes move across the object. Think of the pencil and your eyes as the same body part, both moving at the same speed and looking/drawing the same part of the object. This really helps kids draw what they see rather than what they know. It also helps them identify details and see how an object really looks.

This project will be done using a continuous line for the whole drawing. That may sound daunting, but I have found it to be a useful strategy for kids to not look at their paper. As soon as they pick up their pencil, they naturally want to look at their paper to see where to place their pencil next. By drawing one continuous line, their pencils never leave the paper, thus reducing the need to look at the paper. Your kids may not believe that their drawing can look like the object if they don't look at the paper. But as you can see from my blind contours on this post, you can actually tell what the object is.

In college, I did blind contours all the time. I would draw a 30-second blind contour of someone sitting in front of me, then I would do a 5-minute sighted drawing of them. The sighted drawings always came out better when I started with a blind contour because I was aware of the person's features and details before I began my regular drawing.
Materials

• a piece of paper
• a pencil, crayon, colored pencil, or marker
  

Instructions

1. Since this project is done in one continuous movement, I am not able to effectively provide sample images of the progression of the project. But I think you'll be fine without them. :)
   
2. Contours shouldn't take a long time to do. Give your kids about 3 minutes the first time and see if they need more or less time for the next session.
   
3. Have your kids place their sheets of paper on a sturdy and hard surface, like a desk or table.
   
4. Either give each kid an object to draw or let them choose something. This object could be anything, but make sure it has some sort of detail to it (lines, etc.).
   
5. Tell your kids to choose a part of the object to begin drawing. If they are beginning at the top of the object, they'll want to begin drawing toward the top of their paper. Likewise for other areas of the object.
   
6. Let your kids know that they need to draw as much detail as they can. If I were drawing a tape dispenser, I would want to make sure to draw the serrated edge where the tape is cut as well as all the lines of the dispenser and roll of tape.
   
7. Drawing words or symbols of an object can throw a kink into the project (the pencil tends to come up off the page when drawing words, etc.), so encourage them to leave out these features.
8. They may become a little frustrated about not being able to pick up their pencil. They might say, "But I want to get from this side to that side." All they have to do is draw a light line to that side. Or, better yet, draw an area leading to that side (even if they've already drawn it). The main point to remember is that if their eye moves across the object, their hand should draw a line across the page representing that movement. The hand and the eyes are one!
   
9. Keep an eye on their eyes to make sure they aren't sneaking a peek at their drawing! This is very tempting to kids, but assure them that their drawing will come out much better if they don't look at all. (It's really true. A half-blinded contour just ends up looking like a bad sighted drawing.)
10. When they are done, they can look at their drawing but cannot add to it. They will laugh at their drawing and point out the funny parts.
    
11. If anyone seems upset about their blind contour, assure them that this is not an exercise to draw well, but rather an exercise to have fun and loosen up. Nobody's drawing will look like a "good" drawing. All the drawings will look crazy!

The kids are done with the project, now what?

• This is a project that is super fast and a lot of fun. They will want to do it over and over. Try giving your kids scrap paper and let them have a blast drawing blind contours of anything they can find.
  
• Doing blind contour portraits are really fun...and funny! Take turns with your kids and model for them. You can also partner them up for this, or provide each student with a magazine page that has a face on it.
• Have your kids explore doing multiple blind contours on one page. I did this in high school and my drawing got first place in the Pen and Ink category as well as Best in Show! Hard to believe, right?

You might also like:

• The Warhol: Resources and Lessons - this site has a fun contour activity based off of Andy Warhol's Five Views of an Onion drawing.
• My Creativity Blog has a post about doing blind contour drawings with an art class.
• Squidoo has a nice explanation of how to move your pencil with what you eye sees: "Start at a chosen place on the object along one of the object's outlines, and slowly move your pencil along the paper as you move your eyes along the object's outlines and other features."
• HubPages provides a nice explanation of blind contours.
• Drawspace has a perfect example of a blind contour drawing of a hand. Please note that I consider this to be a really amazing blind contour, so if you show this image to your kids, make sure they understand that most blind contours aren't as proportionate as this one.
  

Project 5: The Basics of Faces

Introduction

Drawing people doesn't have to be scary! In fact, this project will show you how to instruct your kids to draw a face using basic shapes. I have drawn a lot faces in my lifetime and have come up with these steps as an easy way for kids of all ages to draw a face effectively.

I think I might do a project soon about blind contours, as doing blind drawings really helps loosen people up. And, they are really fun to look at! I just want to make sure your kids don't get discouraged with art, which happens a lot because they think they can't draw.

Definitely encourage your kids before, during, and after a project. Use supportive adjectives to describe their work and their effort. I remember the encouragement I gave to a little 5-year old girl a long time ago totally backfired on me during an after-school program where we were making hand molds out of clay. I told this precious little girl that her mold looked wonderful and reminded me of the Hamburger Helper guy. This really upset her, and she began crying in the corner of the room. Luckily, another teacher explained that what I had said was a compliment because her mold looked really happy. She was fine after hearing that explanation, but it made me realize how self-conscious kids are about their art. So, take advice from me and encourage kids by using adjectives like amazing and wonderful rather than comparisons!

Materials

• a piece of paper (not construction paper or any type that will get fuzzy with erasing)
• an eraser
  
• a pencil
• crayons or colored pencils

Instructions

1. Tell your kids that they will want to draw lightly throughout the project, as they will erase several areas before they are finished.
2. Help your kids get out paper to draw on. Have them place it on a sturdy surface, such as a desk or table.
3. Have them draw an upside-down egg in the middle of their page.
4. Tell your kids to now draw a line from the top to the bottom of the head right in the middle. Then draw a line from the left to the right side of the head right in the middle. (I drew my horizontal line a little too high.)
5. Next, tell your kids to draw a football shape sitting on top of the horizontal line on both sides of the vertical line. Emphasize that symmetry is very important for faces, so guide them about having the same distance from the vertical line to the football shape for each eye.
6. Now for the nose. At this point, the vertical and horizontal lines can become confusing. Consider labeling them with numbers or letters for reference.
   
7. Have your kids draw a vertical line halfway between the middle vertical line and the chin.
   
8. Now, tell them to draw a vertical line on each side of the middle vertical line that begins at the middle horizontal line and ends about halfway down to the bottom horizontal line.
   
9. Then, have them draw a circle at the bottom of the vertical lines they just drew.
   
10. The nostrils are made by drawing a semicircle on each side of the circle. The top of each semicircle will begin at the middle of the side of the circle.
    
11. Next, they will create the mouth by drawing three triangles. A triangle on each side of the middle vertical line will form the top lip, while an upside-down triangle in the middle of the vertical line will form the bottom lip. Wide triangles are preferred for this step.
12. Now they'll begin using their erasers! Have your kids erase the entire circle part of the nose except for the bottom of the circle.
13. Then, they will create more of a curve where the vertical lines met the circle.
14. You need to make sure the bottom line of their circle extends a little past the bottoms of the semicircles.
15. Next, your kids will erase all the lines in the middle of the lips, except for the horizontal line separating the top and bottom lips. This line was formed from the bottom of the two up-right triangles. Also, have them curve the bottom of the bottom lip so that it isn't pointy anymore.
16. Have your kids draw the inside of the eyes. This is done by drawing a circle inside the football shape, but this circle should be cut off by the top of the football. Then, have your kids draw a circle inside the circle they just drew. This inner circle will create the pupil.
17. Now your kids will draw crescents for the eyebrows.
18. Once the eyes and eyebrows are drawn, your kids will erase the middle vertical line as well as both horizontal lines that have served as guides.
19. Ears don't have to be tricky! The ear shape doesn't have to be detailed, as it can just be a simple curvy line as I have done below. Usually, the top of an ear is horizontal to the middle of the eye/eyebrow area. (I drew mine a little high, but everyone's ears are different!)
20. Now for the hair. Kids typically want to draw the top of the hair right on the skull. Try to help them draw the hair up off the skull a little bit. The hair can be in any style, so encourage then to have fun with it! I've drawn my hairstyle below to be a simple, behind the ears look.
21. Now for the details! Erase the lines that formed the top of the skull. Tell your kids to have fun with the mouth (I've chosen to do a smile by simple curving up the sides of the lips). I've drawn a neck and the collar of a shirt.

The kids are done with the project, now what?

1. Your kids will have a ton of ideas for their newly drawn face. Earrings, hats, clothes, makeup, you name it!
2. They can color their drawing with crayons and colored pencils.
3. They can take their new skills and try to draw a friend (this easier said than done, so you may need to assist them in determining the correct shapes for certain facial features and the distance between features).
4. Give your kids expressions to try to emulate in their drawing (e.g., surprised, sad, confused, etc.). They can partner up and have one be the model for the expression while the other draws.

You might also like:

• The Worldwide Art Gallery has a lesson similar to this one, although a bit more advanced.
• eHow.com has a short article about teaching your child to draw a face without giving them direct instructions. It focuses on an open dialog while the both of you draw. I feel this is an important way to teach your kids, as I loved it when my dad and I would sit on the couch and draw dogs together when I was little.
• HubPages provides quite a few simple drawing projects that use a basic shape, number or letter as a base for the drawing.
  

Project 4: Prehistoric Pictograph with a Modern Twist

The result of this project is a pictograph (also known as a pictogram) on a leather-looking material. The material is a grocery bag that is made to look very ancient (prehistoric). The symbols on your pictograph can be whatever you want and can resemble either cave drawings or a more modern look.

I did this project back in elementary school, and I thought it was the greatest thing ever! Even after our class finished the project, I continued to make these at home when I was little because they were so easy and interesting as a final product. The best aspects about this project are that it won't cost you a thing and your child can make up his or her own symbols! And no matter how well they draw on the material, it still looks great. I think you and your kids will enjoy this project just as much as I did.

Cave paintings will be a great resource for your kids to learn which symbols they want to draw for their pictograph. Lascaux is one of the most famous cave painting sites in the world. I went there is 1998, and it was absolutely remarkable. I even had a college art history lecture a few months later that was all about Lascaux.

Materials

• a piece of a paper bag (sturdy, like a grocery store bag)
• a marker

Instructions

1. The basic idea of this project is to rub a piece of a paper bag together so that over a day or so, it becomes soft and flexible.
2. Get a grocery store paper bag.
3. Cut out a section of the bag that has no seams (seams may break apart during the project, so try not to use them). Please note that the larger you cut your section, the longer it will take to complete the project. My piece below is about 5.5" x 6".
4. Rub the paper bag piece together. Try not to rub too hard, or else you'll tear your piece and it'll be difficult to use later.
5. I highly recommend you crumble your piece up in a ball every so often. This will help to make it flexible.
   
6. You will rub your piece together for a long time. You can do this while watching television, hanging out outside, etc.
7. If your piece gets a small hole in it, stop rubbing that section, as you have rubbed it too much or too hard.
8. You'll know it is ready when it is soft and flexible, like a piece of material.
9. Once your piece, or "material," is ready, it's time for your artwork!
10. Determine what symbols you will want on your pictograph. Artyfactory.com has a nice page on ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Room Ten's Blog has a nice post about pictograms where you can view some Olympic pictograms. You can do ancient-like drawings, or you can do something more modern.
    
11. I suggest you practice drawing your symbols on something else before you mark on your material.
12. When you are ready, use a marker to draw your symbols on your material. Please note that markers tend to spread a little, so try not to draw small, as the lines may run together.
    
13. My pictogram is about the things I like to do in my spare time (art, watch movies, be with animals, throw vessels on my pottery wheel, and be with my husband).
14. Remember that you don't have to draw well to do this project. My drawings are far from perfect! Stick figures work really well, so use them!

I'm done with my project, now what?

The fun thing about this project is that you can do it again to represent something completely different!

• Try drawing things for someone else and giving it to them as a gift.
  
• Draw symbols that represent a fun vacation you remember well, and keep it in a scrapbook.
• Do this project before a holiday, like Halloween or Christmas, and draw holiday symbols with different colored markers!

You might also like:

• PBS Kids has some fun games about pictograms.
• Kids.Net.Au has a simple definition of pictographs: "A pictogram or pictograph is a symbol which represents a concept or an object by illustration."
• Super Teacher Worksheets has worksheets that use pictographs to help kids learn math and logic. You can integrate art with other school subjects by simply downloading and printing these worksheets for your class!
  

Project 3: Everyone Can Draw A Horse

Yes, I mean it. Everyone can draw! If you put a mark on paper, you are now drawing. The question of "Can I draw?" should actually be "How well can I draw?" Drawing well takes practice. Period. I have done drawing lessons with kids who thought everything they drew was awful (it broke my heart). But after a few exercises, they realized that drawing wasn't so bad, they just had to be easier on themselves.

Before we get into the project, I'd like to share some tips for those who want to learn to draw well:

1. Start simple. Don't try replicating a a city landscape when you are just learning how to draw. Start simple - draw from life and use bowls, cups, boxes, etc. Use simple objects that have simple shapes. Once you've got a good grip on those, ease into more complicated shapes, like a shoe or a sofa.
2. Draw what you see, not what you know (when drawing from life). I have only had one time (literally) in my entire life where I had to draw what I knew, and that was because I had already drawn it five times from what I saw and it just wasn't working.
3. Buy some drawing supplies. I know, my profile says I don't buy a lot of materials. Thankfully, all I am talking about is a 2B pencil and a really good eraser. An eraser that I cannot live without is the "gummy eraser." You can see what it looks like on Kit Kraft's site. What I adore about gummy erasers is that they work...well. You can mold it to any shape you want, and you simply tear it apart and put it back together to clean it. It's an artist's best-friend, and it's cheap. And I love cheap supplies.
4. Be easy on yourself. You cannot become Rembrandt over night (did you know he was a phenomenal drawer as well as painter?).
5. Practice makes perfect. I know it's cliché, but it's true. In 5th grade, I constantly drew Garfield. Did I perfect it? Fairly well. In fact, here's one of the drawings I did back then:

Before we begin the project, we need to review some basic shapes:

Rectangle



Triangle



Circle



Semicircle



Oval



Okay, now it's time for the project! Are you ready?

Materials

• paper (regular computer paper or notebook paper, but not construction paper)
• a pencil (any kind)
• an eraser (any kind)
• crayons or colored pencils

Instructions

1. This is going to be a basic drawing project that will get your confidence going. Once you are ready to draw from life, start with cups and bowls. As always, please read through all the steps in this project before beginning.
   
2. Place your sheet of paper longways on a sturdy and hard surface, such as a desk or table.
3. Remember to draw lightly because we will erase some lines later.
4. In the middle of the page, draw a rectangle that is slanted down to the right. Watch out that you don't make your rectangle to long (or skinny).
5. Draw semicircles on the ends of both the left and right sides.
6. Next, draw a shallow semicircle on the bottom of the rectangle, but only make the semicircle take up half the side of the rectangle.
7. Now we are going to draw the neck and ear of the horse. Draw a straight line from the middle of the left side of the page up to the edge of the top semicircle. Continue your straight line up for the horse's ear. Then, come back down to the rectangle so that you've created a triangle at the top.
8. Let's finish the neck. Draw a line from the middle of the bottom semicircle to the bottom of the page. Slant your line a little to the left.
9. Now we get to erase some of our lines so that it more looks like a horse! Erase the left and right sides of the rectangle, the bottom of the rectangle where the semicircle is, the top part of the rectangle where the ear is, and all of the left semicircle.
10. Next, we need to touch up a bit. Extend your ear line (the line on the right) down a little so that it looks like the ear is on this side of the horse's head. Then, extend the bottom semicircle's right and left ends up a bit so that the lines overlap the old rectangle.
11. Now to add eyes and the nostril. Draw an oval at the top end of the horse's nose. Then draw an circle for the horse's eye.
12. Now to finish your drawing! Draw the horse's main (you may want to wait to do this with crayons or colored pencils after you've colored your horse's head and neck). Also, draw the inside of the eye. Finally, draw a slanted line in the ear to show the back of the ear.

"I'm done with the drawing, now what?"

• Color your horse with crayons or colored pencils. Be sure to draw some kind of background!
• Drawings are a great gift, so you could give your excellent drawing to someone you like.
• Drawings are great to hang on the wall, so ask your parents if you can pin your drawing on your bedroom wall with push pins.
• Do this project again and create different looking horses in all kinds of shapes and colors.

Things you might like:

• Crayola.com has a variety of coloring pages you can print as well as other art ideas.
• Drawsketch.about.com - "If want the simplest steps to take in creating your own cartoon characters, starting with the easiest shapes to draw, this lesson is for you."
• Dreezle.com is really cool! You can draw online using different types of brushes and colors! (Tip: the bomb icon in the upper right corner erases everything you've done.)