We hope you all had an amazing summer. Recently, we've been thinking about and talking with other art teachers about creative clothes to wear to work. There is an old adage that says, "If you dress better, you'll feel better". With the sometimes very messy work that we do as art teachers, large class loads, staff meetings.....etc.,   our daily outfit for work is usually the last things on our minds.  Some days, just getting through the day without a student putting art tools in their mouth is a major accomplishment.  But, since visual expression and representation is a big part of what we do, maybe the old adage should be considered as we head into this new school year. Here are several tips to help you begin the new school year with a new look.
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Fashion Forward
If you enjoy dressing up a little bit more then the average person, then check out these two lovely ladies for some fashion inspiration.

​ Creative Accessories
If you're like me and have more of a "yoga pants" fashion style/preference, then colorful accessories are a great way to spruce up your work wardrobe without losing comfort.

Colorful Aprons
I tend to be a little bit messier in my artistic expression, so an art apron is a necessity for me. The fun thing about being an art teacher is that wearing an apron everyday is totally acceptable. You can purchase, paint or create your own colorful apron from an old t-shirt.

Make sure to visit our Pinterest page for more tips. Have a great school year and share your ideas for creative outfits for art teachers by commenting below.

We are excited about the month of March being a month that highlights the contributions that women have made to the United States. Each of the women displayed above have added to the rich cultural heritage of visual arts in the United States. Edmonia "Wildfire" Lewis was a prolific sculptor who was influenced by classical Greek sculpture. Meanwhile, Georgia O'Keeffe is renowned for her beautiful floral inspired paintings. Lastly Clementine Hunter was a self-taught artist who created whimsical paintings about farm life. 

Can you match the facts listed below with the correct artist shown above?
1.This artist has a museum named after her in New Mexico.
2.She lived on a Native-American reservation when she was a child.
3.Her career as an artist began with the art supplies left behind by another artist.

 Visit our art resources page to find art lessons featuring them and other phenomenal women. 

As we come to the end of February, we are reminded of all of the amazing contributions made by African-Americans to the United States. Here at www.artforthecreativesoul.com  we are fortunate to celebrate the contributions made by African-American artists all year long. Beauford Delaney is one of the artists that we celebrate. By clicking on the picture on the left, you can learn more about an art history crossword activity that was created to introduce secondary students to him and his work. Take a look at the picture below. The picture on the left is by Beauford Delaney and is entitled The Exchange. The picture on the right has 6 differences. Can you spot all of the changes?

Today, we want to share some simple ideas for maintaining and presenting a professional art education teaching portfolio. Most college students who major in art education are required to create a professional experience portfolio before they graduate from college. The school that I graduated from many years ago, encouraged us to create a binder to keep and present our teaching experience information in.  Over the years after graduation, I continued to add pictures, lesson examples, fliers, workshops, etc. to the portfolio. It's important to do this because, you may need to interview for a new teaching position. Meanwhile I ended up with a huge stack of teaching experience that was to large to fit into a regular 2" binder. I finally decided that I wanted to create a more concise way to present my teaching portfolio. Thus, I created two new versions of my portfolio. 

First, I created a digital version of my portfolio using Power Point. It included, pictures of my certifications, resumes, student work ,awards, personal artwork, lessons, etc. What's great about a digital portfolio is that you can send it to a potential employer to preview before an interview. You can also create a free website of your portfolio using websites like www.weebly.com.The second version, which works really well in an interview, is a picture book using websites like www.shutterfly.com . This version is small, sleek, easy to carry/present and is very impressive to administrators who are interviewing you. I also created a smaller booklet displaying student artwork from classes that I taught over the years. Do you have any creative ideas on how to present and maintain a professional portfolio? Share them by commenting below.