In this project, students will make a multi-media project inspired by Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s work. Njideka Akunyili Crosby's work draws from a wide array of influences, including the aesthetics and culture of Nigeria, where she lived until she was 16; an analytic mind and love of science (she started college as a Biology major); and an engagement with the history of art, especially traditional figurative drawing.

With a degree in mechanical engineering and a passion for the arts, Alexander Calder experimented with Kinetic art through the creation of two different types of sculpture: the mobile and the stabile. Composed of delicately balanced components that respond to air currents, Calder’s mobiles are graceful and poised. In contrast, stabiles are non-moving sculptures. The Cone, 1960, combines elements of mobile and stabile sculptures. This lesson is inspired by the mobile art of Alexander Calder and the theory of kinetic energy, with a focus on the principles of balance and movement. 

Inspired by the artist Saya Woolfalk and her fictional race of Empathics, students will create their own characters who will star in short animations created with the recoding feature on a videoconferencing application.

Known for his narrative collage work, Romare Bearden created scenes that reflect traditional stories and contemporary life. The themes in Bearden’s works are often relatable, containing modern commentary on well-known parables. For example, Bearden reimagined the parable of the Prodigal Son in his 1967 collage Return of the Prodigal Son. In this lesson, students will study both the ancient parable of the Prodigal Son and Bearden’s more modern collage, exploring the similarities, differences, and themes of the two works. Inspired by the story’s tone, students will create collages that reflect family memories of their own in the style of Romare Bearden. 

Royal Game I, 1961, is a golden monochromatic assemblage composed of found materials that the artist Louise Nevelson collected around the city. Nevelson transforms these random bits of wooden furniture, scrap materials, and frames into a unified and harmonious sculpture. In this lesson, students will learn about the artist and her compositions, and create their own found-object assemblage sculpture. 

In this lesson, students will learn about Faith Ringgold’s For the Women’s House, identify the various types of women in the work, and create their own work of art in which they draw themselves carrying out different interests or hobbies that they enjoy.

In this project, students will make a drawing inspired by Felipe Pantone’s mural Optichromie—BUF, 2019. They will explore different ways of creating a work that has aspects of optical illusions and have the option of bringing in a technology component. 

This lesson focuses of the various elements and principles of art found in Feeley’s works, including shape, color, space, and rhythm.

Impressionist paintings are categorized by bright colors and loose brushstrokes meant to represent the impression a viewer has on a moment. The effects of light on a scene are also a characteristic of many Impressionist paintings. Claude Monet’s Chemin de halage à Argenteuil (Towpath at Argenteuil, Winter), 1875–76, gives the viewer an impression of a cold gray winter’s day in a suburb of Paris. In this lesson, students will become inspired by Impressionism and create their own technique and styled landscape painting.

In this lesson, students will learn about personification through Fernard Léger’s sculpture The Walking Flower, 1951. With emphasis on various ways to create an artwork such as a sculpture, relief, or drawing, students will create their own work of art capturing movement. 

Lesley Dill uses text, often inspired by literature, in her symbolic sculptures. In Divide Light #2, 2002, Dill finds her inspiration in Emily Dickinson’s poem “Banish Air from Air . . . .” By combining text with a sculpture of her own hand, she captures her feelings and thoughts on the literary piece. This lesson focuses on Dickinson’s free-verse poetry and the symbolic uses of the text-based art of Lesley Dill. Students will study and discuss poetry, create their own poems, and design a sculpture combining the two art forms. 

Inspired by the artmaking process of Samaras, your students can reassemble recycled materials such as labels, newsprint, and scrap papers into a detailed composition.