Make, Create, & Share!

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Intheartroom

Art Room Happenings!

This webpage was created in 2020 to help stay in touch and bring art to students while we weren’t able to hold in person classes. It’s become a great platform to keep others up to date on classes, projects, and “happenings” from the art room.

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I hope, even when we’re able to be back in person, to keep posting projects and “happenings” here for others to enjoy as well! If you’ve completed any of the projects, or used any ideas from the site, please let me know – I would love to see what you’ve done and feature your artwork here! Tag me in your posts or send me a message!

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Art activities, Greetings!, Happenings, Make, Create, & Share!, student artwork

What’s up in the art room? (November 2021)

Intheartroom

Check out some of our current projects happening in the art room and how they’re made!

Happy Thanksgiving! Check out some of what we’ve been up to below!

Students finished up work on their awesome landscapes and we were able to see all their finished artwork on display at a local restaurant! They completed their layered landscapes in acrylic and oil pastels to achieve these awesome pieces! Everyone did such a great job on these and they look awesome on display!

Wreath making at the Greenwood DE Library this month was a lot of fun!

Students are starting new projects this month, focusing on line & form, pen techniques and watercolor! They’ve been working on creating forms and incorporating line and pen techniques to create shading! Their final step is to add watercolor in a fun way!

Check out these projects you can do at home!

Art, Happenings, Make, Create, & Share!, student artwork

Student Spotlight! (November 2021)

Intheartroom

Each month I will be spotlighting one of my students – past or present, and their artistic ventures! I work with students of all ages and abilities and you’ll get to learn a little bit about these amazing artists and their work!

Our September spotlight is on:

Elana Pavese

Hi my name is Elana, I’m 10 years old and in the 5th grade. I like playing outside, being with friends, gymnastics, camping and Legos!

“Sunset Mountains”, Mixed Media

Why did you begin to take art lessons/how did you become interested in art? “I started liking art because you can express your feelings in a way besides telling them.”

What are your favorite mediums and/or subjects for your artwork? “Painting & coloring.”

“The Walk Of The Elephant”, Watercolors

What is your favorite thing you’ve ever created and why? “My geometric shape elephant because it has all my favorite colors and is my favorite animal.”

Do you have a favorite color? “Bubble gum pink & Lavender purple.”

“A Day in Nature”, Metal Tooling

What or who inspires you to create your artwork? “My art teacher Miss Jenell, her artwork is really inspiring!”

Is there a certain style, or type, of art that you’d like to try someday? “Origami – I just love the way the shapes come out in different things.”

“Sports”, Paper Mache

How has your artwork improved/what have you done to keep improving as an artist? “Keep practicing and the art homework helps me.”

Is there an aspect of art that you don’t like and why? “It’s really messy and sometimes it doesn’t come out the way you want it.”

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to become an artist or improve their skill? “Keep practicing to get better.”


Elana is careful in her artwork, taking her time and coming up with ideas before executing them! She puts a lot of thought into her work but is open to make changes or adjustments if needed! Elana is also very dedicated to accomplish what she sets out to do and continues to work on a piece until she’s happy with it! Keep up the great work Elana!

Check out our other student spotlights here!

Art, Happenings, Make, Create, & Share!, student artwork

Student Spotlight! (October 2021)

Intheartroom

Each month I will be spotlighting one of my students – past or present, and their artistic ventures! I work with students of all ages and abilities and you’ll get to learn a little bit about these amazing artists and their work!

Our October spotlight is on:

Gage Smartnick

“I’m Gage and I’m 15 and in 9th grade at James M Bennett High School. I like swimming and I swim on the YMCA swim team, running, playing on the computer, and art classes. I was adopted from China and have 3 brothers and 1 sister.”

“This is a paint by number on canvas. It took me a long time to finish.”

How long have you been taking art lessons? “8 years”


Why did you begin to take art lessons/how did you become interested in art? “To get more creative.”

What’s your favorite thing about art? “I like seeing the finished product from all my hard work. “

This is my favorite art work and I won an award for it at the Ward Museum.


What are your favorite mediums and/or subjects for your artwork? “I like painting landscapes the most.”

When you’re making your art do like to listen to music or watch tv for inspiration (if so what)? “I like it to be quiet when I work on my art. At home, I usually paint in my room because it’s away from all the noise.” 

What is your favorite thing you’ve ever created and why? “The picture of Marty, my sister’s dog, that I painted her for her birthday.”

Do you have a favorite color? ” My favorite color when I was younger was green, but now I like blue.” 

“One of my walls full of my art.”

What or who inspires you to create your artwork? “Ms. Jenell”

Is there anything else about you that you’d like us to know? “I’m an uncle already.”

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to become an artist or improve their skills? “Follow your dreams and never give up.”

Gage always has a positive outlook on his art – even when his work isn’t quite going the way he’d like! Instead of getting frustrated and giving up, he takes his time and carefully continues to work on the piece until he’s able to reach his artistic goals! His perseverance and determination is inspiring! Keep on creating Gage!

Check out our other student spotlights here!

Art activities, Greetings!, Happenings, Make, Create, & Share!, student artwork

What’s up in the art room? (October 2021)

Intheartroom

Check out some of our current projects happening in the art room and how they’re made!

This past month flew by! Check out some of what we’ve been up to below!

Students continued to work on their awesome landscapes all month, learning what a landscape is, and created dimensional & depth filled paintings, incorporating the use of horizon lines, perspective, background, middle ground, & foreground. Older students were asked to include several layers and work with more details on the structure/design as well as include light and shadow with their painting and coloring. Students were also inspired by the Fauvism style of art which makes use of bright, bold, expressive colors! They completed their layered landscapes in acrylic and oil pastels to achieve these awesome pieces! They are doing a great job planning, designing, cutting, painting & shading, to execute their layered landscapes! We’re excited to hang and display these pieces at a local restaurant next month!

Some more fun projects at Roaring Point for kids crafts with October being the last month of crafts for the season! Check out the marbled pumpkin DIY here!

Check out these projects you can do at home! And if you’re interested in upcoming classes check out the new session of art here!

Art, Art activities, Craft, decorating, DIY, Holiday

Marble Pumpkins!

Intheartroom

Create these fun marbled pumpkins with some simple supplies! You can use real pumpkins or foam pumpkins Use nail polish to float your colors on water and dip your pumpkin for amazing marble effects!

WHAT YOU NEED:

  • Small pumpkins – either foam or real! – I used foam pumpkins from the dollar store!
  • Nail polish in various colors
  • Disposable bowl or bucket filled with water
  • Protected work surface
  • Wax paper to set your pumpkins on to dry!

Step one: Gather your supplies!

Step two: Carefully drip nail polish onto the surface of your water – I found that smaller drips will float better on the surface and too much nail polish can eat at the foam pumpkins. Don’t touch the nail polish brush to the water and don’t pour the nail polish – just let it drip!

Step three: Keep dripping your nail polish until your water surface is covered – the colors will spread and fill the water surface, try not to drip too much nail polish onto the areas that have already spread, as these drips will sit on top too much and be thick globs on your pumpkin! If using a foam pumpkin, the thick globs of nail polish also eat at the foam!

Step four: Once your water surface is covered, carefully dip your pumpkin! I held on to the stem and “rolled” my pumpkin onto the surface.

Step five: If your pumpkin didn’t get completely covered, add more drips to your water and re-dip!

Step six: Set your wet pumpkin on a piece of wax paper to dry (a fan can help speed up the dry time).

Use for some fun decorations, add names with paint markers for place cards, or use as gift toppers!

Art activities, Greetings!, Happenings, Make, Create, & Share!, student artwork

What’s up in the art room? (September 2021)

Intheartroom

Check out some of our current projects happening in the art room and how they’re made!

Lots of fun things have been going on the month of September!

We began a new session of classes in the Art Room! We were also able to work with M4Reactor, a local makers space, and hold a session of classes there as well! Our first project of the session is to create some awesome landscape art that will get to be displayed at a local restaurant. These 3-D landscape paintings are going to be awesome!

We’ve been enjoying the cooler weather at Roaring Point Campground this month and getting into some fun crafts too!

It’s also been a fun month of Paint Alongs at Greenwood Library, Roaring Point Campground & with the Art League of OC! Check out upcoming paint alongs here or take a look at the example paintings and schedule your own!

Check out these projects you can do at home! And if you’re interested in upcoming classes check out the new session of art here!

Art, Happenings, Make, Create, & Share!, student artwork

Student Spotlight! (September 2021)

Intheartroom

Each month I will be spotlighting one of my students – past or present, and their artistic ventures! I work with students of all ages and abilities and you’ll get to learn a little bit about these amazing artists and their work!

Our September spotlight is on:

Caroline Nielson

My name is Caroline Nielson. I am 5 years old and am in Kindergarten. I have been taking art lessons with Miss Jenell for 4 months. I began taking art lessons because I really like making art. Miss Jenell inspires me to do art because she is really good at it. I like using acrylic paint for my artwork and drawing pretty things like hearts and flowers. I also enjoy reading and playing with my little brother.

Title: The Pretty Petal
Medium: Paint
I used pink to paint the petals because it’s my favorite color. 

What’s your favorite thing about art? “My favorite thing about art is drawing and coloring.”

Besides visual arts are you into any other art forms? “I take ballet lessons because I like dancing. I feel happy when I dance.”

Title: Moonlight Road, Medium: Paint

This is a painting of a road leading to a magical land in the mountains. I like the colors I used in this painting. 

What is your favorite thing you’ve ever created and why? “My favorite thing I’ve ever created is my painting, “Moonlight Road.” It is my favorite because I like to paint.”

Do you have a favorite color? “My favorite color is pink because it’s bright and pretty.”

Title: Flower the Cat
Medium: Pencil, Crayon
This picture makes me feel happy because I like drawing pink hearts. 


How has your artwork improved/what have you done to keep improving as an artist? “I’ve been taking art lessons with Miss Jenell every week. We color, draw, and paint a lot and that helps me get better.”

Caroline comes full of smiles and ready to create some art every week! She is eager to learn new art mediums and techniques and puts in a lot of concentration and focus to become better! She always has fun and is imaginative in her work as well! Keep up all the good work Caroline!

Check out our other student spotlights here!

Art, Art activities, Craft, DIY, Make, Create, & Share!

Sharpie Tile Coasters!

Intheartroom

Create these fun and super easy tile coasters with a few Sharpies and some rubbing alcohol! Ceramic tiles make an inexpensive substrate to make these wonderful abstract designs on – I find tiles from our local Re-Store in all different shapes and sizes! Perfect for inexpensive & unique gifts to give!

What you need:

  • Sharpies or permanent markers
  • 91% Isopropyl Alcohol
  • Clear Coat spray – I used Rust-Oleum Gloss
  • Ceramic Tile
  • Adhesive Felt pads
  • Small paint brush

Step one: Gather all your supplies and clean your ceramic tile surface with the rubbing alcohol, you can apply it to a cotton ball or paper towel!

Step two: Make sure your tile is dry from the rubbing alcohol, then start coloring your tile with your Sharpies or permanent markers! Keep in mind your colors are going to get moved around and colors will blend together – it’s best to just create abstract designs here, don’t try to create a picture, as it will get messed up in our next few steps!

Step three: Continue to color in your tile – you can leave some areas blank if desired, however, I find that the more color the better!

Step four: Dip your rush in the rubbing alcohol and gently “dab” the alcohol on the tile – a little bit goes a long way. You will immediately see the alcohol have an effect on the color.

Step five: Continue to add rubbing alcohol, I did mine in all dabs, creating a droplet effect. You could try splattering, brush strokes, or a combination to achieve different effects!

Step six: I continued to add dabs until all of my marker lines were gone. Be careful not to add too much rubbing alcohol as it moves and spreads your colors out, making the colors lighter and allowing more of the white to show through (this is why I find the more color the better in step three).

Step seven: Let you rubbing alcohol dry completely and then spray your tile with a clear coat – I used Rust-Oleum Gloss. Start with a very light layer of clear coat as sometimes it can effect your design. Let the light layer dry and then add a second coat to finish your tile!

Step eight: Let your tile dry completely – you can tell the clear coat effected my colors, making them a bit more muted!

Step nine: Once your tile is dry flip it over and add felt pads to the corners so your tile doesn’t scratch any surfaces! I used self adhesive felt pads but you could also hot glue cut felt pieces or cork as well!

Step ten: Enjoy your coaster! Or make and give as gifts!

Art, Happenings, Make, Create, & Share!, student artwork

Student Spotlight! (August 2021)

Intheartroom

Each month I will be spotlighting one of my students – past or present, and their artistic ventures! I work with students of all ages and abilities and you’ll get to learn a little bit about these amazing artists and their work!

Our August spotlight is on:

Ellie Iman

“My name is Ellie, and I’m in 3rd grade. I have been taking art lessons with Ms. Jenell for about 5 years.  I love to sculpt and paint. Outside of art I like to play with Legos, and I love traveling.” 

“Just Crabby”, Acrylic Paint 
 
He was partying with his fellow crabs. 


“Bird-Tastic”, Watercolor and Pen 
 
This Blue Bird was perching on its favorite tree. 


“Patchwork Butterfly” , Mixed Media (Eric Carle inspired)
 
This was one of my favorite projects. The butterfly was having the most wonderful flight of her week. 

“A Day in the Wilderness”, Acrylic & Pastel landscape
 
This was the day the bunnies were hoping, the butterflies were flying, and everyone was having a fantastic day. 

Ellie brings her imagination into her artwork – creating stories and ideas along the way! Even though she’s open to new ideas and making changes, she also works hard to put in her best effort, and takes her time on all her artwork until she’s satisfied with the pieces! Keep on making awesome art Ellie!

Check out all our other spotlighted artists here!


Art activities, Craft, decorating, DIY, Make, Create, & Share!, origami, paper art

Origami Window Stars!

Intheartroom

These window stars are easy, fun, and sure to brighten your home! Made from kite paper, also known as colored wax paper, these stars are vibrant and translucent, letting the light shine through and overlapping colors combine to create new colors! Perfect for color mixing lessons!

What you need:

  • Kite paper – I get it from amazon
  • Scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Hole punch & ribbon or string (optional)

Step one: Cut 8 squares of kite paper – all the same size. Try various colors! I started with 4″ squares for this example, however, you can make them any size you’d like!

Step two: Fold your square from corner to corner, crease, and unfold.

Step three: Fold the opposite corners together, crease, and unfold – your square should have a crease line from corner to corner, forming an X on your paper!

Step four: Fold one corner into the center of the X.

Step five: Fold the opposite corner to the center of the X.

Step six: Fold the right top edge to the center line as shown.

Step seven: Fold the left top edge to the center line.

Step eight: Repeat with all remaining 7 squares!

Step nine: Once you have all your squares folded, begin to glue them together – the point you just created in the last step will be the outside points of your star! Use a glue stick, starting on one side of the center line, from the wider tip of your origami, up to where the folds begin.

Step ten: Place a second folded piece on the center line and lining up the tips.

Step eleven: Continue to glue 7 pieces of your star together, making sure each one lines up on the center line of the last one and all tips meet in the middle.

Step twelve: Your eighth, and final piece, will be placed with one half on top and the other half underneath your star (or under the first piece you started with) to complete the pattern.

Step thirteen: Complete your star by punching a hold and adding a string or ribbon to hang it from!