Meet Woody!

I purchased this wooden art mannequin at IKEA last week, and he was a welcome addition to my classroom! So far, I have not used him in any formal lessons (I would need a few clones of him for the whole classroom!), but I have offered him as a free draw option for early finishers. I told students that when artists want to draw a person doing a specific pose, for example, running, dancing, kicking a ball, or throwing something, they can pose the mannequin, and draw the figure. Then, the artist needs to use their imagination to add details like a face and clothes. So far, he has been popular! He is in a different position every time I see him. I asked some friends for name ideas, and someone suggested "Woody".

Meet Woody the Art Mannequin!

November Famous Artist of the Month: Pieter Bruegel the Elder

I am excited to feature Pieter Bruegel the Elder on my bulletin for this month!

The text on the bulletin board reads:

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Born: 1525
Died: September 9, 1569
Nationality: Netherlands
Art style: Landscapes and Genre Painting

Pieter Bruegel the Elder lived so long ago that little is known about his family life. We do not even know what his birthday was.

Bruegel’s name was originally spelled “Brueghel”, but he dropped the ‘h’ in 1559, and started signing his art with a different spelling of his name.

Pieter Bruegel’s two sons, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, and Jan Brueghel the Elder, were also artists. He died when they were small children, so their grandma trained them.

Pieter Bruegel also had a daughter, but nothing is known about her.

Pieter Bruegel is known for landscapes and peasant scenes, which are called genre paintings. Genre paintings show normal people doing normal things.