Art Smart

Block Printing

This week's episode is about block printing. For the history segment, I talked a bit about Katsushika Hokusai, a Japanese woodblock printer in the 19th century, and I int

Photography

This week's episode is about photography. While numerous scientists were conducting experiments with light sensitive materials as early as the 18th century, it was Daguer

Film and Video

In this episode, I share a little bit of the history of how film developed with early pioneers of motion pictures. For my interview, I spoke with Stefanie Hubbard, an ind

Paper

There are all sorts of different papers out there from standard construction paper to fine art papers. Learn a little bit of history how paper was developed centuries ago

Screen Printing

Andy Warhol famously said that he wanted to be like a machine producing artworks in his factory studio. The irony is of course he played with colors and exposures, leanin

Crayons

In this episode, I got the story of Herb Williams, an incredible crayon artist. While most people look at crayons as a drawing tool, Williams uses crayons to sculpt. His

Markers

Markers were one of my favorite media growing up. I loved the immediacy of being able to draw with markers and create bright, bold colors. When I got a little older, I be

Paint

For this week's episode, we are focusing on paints. Painting is one of the oldest artforms, and as I have said many times before, art is the most important development in

Glaze

In the last episode we learned about clay and this week, I found out about glazes. Learn a bit about different kinds of glazes, what they are made of and how to make the

Clay

Clay was one of the first art materials humans learned to work with. It is one of the only art materials that has been in continuous use by cultures all over the world fr

Pencils

In this episode, I explored the most commonly used and probably least thought about art material, the pencil. Have you ever wondered why we call the core of a pencil lead

Announcing Season 3

Season 3 of Art Smart will start next Feb. 1. For season 3, I am talking to the makers of media to learn stories behind different materials, how they are made and how we

Looking Ahead to Season 3

Season 1 of Art Smart focused on the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. Season 2 covered a variety of different art movements. Please let me know what you would li

Baroque

The Baroque era came after the Renaissance, while both eras often focused on biblical and historical subjects and both art forms prized highly polished, naturalistic craf

Fauvism

Matisse and Derain showed their work at the Salon de Automne in 1905, and at that salon, a critic Louis Vauxcelles was walking around looking at all the works when he saw

Abstract Expressionism

When most people hear of the Abstract Expressionist movement, the first thought is of Jackson Pollock and his drip paintings. While he was probably the biggest name in th

Prehistoric Art

Art is as old as humanity. I have often said that art is what defines us as human. It is why and how we got out of the trees. The ability to express ourselves creatively

Cubism

In 1907, Pablo Picasso and George Braque developed art from a new perspective. They began creating works that seemed fragmented and at times almost unrecognizable. The id

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau was a style that rose to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I would say the heyday for art nouveau was from around 1890 to 1910, but of cou

Ancient Egyptian Art

In two-dimensional art, the ancient Egyptians practiced an approach referred to as frontalism. Each feature was shown from the ideal, most recognizable view. The head was