Learn about Women Artists

We’ve already talked a bit about women in STEM for Women’s History Month, but I thought it would be fun to take a look at some female artists, too. Kids can learn about the women, see their art and even make art projects inspired by them. Let’s take a look at some fun resources for learning about female artists.

The Wadsworth Atheneum has a video reading of the book Women Artists A to Z by Melanie LaBarge, which covers women artists and the subjects they painted (example, n is for nature and talks about how Maya Lin uses natural materials and makes works that fit into the environment surrounding them). Or check out this post full of children’s books about female artists from the New York Public Library.

Need more ideas of artists to talk about? These lists overlap a bit, but check out:

6 Famous Female Artists Every Classroom Should Know by Winged Canvas
5 Women Artists of Color from Multicultural Kids Blog
Famous and Should be Famous Women Artists Your Students Should Know by Art Class Curator

Once you’ve picked a few artists to focus on, or let each child choose an artist to work with, you can search for their art and more biographical information online. You may also be able to find projects inspired by particular artists, or you can develop your own. For example Yayoi Kusama is known for the use of dots in her work, so you could use that as inspiration for a classroom project. Or check out these ideas:

These art projects inspired by women artists from Artsy Craftsy Mom include Kusama, Sonia Delaunay, Helen Frankenthaler and more. The one shown above is inspired by Alma Thomas and can be found on Woo Jr.
Table Life Blog has a collection of resources for studying Mary Cassatt, including books, videos and projects.
Artsy Craftsy Mom has several art study lessons for various artists, male and female. Here are her posts on Georgia O’Keeffe and Frida Kahlo. I love the flower bowl pictured above, which comes from the Crayon Lab.

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Learning about Women in STEM

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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Have you read?

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