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Decorative Arts and Crafts

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Websites

Victoria and Albert Museum profile Photos Video Audio
If you like poking around in attics, you'll love this site! You can view over 10,000 images of ceramics, fashion, furniture, glass, metalwork, paintings, photographs, prints, sculpture, and textiles from this museum's collection of applied and decorative arts.  You can go to the Explore section and view sample objects by type (Asian/Islamic Art; European Art; British Art; 20th Century Art; Jewelry; Textiles and Clothing; Ceramics and Glass; Painting, Print, and Photography) or you can use the Access to Images section to explore the full online collection. You will find historical background information for many of the objects in the collection. Check out the Learning Resource Finder to locate objects by grade, subject and resource type.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

National Gallery of Art - Decorative Arts profile Photos
View some of the works of decorative arts housed in the National Gallery of Art including Chinese porcelains, French Renaissance ceramics, Medieval metalwork and enamels, Italian Renaissance ceramics, French decorative arts from the 1700s, Rococo items, and Art Nouveau items.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No

World Ceramics profile Photos
Learn about ceramic art around the world. Find out how pieces were made, how they were used, and what a virtual artist and art historian have to say about each piece.
Source: Minneapolis Institute of Arts Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Elementary/Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No

The Textile Museum profile Photos
Learn more about the world of textiles in Common Threads an interactive learning experience, view examples of textile works in the Textile of the Month Archive, or learn about Ottoman embroidery at this Washington, DC museum dedicated to the textile arts.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes

Textile Museum of Canada profile Photos
You can access some of the items in this Museum's collection of textiles through an online database. You can also view items in online exhibits.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes

Beautiful Bodies: Form and Decoration of African Pots
profile Photos
Learn more about pottery making and the history of pots in African history and culture at this site from the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No

American Decorative Arts profile Photos
View examples of American ceramics, furniture, glassware, silver, and textiles. You can view an enlargement of each item and et a detailed description.
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts profile Photos
View examples of European ceramics, furniture, glassware, and metal works housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can view an enlargement of each item and et a detailed description.
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No

Costume Institute profile Photos
Examine 50 items for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. You can view an enlargement of each item and et a detailed description.
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No

Fashion Museum profile Photos
This museum in Bath, England displays articles of men's, women's, and children's fashion from the 16th-20th century.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No


Dress of the Year Quiz
Can you select which year a dress is from?
Source: Fashion Museum

Costume Drama
Dress a model in the correct clothing for a particular year.
Source: Fashion Museum

Pottery Quest - Gr. 6-8
Learn more about the history of pottery.
Source: Science NetLinks



Online Video

Craft In America
View episodes from this series that explores the history, vitality, and cultural significance of America's craft movement. Source: NHPTV Video

Victoria and Albert Museum Channel
View online films exploring the decorative arts from this British Museum.


Lesson Plans

Textile Investigations
This lesson looks at the makers and methods of textiles -- both old and new. Source: Textile Museum

Pottery Quest - Gr. 6-8
Learn more about the history of pottery.
Source: Science NetLinks

Inlaid Slip Decorated Tea Bowls - Gr. 9-12
Inspired by the Newbery Medal winning book A Single Shard, this lesson explores the unique celadon glazes and slip inlay techniques utilized by 12th century Korean potters. Students research and discuss the significance of celadon pottery within 12th century and modern-day Korean society. Students then create their own pieces using inlaid slip designs and celadon glaze. Source: ArtsEdge

Ceramics: A Vessel to History - Gr. 9-12
These lessons explore ways that ceramic vessels can give clues about how they were used in the past and provide insight into the ideology of the cultures that created them. Students will examine a variety of ceramic vessels, discuss their meanings, functions, and original contexts, and create their own personally inspired clay vessels. Source: Getty

Looking at Decorative Arts
This curriculum examines furniture, tapestries, porcelain, and scientific objects. Source: Getty

Explore Pueblo Pots - Gr. 2-5
PDF Guide and activity sheet exploring Pueblo pottery. Source: Smithsonian

Crafts, from Gallery to Classroom - Gr. 9-12
This unit introduces students to various visual art techniques through explorations of the work of four artists: James Palmersheim, Romey Stuckart, Don King, and Kerry Moosman. Students will learn techniques involved in landscape painting, chair design, paintings of forests and treescapes, and pottery. Source: ArtsEdge

Stories in Quilts - Gr. K-2
In this unit students learn how quilts tell stories that reflect the lives of the people who create them, and that record the cultural history of a particular place and time. Source: EdSITEment

Family and Friendship in Quilts - Gr. K-2
In this unit unit students recognize how people of different cultures and time periods have used cloth-based art forms to pass down. Source: EdSITEment