When I was in art school, my H.W. Janson art history books read like a ‘who’s who’ of White, European males. It wasn’t until the chapter entitled, “The Modern World” that women were more likely to be the painters than the painted. And, when reflecting on my early teaching career, I realized I hadn’t done much to change that dynamic. I simply didn’t have enough Women’s History Month art projects in my repertoire.
Not to mention that even in a female-dominated industry like education, it seems that women don’t prioritize teaching about female artists, especially during March, a month in which women’s history is honored. I’m determined to change that. Want to help?
Here are some art lessons based on a few well-established women artists mixed in with some fresh takes. Each includes a short biography about the artist so you can quickly explore the art project ideas I’ve come up with for Women’s History Month. Many of the female artists presented here would work well for both elementary and middle school, depending on your approach.
19 Inspiring Women’s History Month Art Projects for K – 8
1. Georgia O’Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe was a famous American artist known for her large-scale paintings of flowers, animal bones, and landscapes, where she used bold colors and exaggerated perspectives. Her art was different from others at the time and made her a leading figure in American art. O’Keeffe found inspiration in nature, especially the landscapes of New Mexico, where she lived.
Depending on your approach, Georgia O’Keeffe’s art would be appropriate for both elementary and middle school. I’ve successfully done close-up pastel flower drawings with 4th grade. But I’ve also used her for teaching blending techniques with middle school artists.
Art Project Ideas
- Draw an abstract landscape using reference images of mountains, deserts, canyons, etc. and oil pastels, colored pencils, or chalk pastels. Encourage students to simplify and exaggerate the shapes, colors, and textures, while experimenting with bold compositions.
- Create an up-close pastel drawing of a flower using reference images of flowers, such as roses, lilies, or sunflowers. Encourage students to focus on capturing the vibrant colors of the flower using blending techniques.
- Paint found objects, such as driftwood, shells, rocks, and branches overlapped onto a simple landscape background. Practice using a viewfinder to draw the objects up close and from interesting angles.
2. Yellena James
Yellena James, a contemporary artist from Bosnia, creates intricate and whimsical underwater scenes of shells, coral, sea stars, and flora. Using mixed media like inks, acrylic, watercolor, and gouache paints, as well as markers, James weaves organic forms, bold colors, and dancing lines into abstract compositions. And, more recently, she has begun creating digital versions of her dreamy waterscapes.
The intricacy of Yellena James’ art makes her suitable for middle school Women’s History Month art projects.
Art Project Ideas
- Create a mandala inspired by Yellena James’ swirling compositions using the wet-on-wet technique. Then, have students draw organic forms and circular patterns with permanent markers, colored pencils, and acrylic paint.
- Research and print out examples of plants and flowers in your area to use as reference. Have students create detailed botanical illustrations using fine liners or colored pencils, focusing on capturing the intricate details and textures of each plant.
- Compose digital illustrations inspired by Yellena James’ vibrant style using Procreate. Teach students how to use digital brushes, layers, and blending modes to the create flowing repetition reminiscent of James’ artwork.
3. EttaVee (Jessi Raulet)
EttaVee was founded by Jessi Raulet, an American-born, Paris-based artist known for her whimsical paintings featuring tropical flora, butterflies with eclectic patterns, and brightly-colored hearts. With a background in graphic design and a love for vibrant colors and bold patterns, Jessi collaborates with big brands worldwide to style their wares.
Jessi’s art exudes a playful, positive energy and would make a great painting lesson for elementary aged students.
Art Project Ideas
- Paint a patterned heart in the style of EttaVee using acrylic paints and acetate as the canvas.
- Create a patterned background in the style of EttaVee. Then, choose one positive or uplifting word to incorporate into the design.
- Make whimsical butterfly paintings using a combination of long and short brushstrokes and simple patterns.
4. Claire West
Claire West, a contemporary British artist, paints landscapes teeming with flowers, cottages, and animals, as well as still-life painting of flower vases. With a background in interior design, West uses her knowledge of color and pattern to create texturally-rich artwork with many layers of splattered or dripped paints and inks. She works in her sketchbook to record ideas she sees on her travels which she uses as inspiration for final artworks.
Claire West’s playful and experimental style of art works well for elementary art. I like using it to discuss space in terms of depth of field background and foreground).
Art Project Ideas
- Use soft pastel and washable tempera paints to create a still-life picture of a vase of flowers. Create chalky textures with the soft pastels while using dabs of paint to create flowers.
- Have students collect flowers, leaves, and other things from nature to glue into a sketchbook. Then, next to the nature bits, use colored pencils to re-create the colors they see and draw what they look like. And, have them write about what they found.
- Paint a picture of a backyard garden up close using washable tempera paint. Research flowers that grow naturally in your area and print out picture for reference.
5. Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese contemporary artist, is known for her immersive artworks that blur the boundaries between visual art, performance, and installation. Kusama’s art is deeply influenced by her experiences with mental illness and her lifelong fascination with patterns, repetition, and the concept of infinity. She paints her iconic polka dots on everything including pumpkins, mushrooms, flower, and people.
Kusama’s more simplistic works with pumpkins and flowers are great inspiration for elementary art lessons. But her “My Eternal Soul” paintings featuring repeated motifs of eyes, faces, and microscopic organic shapes are best paired with middle school art. There are lots of connections that can be made between the concept of infinity in math and animal/plant cells learned in science at this age level.
Art Project Ideas
- Create a polka dotted pumpkin sculpture with clay, modeling dough, or papier-mâché.
- Design a collaborative installation where each student paints different sized and colored overlapping dots on their own sheet of paper. Then, install each artwork next to one another in the hallways to create infinity mirror effect. Swap our white paper for black and use neon paints for a black light effect!
- Compose a painting inspired by Kusama’s “My Eternal Soul” series. Have students research and print out extreme close-up pictures of animal and plant cells and other interesting living organisms to use as inspiration.
6. Nikki Farquharson
Nikki Farquharson is a British artist and illustrator known for her mixed-media artworks that are abstract and composed of bold patterns. Through her art, she challenges traditional beauty standards and explores themes of identity and self-expression. Using a variety of techniques and mediums, including illustration, collage, and digital art, Farquharson celebrates individuality and uniqueness.
Farquharson uses basic materials like colored pencils, markers, and paper in her art. Sometimes she transfers those patterns to digital images that can be combined with photos of posed models to create a hybrid digital collage aesthetic.
Farquharson’s bold and funky graphic style would make for great self-portraits in upper elementary. While her more full-length figure collages would make a great tech-infused visual arts project for middle school during Women’s History Month.
Art Project Ideas
- Create a self-portrait using mixed-media, incorporating elements that represent their unique identities and personalities, such as patterns, symbols, and colors.
- Make a digital collage in Google Slides or Procreate which experiments with color, texture, and composition to convey personal stories and emotions.
- Pick one uplifting word (such as powerful, hope, or believe) and design creative typography using Farquharson’s bold and vibrant style.
7. Karla Gerard
Karla Gerard is a well-known folk artist recognized for her colorful and cheerful paintings inspired by rural life and nature. Living in Maine, she finds inspiration in her surroundings, filling her artwork with vibrant colors, intricate designs, and a sense of joy. Her unique style often includes cozy cottages, scenic landscapes, and animals.
I love her folksy flair, which I find works well with upper elementary grades. Teaching about Gerard lends itself to topics like background, middle ground, and foreground as well as pattern and rhythm.
Art Project Ideas
- Draw an animal portrait in the style of Karla Gerard using bold, black outlines, patterns, and expressive features.
- Create a mixed media landscape of rolling hills, cozy cottages, and vibrant flowers, using bold colors and simple shapes characteristic of folk art.
- Design a folk art quilt with fabric scraps, construction paper, scissors, and glue, incorporating patterns and motifs reminiscent of Gerard’s folk art style.
8. Elizabeth Murray
Elizabeth Murray was an American artist known for her innovative, cartoon and graffiti-like “shaped canvas” paintings and sculptures. She combined elements of abstraction, Cubism, and Pop Art, challenging artistic norms. Murray’s style often featured fragmented shapes and vibrant colors, reflecting her playful and inventive approach to art.
Murray’s unique, experimental style of art would pair really well with middle schoolers. I think they would appreciate her less than high-brow perspective she brought to the art world.
Art Project Ideas
- Construct sculptural assemblages using found objects such as cardboard, wire, wood scraps, and plastic containers. Emphasize dynamic composition and interesting spatial relationships in their work.
- Draw a self-portrait using acrylic paint or chalk pastel inspired by Elizabeth Murray’s fragmented forms. Encourage students to explore their own identity by drawing objects or symbols to represent themselves.
- Organize a collaborative mural project in which students work off a shared theme such as nature, community, or imagination. Encourage students to work together to create a cohesive and visually dynamic mural that reflects Murray’s bold and inventive style.
9. Hilma af Klint
Hilma af Klint was a Swedish artist known for her unique abstract art. Unlike other artists of her time, she used bright colors, geometric shapes, and spiritual ideas in creating her “automatic drawing.” Inspired by spiritualism, theosophy, and mysticism, her art was ahead of its time but her ideas for her art were on par with the times. Although she didn’t get much recognition while she was alive, today, people admire her as the pioneering founder of abstract art.
With consideration for the meaning and methods in creating her art, I feel strongly it’s best to reserve Klint’s art as inspiration for middle and high school art lessons.
Art Project Ideas
- Using drawing materials such as oil pastels, crayons, or conte crayon, create abstract compositions using geometric shapes, lines, and personal symbols. Encourage students to explore color symbolism and the use of repetition and symmetry.
- Practice creating an ‘automatic drawing’ by lightly holding an oil pastel over a large sheet of newsprint paper. Allow the pastel to move freely without consciously directing its movement. Consider using ‘automatic drawings’ as a warm-up activity before other drawing exercises.
- Create an explorative, abstract watercolor painting using bold colors, fluid brushstrokes, and organic shapes. Encourage students to experiment with layering, blending, and dripping techniques.
10. Ruth Asawa
Ruth Asawa was an American artist who made intricate wire sculptures. She faced challenges as a Japanese-American during World War II and was placed in an internment camp. Asawa eventually learned sculpture and became famous for her delicate wire sculptures which looked like floating shapes and patterns. Ruth Asawa also believed in the importance of art education for everyone, and she worked to make it accessible for all.
Considering the intricate nature of her work, I would reserve project ideas based on her work for middle school. But, I would encourage elementary art teachers to put her work alongside other female artists during Women’s History Month for class discussions.
Art Project Ideas
- Construct wire sculpture using thin aluminum wire and wire-cutting tools. Instruct them to bend, twist, and shape the wire to create their own sculptures, exploring different forms and structures.
- After reading, “A Life Made by Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa,” work collaboratively to create wire sculpture orbs using string or embroidery thread, glue, balloons, and fishing line. Dip the thread in gluey water and wrap around a balloon tightly many times until the balloon creates a rounded form. One dry, string different sized orbs together to make a hanging sculpture.
- Make exploratory weavings using yarn, string, fabric strips, and wire on a cardboard loom. Encourage students to experiment with different weaving techniques and patterns, drawing inspiration from Asawa’s use of weaving to create intricate sculptures.
11. Amelia Pelaez
Amelia Pelaez is known for painting female figures, still-life arrangements of flowers, and scenes from everyday life in the countryside and barrios of her hometown in Cuba. Her vibrant artwork blend elements of Cubism and abstraction with traditional folk art motifs, vivid colors, and intricate patterns. Throughout her career, Pelaez received recognition for her contributions to the Cuban art scene, solidifying her legacy as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century in Latin America.
Pelaez painted geometric forms with bold brushworks, making her work the perfect muse for upper elementary and middle school aged students.
Art Project Ideas
- Compose a still-life of fruits and veggies using geometric shapes in Pelaez’s Cubist style. Then, outline all the shapes using black glue and once dry, paint inside the shapes using bright colors.
- Design a still-life of flowers in a vase. Incorporate examples of local architecture in your area as inspiration for the background in the same way Amelia Pelaez did in her paintings.
- Create patterned tiles inspired by Amelia Pelaez’s ceramic works using clay or air-dry clay and tools for shaping and carving.
12. Elizabeth Catlett
Elizabeth Catlett was a Black American artist known for her strong sculptures and prints that explored race, gender, and social justice. Her sculptures, often carved from wood or stone, exuded strength and resilience, while her prints conveyed messages of equality and empowerment. Catlett didn’t just make art; she also fought for change, using her art to inspire people and make a difference.
I feel more simplistic, figurative sculptures and collages can be successfully attempted by elementary students. Meanwhile, middle school would be a great age level for lessons on how to symbolically represent important social justice issues.
Art Project Ideas
- Using Catlett’s collage works as inspiration, create a collage from magazines, newspapers, and construction paper that illustrates a personal narrative. Encourage students to explore themes of resilience, community, and empowerment.
- Create small air-dry clay sculptures of important people in their community. Encourage students to consider the facial features, expressions, and body language that convey identity and personality.
- Design a poster that raises awareness about an important social justice issue, such as racial equality, gender equity, or environmental justice. Encourage students to use powerful imagery, bold colors, and succinct messages to communicate their message.
13. Katherine Bernhardt
Katherine Bernhardt is an American artist known for her lively paintings of everyday objects like fruit, animals, and shoes. She also incorporates pop culture icons and brands, like Nike and Apple, too. Bernhardt draws inspiration from a variety of sources including fashion, advertising, graffiti, and global consumer culture. And, she uses spray paint to draw out her ideas on cavas, but waters down her paints which give them a lively appearance.
I recommend using Katherine Bernhardt’s work as inspiration for upper elementary art lessons. Kids this age will appreciate her upbeat color palette and low-brow approach to art-making.
Art Project Ideas
- Recreate Katherine Bernhardt’s loose painting approach using soft pastels and watered-down tempera paints. Have students dip pastels in water and draw the outlines of everyday objects. Once dry, use tempera paints to fill in between. Be sure to repeat patterns and motifs.
- Construct a large-scale, collaborative mural using roll paper and tempera paint, featuring current pop art images and icons that students select. They should use bold colors, repeating patterns, and loose paint strokes.
- Create a still-life painting of everyday objects such as fruits, snacks, drinks, and personal items using energetic brushstrokes and repeating patterns.
14. Kerri Ambrosino
Kerri Ambrosino is a folk artist from New York (currently living at the New Jersey shore) who is inspired by the things she sees every day including sailboats, animals, flowers, and trees. She has no formal training as an artist, which makes her an artisan. Ambrosino’s work features lot of repeated shapes, motifs, colors, and patterns.
Kerri Ambrosino’s joyful, kaleidoscopic paintings with simplistic motifs make great lower elementary art projects for Women’s History month.
Art Project Ideas
- Draw a large bouquet of flowers in a vase using oil pastels and tempera paints. Focus on pattern, color, shape, and repetition to create a still-life that has the same feel as Ambrosino’s work.
- Paint sailboats dancing across the water using mixed media. Explore the concept of flowing lines that help lead the viewer’s eyes across the page.
- Create a collage of a family pet or favorite animal using construction paper and tempera paints. Repeat patterns, colors, and shapes throughout.
15. Kindah Khalidy
Kindah Khalidy, a California-based contemporary artist and textile designer, is known for her lively paintings full of bright colors and playful shapes. Drawing inspiration from her Bay area environment, Khalidy’s artwork often includes somewhat recognizable “blobs,” as she calls them such as strawberries, cacti, and UFOs. You might think her painting style is more frenetic. But she carefully plans out her compositions and color palette, working to balance out the shapes and colors just so.
Elementary-aged children will love the whimsical, carefree nature of Kindah Khalid’s “blob” paintings. However, I love teaching middle schoolers about various artists who are at the intersection of fine and commercial art. Therefore, I’d also consider using her work alongside other artists like EttaVee who also sell branded products like mugs, tumblers, etc.
Art Project Ideas
- Design decorative pillows with personally chosen motifs using fabric paint on cotton in Kindah Khalidy’s carefree style. Paint two 18″ square pieces of cotton fabric with bright colors. After drying, hand sew the two pieces together and fill with stuffing.
- Brainstorm ideas for “blobs” found in your local area like plants, foliage, iconic buildings, and whatever else stands out and practice drawing them simply on scrap paper with bold markers. Then, paint them with tempera paints on heavy paper, so certain blobs of certain colors are next to one another.
- Organize a collaborative mural project for your yearly art show where students and parents work together to paint one “blob” each on a wide sheet of white roll paper taped to the wall.
16. Jen Stark
Jen Stark is an American Op artist known for her colorful rainbow sculptures and installations. Stark finds inspiration in patterns from nature, mathematics, and psychedelia. Her signature style involves meticulously cutting and layering paper, creating intricate and hypnotic compositions that explore themes of infinity and interconnectedness. Recently, she is most known for her mesmerizing drip paintings and murals.
Stark’s spellbinding moray patterned art is well-received by middle schoolers who connect well with her funky designs and aesthetic.
Art Project Ideas
- Create a collage of Jen Stark-inspired drips using different color schemes such as analogous, monochromatic, and complementary colors. Combine all the drip artworks together to make one cohesive display.
- Make paper sculptures using Jen Stark’s signature paper-cutting and layering techniques. Provide students with various colored papers, scissors, and glue. Experiment with cutting out different shapes and layering them to create three-dimensional paper sculptures.
- Draw a rainbow mandala ring with geometric patterns and symmetry using a circular template, colored pencils, markers, and crayons.
17. Heather Galler
Heather Galler is a folk artist from New York, known for her bright and cheerful paintings of animals, landscapes, still-life paintings of flowers, and houses. Galler’s vibrant paintings feature bold patterns, intricate details, and playful imagery. For a small fee, she’ll paint anyone’s pet in her characteristic black outlined, kaleidoscopic color palette.
I definitely recommend using Heather Galler as inspiration for any elementary art lessons. For the younger one, consider projects that narrow down the focus and steps such as a simple pet portrait. While leaving projects with more steps for upper elementary.
Art Project Ideas
- Create a still-life painting of everyday objects such as fruits, flowers, or household items, incorporating Galler’s bold patterns and vibrant colors into their artwork.
- Paint an animal portrait in the style of Heather Galler with thick, black outlines and bold colors using washable tempera paints. Each child can either bring in a family pet portrait or use examples of animal pictures provided.
- Design a collaborative mural painting called, “Our Community” where students reflect on the parts of their community they feel are most unique such as the downtown, a waterfront area, farms, lakes, etc. Work to design the mural so all important aspects of the community are in mind, painting it using bold patterns and colors.
18. Clementine Hunter
Clementine Hunter was a folk artist from Louisiana known for her colorful paintings showing life on a plantation. Using materials like window shades and house paint, she captured scenes of everyday life, like people picking cotton, washing clothes, or simply a vase of flowers. Hunter’s paintings captured the essence of African-American rural life in the South, portraying both the joys and hardships of the time. Her primitive style, with simplified forms and compositions and repeated shapes and colors helps the viewer’s eyes travel around the canvas as they follow the story.
Because her narrative style was quite simplistic, Clementine Hunter’s work is the perfect muse for elementary art lessons. I recommend tying lessons about space (background and foreground) with her work.
Art Project Ideas
- Paint a landscape of rural life in America, incorporating elements such as people working in the fields, colorful houses, and animals. Encourage students to use bold and vibrant colors like Hunter did in her artwork.
- Create a narrative drawing, using colored pencils and markers, that tells a story about a large gathering event such as a birthday party or community event. Focus on creating repetition amongst the elements on the page including repeated colors, lines, and shapes.
- Paint a picture of flowers in a flower pot using short and long, thickly painted brushstrokes. Consider using recycled materials like cardboard to paint on in the same resourceful way Clementine Hunter used discarded window shades.
19. Howardena Pindell
Howardena Pindell is an American artist known for her innovative contributions to painting, mixed media, and conceptual art. Pindell’s work explores themes of race, gender, identity, and memory. She incorporates unconventional materials and techniques such as hole-punched dots, thread, foam sheets, wax, and nails into her work to create texture. Pindell began using dots in her work as a powerful reminder of a negative childhood memory from the segregated South.
I love the exploratory nature of Pindell’s art and feel it works quite well for elementary art project in March during Women’ History Month.
Art Project Ideas
- Explore Howardena Pindell’s use of dots in her mixed media works by creating a dot collage. Have students draw patterns on scrap paper and use watercolor to paint over them. Then, once dry, begin cutting and punching out dots and assembling them back together again. Encourage students to experiment with cutting, tearing, and arranging the materials to create a visually interesting compositions.
- Create a textural mixed media artwork using paint, sand, salt, rice, beans, and fabric scraps. Have students glue down these textured materials onto a small piece of cardboard in an interesting way. Then, use acrylic paint over everything.
- Experiment with creating dots from drips of paint, stamps, stencils, bubble wrap, and cotton swabs to form a picture inspired by the planets and stars in the galaxy.
How Will You Honor Women’s History Month in Your Art Room?
Hopefully by now you’ve seen a wealth of inspiring, innovative, and engaging female artists to base art projects on for Women’s History Month. It’s important that we, as educators, don’t succumb to the norms of teaching art from only a male-centric point of view.
If we are to ensure better representation of women in art history, let’s educate our students about the significant contributions of women throughout history. A woman’s place is in front of the canvas, the art room, and the gallery, shaping narratives, inspiring minds, and crafting her own legacy
Drop a comment below and let me know which of these artists resonate with you!
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