Advocacy

10 Interesting and Inspiring Art Teachers to Follow on Instagram

Instagram is a great place for foodies, fashionistas, and everything in between. It is also a great place for art teachers to share their art programs. One benefit of Instagram is that it is created for visual people and provides a great place to learn and share. Art teachers share a variety of things like their personal artwork, classroom lessons, advice, innovative ideas, and so much more.

I love Instagram because it is an inspiring, easy way to learn about new ideas. No matter what grade level you teach you can always be inspired by art teachers’ posts on Instagram!

Check out these ten awesome art teachers to follow on Instagram for inspiration in the classroom!

1. emilybcreates

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This account, from an Ohio based K-6 art class run by Emily Burlingame, is truly an inspiration! One thing I love is that she has organized some of her highlights, which are collections of images and videos, to show step-by-step demonstrations including felt flowers, modeling clay, and ziplock prints. She displays bold images of her students’ work, her personal art, funny memes, personal art adventures, and life.

2. artofteaching

Screenshot from teacher's Instagram story

The artofteaching displays a high school art teacher’s wide range of student work. The images focus on many types of media. Personally, I enjoy viewing the highlight video and images for the altered pages that are displayed. They are beautiful and unique. She even displays videos discussing projects that revolve around social issues and a link to how she teaches the lesson. Very thought provoking!

3. renner_art

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Miss Well is a phenomenal middle school art teacher in Texas behind the Instagram account, renner_art. Her feed is full of eye-catching images of student work, engaging art ideas, and students at work. I particularly love her photos showing the ever popular acrylic paint pouring on unique surfaces such as clay. A water drop gradation, the art challenges, and abstract cardboard sculptures also seem like great ideas to try!

4. artmrsmiller

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The Instagram account, artmrsmiller, is created by an elementary choice-based art teacher! She does a great job exhibiting several types of media as well as inspirational ideas. I especially love this page because it shows the beauty of choice. Looking through the feed, you can see the variety that happens in a choice-based classroom. You will gain so many ideas and inspiration by following her!

5. schooart

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Schoo Middle School art department stands out to me for the bold and bright images that demand attention. You will see lots of student work and students working on their art. It is a great place to be inspired for lesson ideas, especially when it comes to portraits done in a variety of media.

6. mrdewildart

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Another great elementary account is, mrdewildart. He writes helpful, detailed descriptions helpful to people looking to learn. I personally enjoyed the work inspired by Heather Hansen as well as the Black History Month images. In this feed, there is art that speaks to social issues, and I believe that is a great topic to incorporate in elementary school!

7. hopkins_art_studio

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As a TAB teacher, I love to find accounts that embody the philosophy I practice in my art studio. In this account, Kelly Phillips shares the student-directed work from their upper elementary TAB classroom. This account will help you see the importance of student inquiry and can help inspire themes and big ideas to use in your classroom!

8. m17_open_studio

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The inspiring images from Miss Alexanders’ high school ceramics class will get your mind turning when it comes to ideas for clay lessons. Be sure to read the descriptions, as she often shares what theme inspired the work pictured. One of my favorite themes was music.

9. ralstonmsart

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AOEU’s very own, Abby Schukei, 7th and 8th-grade art teacher, has an account I love to follow. She always has a wide range of media from digital art to pottery to fantastic 2-dimensional pieces. One reason why I follow her is that she has lots of innovative projects and lessons that truly intrigue me. Even though I teach elementary aged kiddos, I find inspiration in her pieces and modify them as big ideas for my students.

10. minimatisseart

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Elementary teacher, Nic Hahn, has a fun and informative Instagram that connects to her blog, minimatisse.blogspot.com. One unique feature I love about her page is the wide array of artist trading cards highlighted. I participated in her Artist Trading Card Swap, and it was great! My students got cards back not only from many places in the United States but also Australia and Italy! You can also find a variety of lesson ideas and inspirations such as how to create graphite collagraphs, packaging tape transfer prints, and an innovative game to teach symmetry called The Symmetry Game.

Whether you love social media or not, you have to admit there are many educational benefits. These are only twelve of the many amazing art teachers on Instagram! You can definitely find more. One way you can find more art teachers on Instagram is to use hashtags such as #artteachersofinstagram or #artteachers. Have fun exploring!

Who are your favorite art teachers to follow on Instagram?

Do you have an Instagram account for your art studio? Share your handle in the comments below!

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wynita Harmon

Wynita Harmon is AOEU’s Chair of Faculty Development and a former AOEU Writer and elementary school art educator.

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