Don’t you love Pinterest? It’s an art teacher’s dream! It wasn’t that long ago that I struggled to bookmark the URL’s of my favorite art inspirational finds, and now Pinterest makes it so easy. By now, most everyone in the blog world is familiar with Pinterest, so there’s no need to go on and on how deliciously simple and lovely it is.
This week, I’ve been pinning like crazy, trying to get my creative juices going for the new school year. I thought it would be fun to highlight a few of my favorite projects and inspirations. I might even make this a monthly endeavor…we’ll see! So here are my Pinterest picks for this week….
1. From Contemporary Cloth, this geometric fabric is a prefect inspiration piece for my unit on lines and patterns.
2. New to the art blog world, Paintbrush Rocket is a beautiful collection of vibrant art projects. We all do Georgia O’Keeffe flowers, but are they this beautiful? I adore them!
3. Artrageous Afternoon has a lovely, multi-media treehouse project that would be a perfect follow-up on summer activities.
4. Italian blog, Arteascuola is brimming with original works! I LOVE these multi-colored marker line drawings. I don’t know how Miriam encouraged her students to be so thorough in their drawings, but I’m impressed!
The reason why so many creative bloggers allow their site to be pinned is because it drives traffic to their site. If you have a visual elements on your blog, then you know how much traffic you receive. If you advertise on your blog, then traffic back to site is a big deal. We need to support creative bloggers and keep them willing to share their original content by remembering the following:
- Don’t pin an image from a blog’s home page. Have you ever clicked through on a pin only to land on the website but not be able to find the tutorial or art project associated with the image? That’s because the person who originally pinned the image didn’t pin from the original post. It’s very easy to pin something from the home page of a blog but if you think about how a blog’s home page works, you realize that it is never static. Now you can understand that the image will eventually cycle through the home page and into the archives. Instead, try and click on the post title of the image (the permalink). This way, the post will pop up into a new screen. Now you can pin away and those “re-pinning” the image will always land on the proper tutorial or home page. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pinned from the home page and kicked myself when trying to locate the pin. So if you have done this, don’t worry, you aren’t alone! At least now we know how to be better “pinners!”.
- Try not to copy tutorial text in the text box of a pin. You want to encourage pinners to click through a pin that looks interesting.
- If you source an image through Google Image search, make sure to click through to the original source.
- Try not to pin dozens and dozens of images at once. Those who follow you will be forced to scroll through your obsessions until you take a break! In other words, don’t flood your followers.
Enjoy your last week of summer!
Pin It
Thank you for the “pinners” lesson. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to click on a pin only to have to search a blog or website for the item I am looking for. Thank you again. I hope this helps with some folks pinning habits.
Jackie recently posted..2012-2013 Curriculum Choices
I totally agree with Jackie. Not only is it frustrating to click on a pin and have to search the site for what you were looking for, it is also a shame not to give credit where credit is due. There are loads of great ideas out there!
Sarah recently posted..New and Improved Art Room 201
Thank you so much for linking to my post on Blissfully Domestic!
I love Pinterest so much, but it seems there is always something to learn!
Erica Mueller recently posted..How to Create a Pinterest Worthy Image for Your Blog Post
I LOVE Pinterest! This is the one social media site I can not do without! I have so much stored on it that I go back and refer to ! I use my videos for the art room board all the time at school! Thanks for the note about pinning to the blog post not the home page1 I always check to see where a pin is going to take me before pinning it. Great blog post!
Mrs.C recently posted..Back to My Classroom (Again)
I love #4… our first art lesson of the year is about using lots of different lines … wavy, diagonal, swirls, etc. Looks like she had a similar lesson and had them use it in a landscape picture. I think I’m going to copy!
Caren with a “C” recently posted..Cathedral Window Quilt
I’m not even an art teacher, but I’ve enjoyed reading through your blog so much. My pet peeve on Pinterest is when you click the link and it goes NOWHERE. Grrrr.
Jan recently posted..Nerdy Teacher Talk: Lesson Plans, Google Docs, and the Common Core
I LOVE that you also gave credit to the sources. It is my pet peeve when someone cites pinterest as their source! I have found so many missing links, and sometimes the links change or are removed. It is very disappointing.
I agree. Pinterest is not exactly a source!
Just started using Pinterest!! Great ideas!!
I’ve nominated you for an award! I know not all bloggers accept awards, but know that you are noticed and appreciated! http://futureflyingsaucers.wordpress.com/2012/09/06/two-quick-awards-to-give-out/
I have been teaching art for 11 years and rely on Deep Space Sparkle for a little inspiration therapy often and Pinterest is my other addiction. Thanks for all the great ideas, being a “department of one” it’s great to hear what other art teachers are thinking and doing!
I love that…inspiration therapy!
I have been a volunteer art teacher at a continuing care facility for about 4 months now. I conduct art sessions once a week for 1 – 1 1/2 hrs for a small group of senior residents who have mild dimentia or handicaps due to stroke and all are. I like to present a new project each week and need inspiration, keeping in mind the physical and mental capacities of the residents. Children’s art projects seem to be the way to go tho some of those I must simplify more. I hope to use your website for this purpose..thank you so much!