n addition to district wide workshops and weekend retreats for educators, the Da Vinci Initiative partners with ARC Approved Schools™ in order to provide special workshops geared for art educators. To see a list of upcoming workshops and to register, please visit the DVI store by clicking here.The Art Renewal Center is the foremost entity for researching and vetting art schools that teach skill-based training techniques in the visual arts. ARC is known for keeping the highest standards in art education, only approving those schools who teach solid, skill-based training methods, which increase visual literacy.

To view a list of ARC Approved Schools™, click here.

The Da Vinci Initiative recently partnered with The Washington Art Education Association to send Mandy Hallenius, DVI President, to Washington D.C. to lobby for art education funding as part of Arts Advocacy Day /AAD2015. The Da Vinci Initiative was granted this opportunity to meet with congress members about art education due to their increasingly well known and dedicated work for skill-based education in K-12 classrooms. 

About the experience, Hallenus said, "I can't wait to do it again, I couldn't believe what a difference giving elected officials a little bit of art education knowledge makes."

The Da Vinci Initiative will continue its efforts to reach elected officials about the importance of art education and skill-based training in the visual arts. 

Recently, the Da Vinci Initiative partnered with the Washington Art Education Association to offer a free weekend retreat for art teachers. The event was a great success, featuring renowned artist and author, Juliette Aristides. Attendees had an evening painting demonstration at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, WA followed by a full-day figure drawing workshop lead by Aristides.

One attendee wrote of the event, "Thank you for writing and presenting the incredible Figure Drawing Workshop with Juliette, John, the WAEA, and the Gage! I am a changed person from the experience! Bravo, Kudos, and Thank You! Your efforts provided positive transformation, validation, reflection, motivation, and inspiration to all!"

If you are interested in attending a Da Vinci Initiative workshop or retreat, check out the current events schedule. All Da Vinci Initiative workshops are held at ARC Approved ™ Schools or are taught by artists affiliated with ARC Approved Schools ™.  If you are unable to attend an event, consider our new online course. The first class is entitled, "Introduction to Advanced Observational Drawing," and includes 30 videos, approximately 5 hours of footage, as well as applicable lesson plans. Continuing education credits are available for some states.  

The Da Vinci Initiative offers free lesson plans on our website for grades K-12. The plans include step-by-step instructions, applicable common core standards, a supply list, and grading rubrics. For complete lesson plans, visit the lesson plan section of our website. 

Our latest lesson plan is intended for high school-aged students, where students learn the practical aspects of cast shadows. The students manipulate and observe shadows using a variety of objects and light source angles.  

The exercise is intended to allow students to experiment with shadow cast on a variety of surfaces. Students also render a still-life with emphasis on the shadow. The students should take away from the exercise that shadows are sharp when they are closest to the light and get softer as they travel farther away from the light source. Shadows are also sharper when the light source is more concentrated and cast shadows appear as cut out shapes. This exercise enhances visual literacy and can directly translate to advanced drawing skills. To view this lesson plan, click here.