About Arts Attack

Arts Attack PUBLICATIONS

is devoted exclusively to developing and publishing high quality, easy-to-teach, video and video-based visual art curricula for the elementary and middle school. Used extensively by both the trained art specialist and the classroom teacher, the Arts Attack curriculum is known for enabling all teachers to achieve exceptional artwork from their students and for its process-oriented and experiential approach to teaching. It teaches to the right side of the brain, developing learning and creative skills that enhance student performance in all areas and throughout life.

Since its initial introduction in early 1997, the Arts Attack curriculum has been adopted and implemented in thousands of schools and districts throughout the United States.

About the Arts Attack program

The goal of the program is to teach every child how to express himself/herself through art. This demands that the students learn to see and experience the world in a different way. The language of art, like the language of words, requires the learning of skills and concepts that will allow the free flow of expression.

The goals of Arts Attack are to teach the elements and principles of art and drawing in a developmental and sequential way, as well as to study the art of other artists, cultures and historical periods. In all areas of study, the emphasis is on motivation and self-expression.

Recognizing that children learn what they are excited about, the subjects of the Arts Attack lessons have been selected through years of working with students in the classroom. The focus of the hands-on lessons is to utilize the process of visualizing, synthesizing and expressing through a wide variety of media.

A unique strength of this program is that it has been created not in theory but in practice in classrooms with the help of dozens of teachers and thousands of students.

About the program’s creator

Marcia Osterink earned a degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Studio Art from Michigan State University. She began her career in education by teaching in the elementary classroom (grades 3-5) and has taught visual art (from Kindergarten through college level) for over 30 years. An accomplished artist, Marcia has specialized in the areas of sculpture and watercolor, receiving numerous commissions for her watercolor portraits of children. Marcia is a passionate believer in the importance of art in the elementary school and the critical role it plays in enabling students to reach their full potential. Prior to founding Arts Attack Publications and creating the Arts Attack curricula, she developed “Arts in Action”, winner of the prestigious Golden Bell Award presented by the California School Boards Association.

What's in A name?

We are often asked about why we chose the name “Arts Attack” for our Company and our Curriculum. Well, there are actually two reasons:-

First of all, ATTACK is an acronym for Art Training for Teachers And Creative Kids. As such, it defines very well what our curriculum does. A primary goal of the Arts Attack curriculum has always been to develop creative problem solving skills that students can apply in all areas of study and throughout their lives. It is also true that the program is a great training ground for teachers of all backgrounds, enabling the classroom teacher or parent docent to teach an excellent comprehensive art program.

The second reason for our name is that one of our primary missions is “to aggressively attack the notion that visual art and the other fine arts are non-essential in the elementary and middle schools”. This too-widely-held belief actually prevents many of our children from achieving their full potential as students and as human beings.