Museum Educational Tools
Technique - vocabulary describing an artwork's production process
Bronze – any of various alloys of copper and tine, sometimes with tin or other metals. It is commonly been used in casting sculpture and other three dimensional objects. A work cast in bronze is sometimes referred to as “a bronze.” These have traditionally included classical statues, particularly of politicians, mythic figures and figures on horses
Ceramics – the art of making objects, such as pottery, out of clay
Collage – a composition made by pasting together on a flat surface various materials such as newspaper, wallpaper, printed text, illustrations, photographs and cloth
In-the-Round/ Freestanding Sculpture – representational, three-dimensional art works that stand on their own (rather than being attached to a larger structure, such as a wall). The benefit and challenge of these 
types of statues is that they are fully developed for all points of view
Leading lines – prominent lines in a composition, such as a horizon line or the edge of a figure or building, which directs the viewer’s eye around an image
Marble – a type of stone typically used in sculpture and architecture, dense, fine-grained, capable of taking a high polish and often irregularly veined and colored by impurities. White marble has been quarried in Greece, Italy, Turkey, India, China and the United States. The name marble is sometimes used to refer to any stone that takes a polish, although such stones may include alabaster, granites and serpentines in addition to true marbles
Medium – refers to the material or technique that an artist works in, such painting or photography
Mixed Media – an art technique were an artist employs different kinds of physical materials and combines them into a single work. For example, Pablo Picasso produced mixed media works that incorporated both painting and newspaper clippings
Mosaic – an art medium in which small pieces of colored glass, tone or ceramic tiles are embedded into a background material such as plaster or mortar to create a single work, usually either an abstract design or a picture
Mural – a large design or picture, most commonly created on the wall of a public building. Usually applied either with paint or mosaic technique
Oil paint – a type of paint made from color particles (pigment) and linseed oil. It first became widely used during the late 16th Century
Pastel – a crayon made from pigment mixed with gum and water and pressed into stick-shaped form. Pastels allow an artist to easily blend colors together. A variation is the oil pastel, a crayon that is oil-based
Pigment – finely powdered coloring mater mixed or ground with various other materials (like oil, gum or water) to form mediums like crayon and paint
Pottery – a form of ceramics where wet clays and forms and then dried, then fired to harden them and make them water proof
Sculpture – any three-dimensional form created as an artistic expression. Sculpture is primarily concerned with space: occupying it, relating to it, and influencing the perception of it
Sketch – a rough drawing used to capture the basic elements and structure of a potential artwork, often used as the basis for a later, more detailed work
Watercolor – a water-based paint that is a translucent wash of pigment. Paintings done with this medium are known as “watercolors.” Watercolors are typically applied and spread with brushes onto wet or dry paper, resulting in a “wet-on-wet” or “wet-on-dry” technique
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