Certain mental and physical activities can be made into art projects for gifted art students. Try to make gifted art students access more of their senses than they may be used to accessing. Photographers and painters, for example, may rely mostly on their sense of sight to create their work, so challenge them with exercises that make them take photographs or paint without the use of sight. Have music and theater students try to feel music and movement without the use of sound. These exercises may be difficult at first, but they can help gifted art students reach a new level of creativity and skill.
Visiting art museums and attending artistic performances is an effective way for gifted art students to see artwork in its professional working form. Create art projects from field trips by having individuals or groups document their visual and emotional interpretations of the art they see and experience. After visiting a museum, students can write an outline of their observations and present it to other students, or they can draw, paint or write their personal interpretations of the art. This will encourage gifted students to learn from others from classic and contemporary artistic periods.
As important as it is for gifted art students to take their own path when creating personal art, they also must learn techniques from others, past and present. Have students each pick a piece of art that appeals or speaks to their creativity and talent. Then, have them create a replica of what they see. Once students have completed the replica piece, have them recreate the piece again, this time adding their own creative, personal touches.
Gifted art can be practiced and studied through academic subjects such as history, science and math, and these subjects can also be studied through art projects. Incorporate theory and background from other subjects when developing art projects. Approaches to creating these projects can include re-enacting historical plays or recreating classic art from notable art movements. Have older gifted art students create paintings like Claude Monet, take a collection of photographs like Henri Cartier-Bresson or act out plays by William Shakespeare.