Well, I was art major in college ~ I truly do believe that exposure to and experience in the arts is an important part of a good education. We have dabbled on and off in various artistic projects, but not with any kind of systematic instruction. So finally, the lightbulb went on and I realized that in order for this to happen, I needed - ACCOUNTABILITY. Therefore, I called a couple of friends and offered a free art class to their kids, so that I would be sure to do it with my own!! On Wednesday afternoons, I am holding 2 back-to-back art classes at my kitchen table, one for Jason and a couple of his friends, and one for Amanda and a friend. I'm using ARTISTIC PURSUITS, which incorporates art history with plenty of creative projects that build a basic art "vocabulary", as well as giving instruction in technique and using a variety of media ( the tools used to create art, such as pencil, ink, charcoal, watercolor, clay, etc.). Yesterday the boys learned about SHAPE by creating cut-paper collages of their house and yard, and also sketched small compositions of wooden building blocks. The girls worked on a series of 5 min. pencil sketches of some objects sitting on the table, learning about SPACE and orientation ( landscape vs. portrait ), and then spent 45 min. sketching from a photograph, to work on observing detail.
1 comment:
I am envious! Too bad we're not close by anymore - I would have insisted that Emma do this with you! She is actually doing Joanna's "How Great Thou Art" book although sometimes she struggles with the words she definitely understands the art. Can't wait to see all the masterpieces from your students and I know A&J are both loving it. Let me know how you liek the curriculum - I have heard of it but never met anyone that used it yet. Have a great weekend!
-F
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