Art – Notes on the Subject
One of my great blogging friends, Kim, recently asked me a question in relation to art projects/study. Because I thought it might be helpful to others, and with her permission, I’m posting our email conversation about it here. The following was her question:
I love all the art things you guys do. I don’t have watercolors or oils, just regular old crayons and colored pencils. I’d like to begin doing some of these things, but how to start? Thats the question. Two of my kids tend to be really quick about their drawings, maybe they need some more UMPH, like what watercolors would do. I’m not sure.
I also have been looking into starting to do an artist study — the way Miss Mason suggests. I really enjoy what you’ve done and I’ve seen a couple other blogs that I enjoy as well. I don’t know how I will fit all these extra things in, but somehow it will all work out — Jesus is good that way.
)
And here was my answer:
I wanted to tell you first that you’ll notice from my photos that often my son is not participating with us…this is to say that he doesn’t necessarily “get into” art the way my older daughter and I do, and I, most of the time, choose to not force him. I always give him the option, and sometimes he does show interest and will do the project, but often not. I also keep in mind that he is a very hyperactive kid and in 3rd grade. I may require that he at least tries a little more as he gets older.
You mentioned that a couple of your kids tend to be quick with their work, this is the way my son is when he does participate, and I will encourage him to slow down. I’ve read that Charlotte Mason recommends that when it comes to artwork never to criticize, but just encourage, and do not ever “force” Art. And I am careful what mediums that my son works with too. I was glad that he didn’t want to participate with the oil pastels yesterday because he would not have the patience for them yet. However, if he had wanted to participate, I would have gladly worked with him, but I’m sure that would have taken most of my time and Mom wouldn’t have gotten to do any artwork herself!
Now, my older daughter, that’s a whole other story. She absolutely loves anything to do with Art, including observation, appreciation, etc. It’s important to note however, that I’ve only come to appreciate this in her since our “new focus” in our schooling, God is so good to open our eyes to see our children more the way He does! So I’ve been careful to take time to focus in this area more for her. But I want to bring up to you to not feel forced into Art study because you think you have to do it. If neither of my children were interested, I would probably just do very little Art Appreciation and a very occasional project just to give the exposure, but not nearly the amount we do now (we do about 3-4 projects a month).
It may be helpful to start with Art Appreciation and observation. Check out some books with great pictures of one or some of your favorite artists and just look through them, not necessarily reading, but observing the works and talking about what you think. There have been artists that we’ve fallen in love with, and others that we just don’t prefer, but that’s what’s neat about Art Appreciation, it’s based on your personal style. I’ve always been tactfully honest when looking at artwork, and my kids have learned to be so as well. The Mike Venezia books are a great place to start. Also if you have an Art Museum nearby, maybe you could plan a short visit. Or sometimes your local library will host art shows. By starting with appreciation, this may sort out for you which of your children might take more of an interest in Art.
Ok, as far as mediums. So far we have worked mainly with pencil, colored pencils, pen and ink, watercolors (powder and tube), acrylic paints and oil pastels. Hands down, tube watercolors are my favorite to work with because it’s so forgiving! Again, I would start small. Introduce one medium at a time, starting with the easier ones (oil pastels are the only one that we have worked with that I rank as not easy).
The rule I have when it comes to mediums, is “you get what you pay for”. For your older kids, investing in higher quality materials is so important. I take my Hobby Lobby and Michael’s coupons and use them to stock up. Prang is a good brand for colored pencils and anything else they sell, Reeves is great for watercolors and other stuff too. If something is inexpensive when it comes to art supplies, that’s because it is cheaply made.
Now, for your younger ones (and my son falls in the category for me) I will very readily have the “Crayola” brand ready. For example, if we are working on a watercolor painting using powdered watercolors I will have him use the Crayola and Hannah the Reeves. Same thing in regards to brushes. He is usually fine with this because I’ve discussed with him about age difference, and the fact that he hasn’t demonstrated treating the good supplies responsibly yet. And I also let the toddler have fun with Crayola watercolors when we are watercoloring, and Crayola crayons when we are doing oil pastels, and I don’t have to worry about expensive products being damaged.
As far as learning how to use the mediums, I am certainly not a trained artist, I have learned from much hands-on trying, I find that a great way to learn for me. And I’m passionate about learning it (that helps) . But there are numerous books and websites out there to learn that way too.
And as an additional note in regards to finding time to fit in Art Study, I would suggest just starting small and not expecting it to be a structured, set in stone thing for awhile. Just pick a medium to try out for awhile, and see how it goes. And the same for Artist Study. I do not follow a set in stone schedule for Art or Music. That does not work for “my family”. I may have a general list of Artists and mediums that I’d like to learn more about for that year, or mediums we’d like to try, but I do not put them down in specific time slots. Personally, I like to leave room to move about with our interests.
I have found that opportunities for Art seem to natural present themselves to us. It’s just a matter of taking the time for it when they do. For example, during our recent Cloud Study, there was a couple of opportunities to study Artists who drew or painted clouds, and opportunities to do projects that we completed.
I hope this is helpful to any who are trying to begin incorporating more Art Study into their homeschool.
Comments