REVIEW: ARTistic Pursuits

Art is one of those topics I love to think about, but find difficult to teach. I found ARTistic Pursuits when my girls were young elementary students, and have loved it ever since. This year we had the opportunity to review a brand new book: Sculpture Technique: Construct, intended for students ages 11-18. 

ARTistic Pursuits provides homeschool art instruction for ages Pre-K through high school. Last year we reviewed Book 1 from the Middle School level, The Elements of Art and Composition. It was a lot of fun, and the girls learned a lot. The Sculpture Technique book is completely different from anything we've done before. We were definitely working outside our comfort zones, but in a good way, I promise!

Brenda has a knack for clear instruction. She really does think of everything. When I read the instructions to make paper, she even listed "power source," lest I do something bright and take the blender where there was no plug for it. You know, I could see that happening in the name of trying to keep the mess out of the main area of the house! She can't make us as talented as she is, but she certainly gives all the tools we need to figure things out, and how much time we choose to practice and improve our skill is on us. The book suggests setting aside 1-2 hours per week for lessons, and states that it will probably take more than one session for each lesson. That is the truth. It takes time to make paper; there is no getting around it. And 3-dimensional constructs don't just appear out of thin air. There is a fair amount of trial and error involved, and you have to be willing to start over when things don't go just right.

Let me tell you, thinking in three dimensions definitely had us working outside our comfort zones! First, we made a rainbow of paper. My girls were so funny - they did what I asked without complaining, but when my husband got home they showed him and said, "Look, Dad! We made PAPER! Out of PAPER!" and proceeded to laugh like it was the silliest thing they'd ever done. Bless their little pea-pickin' hearts. I think they began to understand why we had to make paper when we mixed some new colors. I didn't have any specific colors in mind, but thought I'd try for a darker brown once, and then decided to see what would happen if I put the remaining black in with the rest of the blue, and it just blossomed from there. This, in itself, was time consuming. We were able to dry the paper in the microwave, so that saved needing to let it air dry for a few days.

Once we got the paper made, it was time to create! I had to just walk away and let the girls do what they wanted on their own, because they couldn't decide and I am prone to telling them what to do. It took them a bit of effort to grasp how to get portions of their pictures to be three-dimensional. It took some stops and starts, and a few attempts, but they figured it out.

Then, we moved on to forming hand-made paper into three-dimensional constructs. That was fun! I made a poinsettia, and Abbie made a lotus. We cut dry paper into petals, and then sprayed it with water and formed it into our flowers.

And then, we moved on to wet paper construction. I will say I struggled the most. The project was to make a mobile using figures we fashioned from wire, then using wet paper to cover the forms and make clothes for them. I made the little wire people with much trial and error. I failed completely at making thumbs. I had a hard time figuring out how to get the paper to go on to the wire, and ended up calling Brenda, the author, who talked me through it. She was very helpful and encouraging, and definitely wants people to be successful. The girls actually did much better with this part than I did. We haven't quite finished our mobiles, but we have a good start on our wire figures.

If you have a student who loves to create on their own, they could certainly do the work in this book independently. My girls prefer me to work with them, so when I am able to do that, I try to sit down and make projects alongside them. Often I can get them started and they are able to finish up independently. I am certainly no expert, and we learn together, which is the best part of homeschooling for me, anyway.

Sculpture Technique: Construct is available from ARTistic Pursuits for $47.95, which is a great price for a year's worth of art instruction for your homeschool. Each book in each level is the same cost, and has a specific list of the supplies you will need. If you're looking for quality art instruction for your homeschool, I encourage you to take a look at ARTistic Pursuits!

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REVIEW - Global Art from Gryphon Publishing

In my search to find things my children to do together, I've found that crafts appeal to all of them. My girls both love to make things, and Isaac is constantly creating his own (usually quite messy) "art projects." Global Art: Activities, Projects and Inventions from Around the World from Gryphon House looked like a great resource. I received a copy of the paperback book to review.

I like how this book is organized. The book is about 190 pages, including 138 projects total. They are grouped into 7 chapters, one for each continent. Each project is labeled with the country of origin, and there is a picture of a globe with a star showing about where the country of origin is located. There is also a paragraph about how the project relates to the culture. For example, the Wycinanka Ludowa (paper cut) projects are from Poland:

At the beginning of each section, there is a reading list with books about the continent you can read with your children as you work through the different projects. I was able to find many of the books at my local library. I live in a small town with mediocre libraries, so I feel confident that most people should be able to locate at least some of the suggested reading at their library.

The suggested age range for this book is grades K-5, and the projects are coded with icons denoting Experience Level, Art Techniques, and required Planning and Preparation. I found the planning and preparation codes to be useful; they told you if you'd be likely to find supplies around the house. Even at the highest level, all the supplies listed should be easy to find locally.

My girls, who are 12 and 13, did most of the projects we worked on. While my kindergartener was capable of doing some of the things, he was not terribly interested in "structured" art projects and it was difficult to get him to sit down and work with me. The book is intended for a younger age group, but my girls found the projects challenging. For example, even though the Transparency Scene (Poland) project looked simple enough, it required a fair amount of forethought and planning, and they weren't expecting that. It was good for them to have to think it through. It also took them a while to figure out how to cut out their paper dolls so they stayed together in a line - we had lots of laughs over that! It really wasn't difficult, but they didn't read the directions the first time.

Here are some of the projects we worked on:

I love that the art projects are connected to specific countries, and that there is information about the origin of each craft. I also like reading a book to illustrate more about the culture of the country whose craft we're doing. The only drawback, to me, is that most of the projects are "crafts." They are not terribly useful, and I don't often like to do crafts for the sake of doing crafts. However, I do think it's fun for the kids to make things that help them connect with the people and places they're reading about. Overall, this would go nicely with geography studies, particularly for the younger crowd. And, if you have a child who would do well with a fabulous idea book and some supplies, this would be an excellent resource.

Global Art is available for $16.95 from Gryphon House Publishing.

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REVIEW: ARTistic Pursuits Art Curriculum

True confession: I have not done very much art instruction with my girls. (I haven't done much with Isaac, either, but he's only sort of in kindergarten so I don't mind so much.) Art is one of those "extra" things that only happens when there is "time." I don't have much confidence in my ability to teach it well, either, so most often it slides to the back burner. I've looked at ARTistic Pursuits before, and I have a couple of their books for younger children. When we've used them, the girls have enjoyed them very much. However, they typically fall by the wayside in the name of getting MATH done, you know?

I was therefore thrilled, and a bit trepidatious, at the opportunity to review one of their brand-new, updated books. I received  Middle School 6-8 Book 1: The Elements of Art and Composition, available for $47.95 from their website, for the purpose of this review. It's a nice comb-bound book, so it lays open easily while we're working on lessons. It's directed at ages 11 and up.

The topics are organized into 16 units, and each unit has four lessons:

1. Building a Visual Vocabulary
2. Art Appreciation and Art History
3. Techniques
4. Application

Assignments are color-coded in gold, so it's easy to see exactly what they need to do. Students should plan to spend approximately an hour on each lesson. If they do two classes per week, the book will take 32 weeks to complete. The author notes that it is important to schedule art lessons when the student will have plenty of time to complete the assignment, even if it takes them more than an hour. That's a good reminder - it's hard to stop in the middle of a drawing and find your "groove" again when you come back to finish it.

The book is written in a lovely narrative style to the student, so my girls have been able to do the lessons without my direct supervision. I had initially hoped to be able to work through it along with them, but it didn't work out that way. They've been doing a great job on their own.

The supplies needed for this particular level are simple: drawing pencils and paper, pen & ink. We had many of required items and it wasn't difficult to find the rest. ARTistic Pursuits offers supply packs for each level, which are great if you're not sure what to buy or can't find what you need locally. It also makes it easy to get everything you need in once place so you're ready to start when your box arrives!

Because I have older editions of two of the books for younger ages, I contacted the author and asked if they were compatible with the newer editions. She responded quickly, and told me that the content is the same, with some added pages, so older and newer versions are compatible. Good to know!

I asked my girls what they liked most about the program, since they've been drawing away without me. My older daughter said she liked that the book was written to her (the student), and that there were specific instructions to follow. She and I are similar that way - we don't respond well when we're told to do "something." We like to know exactly what's expected. My younger daughter liked drawing household objects, and learning to look at things that are around us all the time from a different perspective. She also liked using several different drawing pencils in varying degrees of hardness in her pictures.

The first unit talks about space. One of the assignments was to draw a quick sketch from a painting, titled "Portrait if the Elephant, Dal Badal, Chasing His Attendant." They were to sketch the picture on a full sheet of paper, and then on a half sheet of paper. They both did the assignment, but my older girl lost her pictures. For some reason she didn't do them in her sketchbook, and they've wandered off. My younger daughter did a great job, though! Check it out!

Here are some of my younger daughter's other drawings:

Clockwise from top:

Illustration of the story of the 6 blind men and the elephant; our bamboo plant; daffodils; and her Bible verse memory cards on a ring

Here are some of my older daughter's drawings:

From left to right:
Her cat who hates everyone else; illustration of the 6 blind men and the elephant; daffodils

I've seen improvement in their drawing skills in the few weeks they've been using this book. The main thing is practice! With a book to follow and specific assignments to do, they spend time drawing regularly, incorporating new skills along the way. As they've worked through the lessons, they've seen they CAN draw, and their confidence has increased. My older girl would rather not bother with drawing most of the time, but she has enjoyed this book and I've been pleased with her work. My younger girl loves to draw, but is a perfectionist, and has a hard time believing in herself. I've seen her smile over projects she's created over the last few weeks.

Probably my favorite thing about the program is that it is teaching the girls to observe the world around them. In our Charlotte Mason homeschool, careful observation is key. Education is relational; all subjects are interconnected throughout Creation, and the only way to find those connections is to observe carefully. I love seeing how much more closely the girls observe things while they're drawing them.

I also love that art appreciation is included. We get to see pieces of art from famous painters as well as ones who are new to us, and each one is carefully selected to illustrate the topic for the unit. There is information about not only the artist, but the culture during the time the piece was created. We do have our own artist studies, but I appreciate the exposure to new works we haven't seen before.

I love this art book, and plan to have the girls continue working through it. I feel inspired to get out my kindergarten book for Isaac to use, too. ARTistic Pursuits offers art instruction for all ages: Pre-K, Early Elementary (K-3), Elementary (4th-5th grade), Middle School (6th-86th grade), and High School.  Don't forget those handy supply packs, which come with a bag to keep everything in one place. As a mom who wants to teach art but doesn't have any previous knowledge, I highly recommend this curriculum. I hope you'll check it out!

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