Curricula and Learning Links - Art
Tips for Studying Art
On a Shoestring Budget!
Inexpensive, Year-round Art Appreciation
We get artist calendars during the after-Christmas sales. Then you have a nice sized print to study for each month. The two memorable ones were Monet and Cassatt. They were so good you could see the brushstrokes, chalkstrokes. -- Briva
Buy lots of art postcards! Tear them out of the books. (They are generally perforated.) Let your children look through them and start to learn the artists' names, the paintings' names, and any other information shown on the back of the card. Spread a bunch out, and let the children pick out the ones by the same artist. Ask what makes that artist's style different from the others. You can learn amazing things just through observation. [Link to an example postcard book on Amazon.] -- Martha R.
Contact the (nearest) city Arts Council for information on the art in the city. There are so many things that I never even considered as art but actually are - street murals, street sculptures, fountains, lighting displays, water displays, architecture, etc. -- Julie
We go to the Museum of Natural History whenever they have a special exhibit and check out the art of the time period they are focusing on. (The Forbidden City - China, was fabulous! It had SO many beautiful objects from pottery, to gold, to kimonos and tapestries. It was overwhelming) -- Marcelyn
We study artists and their work (via biographies, postcards, and art prints), and paint in the style of various artists with an art teacher that we (several hsing families) hire for a once a week class. This has been wonderful because she provides the materials and cleans up all the mess, and we pay a nominal fee. Many art teachers have time free during the day, while their regular students are in school, and are glad to have a reduced-price class to teach. -- Debi
Practical Art Tips
Paper, pen, pencil, and marker tips: Several years back I attended a helpful workshop by the Miller family of Miller Pads and Paper. Mrs. Miller recommended products by Dixon/Prang as a low cost but quality name for art supplies, specifically pencils. She said some of the other popular and widely carried companies had compromised on quality especially of the wood and lead as well as in their watercolors. She also warned us about getting the cheaper line of Prismacolor pencils, I believe it may be called Prismacolor scholar as it was thin lead that broke easily.
For regular sketchpaper, she recommended 60 pound weight, for watercolor 80 pound weight.
Mr. Sketch markers were recommended as they did not dry out. (I personally love these markers especially the scented ones!) BTW these have a chisel tip which is good for a variety of lines.
Pentel color pens were best for fine tip markers. (currently Pigma Microns are the most popular)
The difference in color pencils is in the softness of the lead. Prisma verithin were harder than Prismacolor Scholar which were the ones that broke easily and not recommended even though they were cheaper.
We also like the Prang watercolors altho the Miller catalog recommends Yarka. The most important thing with watercolor is good paper and good brushes. Miller Pads and Paper are always helpful and can answer many questions about art supplies.
My daughter's current art teacher put us on to the Prisma pencil sharpener which gives a really nice fine point if that sort of thing is important to you. - Unknown
Fun Projects
I just bought a bag of mixed beans...the kids will be using them to create a picture one day next week. Experiment with different mediums to "paint" a picture. That's what mosaics do...cut up some construction paper and make a picture! -- Pam McL
Make a list of a handful of artists. Have your children research them--who they were and what works made them famous. Then for fun you could imitate the style of an artist. For Michelangelo...attach paper to the under side of a desk and have the students lay on their backs to paint. Wear Safety goggles to keep paint out of their eyes. Paint, sculpt, build, write, and play music. An accomplished Renaissance artist was a man who mastered many disciplines. - DebMcTexas
