May
ARTistic Pursuits Review
A favorite things to do at our house has always been art. I have always struggled with what to do for art though. I can put together a cute craft or project, but usually it’s just for fun- which is great- but sometimes I want a bit more educational value to go along with the activity we are doing. Fortunately, Hailey takes an art class at our homeschool co-op, so I know she is getting some good art instruction. But, I wanted to do something for her at home too- an art curriculum that I could easily implement- so I was really excited at the opportunity to review Early Elementary K-3, Book 2: Stories of Artists and Their Art from ARTistic Pursuits.
So, what did we think of Stories of Artists and Their Art?
Here is a sampling of some of the lessons we did:
Lesson 1 was about Cimabue. First we read about Cimabue, what it was like when he was born and how he became an artist. Then Hailey completed the project that went along with the story. She was encouraged to paint a picture of a building in our neighborhood.
She set up her painting area like the book recommended doing. There are also tips offered in the book- for example it suggested using your paint brush to drop a couple drops of water into the water colors to soften up the paint before starting. This was a super helpful tip and made painting with water colors even easier.
Hailey decided to paint a picture of our neighbor’s house- this is her completed picture.
The next lesson we did was also about Cimabue and how some craftsmen stamped patterns into a gold surface by making indentations into the gold.
We used gold colored paper to represent the real gold for this activity. Hailey had to cut the paper into the shape she wanted and then glue it on the paper.
Hailey’s completed artwork.
In lesson 3 we learned about Giotto and how he used rocks to scratch pictures onto large flat stones when he was a child. He later worked as an apprentice for Cimabue and became a master painter as well.
For the next activity, Hailey used oil pastels to carefully color a piece of cardstock. She used lots of colors and made it look very pretty. When she finished coloring it, she colored over the entire picture with a black oil pastel. This whole process took several days, but she had a great time.
When she finished, she used a paperclip to scratch the black off and create a picture. This part was a bit messy- but it is art after all 😉 She loved the project and is very proud of her artwork hanging in our classroom.
One other lesson we completed was also about Giotto and how he used to do fresco painting- which is when the paint is applied to wet plaster.
Hailey spread plaster onto a piece of cardboard.
Hailey drew a picture using pencil onto the plaster of what she wanted to paint.
Then she used water colors to paint her picture.
I made a plaster surface for Hunter too, because he likes to be included in what we do- so here he is painting his plaster.
ARTistic pursuits is very clearly laid out- a short and simple story about an artist, followed by a fun project for the child to complete. It is very easy to use and the activities are simple while educational.
Here is what it boils down to for me:
Pros:
Hailey loved it! She listened to the stories- they kept her attention and she loved the projects.
It’s not just a project for the sake of doing art- there is real educational value behind the lessons.
It is easily adaptable for a variety of ages.
Cons:
Some of the art supplies that are recommend are a bit pricey. But, that is easily fixed by purchasing generic supplies rather than the suggested name brand materials.
Overall, I would recommend ARTistic Pursuits. We really enjoyed this homeschool art curriculum, we both learned a lot, and I plan to continue using it.
Want to see more of ARTistic Pursuits? You can also check them out on Facebook.
