Archive for the ‘Art School’ Category
Native American Talking Stick
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Let’s explore a Native American tradition today and create a Talking Stick. Talking Sticks are used by many Native American tribes when they have council meetings, specifically tribes in the Northwest. The idea of the Talking Stick is to respect each other’s opinions and viewpoints during important meetings where things are discussed, or agreements need to be made. Unless you were holding the Talking Stick, you wouldn’t interrupt or speak, but wait your turn.
During the time you are listening, you are to pay careful attention to what’s being said so that you don’t repeat what someone else has already stated. Some families may even have something similar in their home for family meetings. Whoever holds the microphone, or the item chosen, is the person who has the attention of the group.
The interesting part about this Native American tradition is that it is taught to children at a very young age. Around three is the age they learn to be respectful of each other’s points of views.
I really like when our family gets together to work on a project collectively, and it’s a great exercise for today’s lesson. What better way to emphasize respect for each other and patience than to create something together. (more…)
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A Year of Art Lessons
Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
A year ago, I asked Deborah Harju to develop a series of Art Lessons to share here on Classic Play. The idea was to offer parents lessons they could share with their kids who either: didn’t have art programs in their schools (thanks to budget cuts), were homeschooling, or simply wanted ideas for projects they could do with their kids.
It’s been an incredible year! We’ve explored modern sculpture, how to make our own watercolors, neo-plasticism, pointillism, how to draw, art from various countries, architecture, weaving, studying figures, and so much more. Let’s take a look… (more…)
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Modern Sculpting with Tin Foil
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
We’ve briefly explored sculpting in the past when we tried our hand at wire sculpting, but today we are going to learn about modern sculptures and what makes them “modern.”
At the turn of the 1900s is when the modern sculpture movement came on the scene. Before this time, artists would create sculptures using traditional methods using plaster and clay molds. A group of artists began to assemble sculptures using materials such as metal or ceramic. Through the years, abstract sculptures began to appear. A sculpture could be many things to the person looking at it, is it an animal, a person, a shape?
Here are a few examples of how sculptures have changed over the last 100 years or so. (more…)
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Art School | Spring Leaf Painting
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
Spring is in the air! Gardens are getting planted in my home and the days are longer. All of a sudden trees are blooming and there’s green everywhere. Spring is the inspiration for today’s art lesson. Oh, and did I mention kids will get to use a hammer? Joy of all joys for children everywhere!
This is a great opportunity to talk with your child about this season we call Spring. They may have noticed that their bedtime is getting increasingly lighter, the reason for this is the Earth is tilting and it causes daylight to increase. This makes the Earth begin to warm, both air temperatures and ground temperatures. This warmth causes plants to “spring forth”, the reason we call it Spring! Take a nature walk, or explore your backyard, visit a park, take note of the trees flowering, the different color of leaves and bring home a few. (more…)
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Art School | Art in Motion
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
It’s no secret that kids love things that move. Whether they are cars, marbles, wheels, balls, tops, coils, you name it, they love it. They also love small items. Oh the collections this house has seen! Seashells, coins, bouncy balls, sticks, you get the point. Today we are going to combine the two and put those little collections to work.
Movement is something all around us. We move. Things move. We make things move. We are going to explore the effects of movement and leave a “trail” so to speak. You will need paper, at least 3 items, at least 3 paint colors, and a paintbrush.
Supplies: paper, paint, items that move, paintbrush (more…)
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Art School | Pointillism for Kids
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
Today is a really fun art lesson exploring the world of Pointillism. If you haven’t heard of this technique, you’re in for a treat. Pointillism is a painting technique of small dots, which when put together in large amounts, can create an image or a pattern. The really neat part about the pointillist technique is that it relies on the viewer to create the connection from dot to dot, our eye is so amazing that we can blend small dots together to create fluid color and images. (more…)
Tags: eraser art, George Seurat, kids art, Paul Signac, pointillism
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Art School | Paper Sculptures
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
Three dimensional art is always fun in my opinion, especially for kids. Being able to wrap their hands around things, see through them or around them, or even observe movement in them are all exciting.
We’ve touched on sculptures once in the past, but today we are going to explore the world of paper sculptures. This is something easy to do, with few supplies, and yet the part of creating is so fun and interactive, not to mention the final piece is super cool.
Supplies: various construction papers, glue, pencil, thicker pen/marker, scissors (more…)
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Art School | Mirror Symmetry
Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
Did you know there are different types of symmetry? Yeah, me neither. Apparently, there are, and today we are going to delve into mirror symmetry. The name gives it away pretty much, if you take an image or shape and fold it in half, you would have the image mirrored from one side onto the other side.
There are examples of mirror symmetry in nature all around. One example is in the monarch butterfly. I looked at the above picture for several minutes, even counting spots on one wing and then switched to the other wing, and sure enough, the spots were mirrored.
This is a great place to start some dialog with your child about symmetry they may see in their everyday lives. Even a simple patterned dinner plate may often be an example of mirror symmetry. There are examples of this all around us, even some leaves have mirror symmetry. (more…)
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