I'm afraid I don't have any natural artistic talent. I can visualize what I'd like to paint or draw in my head, but it never comes out quite right on paper. Because of that, I've been reluctant to try to teach art to the girls. Big Sis took two semesters of a watercolor painting class and I was impressed with what she could do as a beginner. Thankfully she hasn't acquired that "fear of failure" that I have which stops me from trying things artistically. I want to nurture this talent in her while also providing a solid foundation of basic art technique and art appreciation. When I heard that we were going to be reviewing Artistic Pursuits for the TOS Crew, I was so excited about it. I'd heard so many great things about this curriculum. The hardest part was choosing which book to use! They have choices from pre-school to high school. Although I looked at the 4th-6th grade book descriptions, which is the age range for Big Sis, I finally decided on a K-3 book level since I thought Lil Sis might be able to do some of the projects with us. I was able to choose Book 3 (modern painting and sculpture) based on the art projects I thought they would like the best since it's not necessary to do the books in order. That's a plus!
Each lesson begins with an art history lesson and some examples of artists, artwork, and technique. The lessons are very easy to read and Big Sis has no trouble doing that on her own if need be. There's even a phonetic pronunciation following difficult names like Gauguin. That's followed up with a project to try out the type of art covered in the reading (pointillism, abstract, sculpture, etc.). The directions are also easy to understand and follow, clearly written in step-by-step format.
The pictures below show one example lesson and project (#27) from the book. This was about action painting like Jackson Pollock.
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| Big Sis reads the lesson and the project directions. |
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| Big Sis drips the paint randomly on the watercolor paper. |
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| She uses a straw to move the paint in different directions. |
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| The painting in progress with three colors so far. |
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| The finished product with a rainbow of colors. Great job, Big Sis! |
She spent about 45 minutes getting her painting "just right." It was one of her favorite projects from the book, although there are many we enjoyed. We haven't completed the entire book yet. We'll be taking our time and tailoring it to our study schedule. I really like the fact that we can pick this up anytime and begin without any real prep work, other than having the materials available. Although Lil Sis (4) isn't really into the art history part, she does sit in for the reading and has been able to do some of the projects with us, though not with exactly the same results. Even Baby Girl (2) has used the watercolors and glued some of the construction paper collages we've done.
Speaking of supplies, Artistic Pursuits stresses the importance of having the right art supplies. One of the most commonly used supplies in this book, if not the most used, is gouache paint. I had never heard of this before, but it comes in either cakes or tubes. This is not something you can just pick up on your next trip to Walmart. They recommend Dick Blick and the supply kits can be purchased through the website. I do agree that quality art projects that we hang up and intend to keep need to be made with quality supplies -- the right paint and paper make a big difference! It can also save frustration on the part of your artist when things just don't look like or work out like the examples due to poor quality paint. More art supplies are not in our budget right now, unfortunately, but Big Sis has mentioned them as gift ideas for Christmas and her birthday.
If you think you don't have time for art during your daily studies, I found that it's very easy to segue from a history lesson into an art lesson, or vice versa. It's also easy to move from reading time to art if you want to "copy" some of the illustrations from books. One of the books for our Thanksgiving study, Squanto's Journey, is illustrated with gouache paintings. It was a great tie-in since we now know what gouache paint is and how it works!
I highly recommend the Artistic Pursuits curriculum. I would love to be able to purchase more books in the future as our budget allows. Since they are non-consumable, I know we'll be using them for years to come with all three girls. It has given me the confidence to teach art, with just the right balance of art history, technique, and projects.
You can view samples at the website. You may also purchase the book for $42.95 on the website. Artistic Pursuits offers a 30-day no-risk money back guarantee.
Be sure to visit the Crew blog for more reviews.
Disclaimer: I received Artistic Pursuits Book 3 at no cost for the purpose of review. No other compensation was given for my honest opinion.
1 comments:
Thanks for the review! We have the first book of Artistic Pursuits and we are slowly working through it. I find that it's difficult with my little people. My oldest enjoys it but I sometimes wish there were more specific instructions in it. Maybe the older levels are more meaty with that. We are going to try Atelier also.
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