starry night

This fall the kids are taking art classes. I love how basic drawing skills are being taught alongside artist study. The kid's versions of van Gogh's Starry Night below in chalk pastel . . .

And More Circles

The kids have great success with oil pastels on black paper. The colors come out bright and bold and even make some interesting blend combinations. The pictures belong to (from left to right, top to bottom): Charlie, Maya, Me, Maddie, Makenna.

I like doing the art with the kids and I usually do create right along with them but we struggle with attitudes when I do. I'm not a gifted artist by any stretch of the imagination, just older, or course, with more practice at staying in the lines and such. And occasionally I'm really good at copying someone else's genius. But when we work side by side I get complaints about how their pictures don't look like mine and defeated attitudes that they aren't getting the results they think they should be getting. I don't know if this is normal in art classes or just a quirky dynamic of our home situation. Either way, I've tried to be more proactive with my talk--pointing out how God made each one of us unique and how we each create in totally unique ways. No one can choose colors like Maddie; no one could blend the rainbow like Maya; no one can pick placement like Makenna; and no one can--well, there's just no one like Charlie. Things are improving slowly and we're finding joy in the process. They're starting to come away with a sense of pride in the fact that God created each one of them so special, there is none like them anywhere.

Spheres in Space

I have had a difficult time finding ways to use the cool art supplies we've collected over the last two years. Not being trained as a art teacher, but being an "artsy" person, I've been frustrated because I'm not able to come up with age-appropriate, meaningful projects for the kids off the top of my head. I need an example that I can copy and implement, something to inspire and get me started. I've done little more than let the kids experiment with the materials on their own and work from learn to draw books--which has produced some really wonderful results. Nevertheless, I knew we could all take things a little farther and I wanted to teach some basic art concepts along the way. I've tried a few sources, but sadly, researching art curriculum has not been a priority when there are so many other needs.

Recently I found a blog written by an art teacher with some great ideas for elementary kids called Art Projects for Kids. They are simple projects, with step by step instructions and pictures, mostly using the supplies we already have.

When I found this project Spheres in Space using black paper and chalk pastels, I just knew we needed to do this for the covers of our astronomy journals. We talked about light source and shading and it worked for all three age groups (4th grade, 2nd grade, and kindergarten). I showed them each step by step how to trace the planets and make some of them go off the page. How to color the planets and how to add the white and the black and then use their fingers to blend the pastels and create the shading. I did help with Maddie and Maya with the rings around their planets, otherwise this is their own work. Here are the kids interpretations.

Makenna (4th grade)

Maya (kindergarten)

Madison (2nd grade)

Experimenting with watercolor

Yesterday we spent the afternoon experimenting with watercolor. For our first attempt we spent our time mixing color and trying out the different brush shapes and sizes. We set out to paint no one thing in particular, but just to play with the pigments and discover how they acted on the paper.

Maddie trying her hand at detail work. She spent a large portion of time adding color to color and preferred to mix the wet colors on paper to test the effect.

Makenna experimented with some actual shapes and also tried sketching before putting in her color. She would rather mix the paint in the tray and then apply it to the paper.
This is a collage of our afternoon's work. I don't know about them, but I can't wait to paint again.

Snowfall

"Inside a snowflake,

Like the one on your sleeve,
There happened a story
You must see to believe..."
-Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas

"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind." -Wilson Snowflake Bentley, 1925

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During a spontaneous snowflake making frenzy we talked about how each snowflake is unique and how God made each one of us unique too. We did a little reading on Wilson Bentley who was the first to successfully photograph individual snow crystals in 1885, looked at examples of his patient handiwork, and discussed the photographic process used for such a delicate task. Bentley's photographic capture of these fleeting works of art is a reminder of God's creative power. Each crystal is a beautiful metaphor of the individual detail God designed in us. May every snowfall be a hopeful reminder of the love He must feel for us as His children.

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"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb."

-Psalm 139: 13

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Of all the projects we attempt, the ones that are free and completely creative are my favorites. With white paper, scissors, a little tape and some invisible quilting thread we created our own snowfall from the chandelier in the entryway. The kids think it completely magical. Well it is, really. Makenna's making plans to photograph snow crystals this weekend. Um, we don't have a photomicroscopic camera, dear. But we have devised a plan to catch the crystals on a black board to see if we can hold them long enough to look at their details. We'll let you know how it goes.

Painting

Without question, the favored way to pass the afternoon is by painting. I got out a few gardening books and they each chose a picture as inspiration.