Art

Once a week I try to do an art study with my children.  Sometimes we just learn about the artist and look at his work; other times we actually do some art work ourselves.  I have to admit, there are some things I am good at and love, and other things not so much.  Art is one of the 'other' things.  But, today the children and I had a great time.  You'll never believe who we studied:  Pablo Picasso.  As you may have guessed not being an artist, "modern art" is not very intriguing to me.  I don't like the disjointed feel of it and to the untrained eye, it looks childish.  However, I have a new appreciation for Picasso today. 

Last week we started our study by reading "Picasso (Getting to Know the World's Great Artists)" by Mike Venezia.
           

Today, suggestion of "Discovering Greatest Artists:  Hands-on Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters" by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga, we painted 'Fractured Friends'.   Each child painted a picture of the child across from her at the table, we let the pictures dry, and then cut them out into cubes and glued them back together abstractly, imitating the Cuban art form.  It was really fun.  While the children painted, I read "Who Was Pablo Picasso?" by True Kelley. 

               

  

Next week, we are going to paint pictures in varying tones of the same shade, imitating Picasso's Blue Period. Picasso painted for an extended period of time in shades of blue after a dear friend died and he felt distraught over the situation. We will talk about the feeling associated with different colors and how a picture painted in that color would make you feel. 

Then, we will make collages, pictures made using not only paint, but any other materials we can find and we want to paste to our pictures.  Picasso was incredibly talented and diverse!  If you have not appreciated him before, take some time to do so.  I have never been so excited to get to art day before.  (I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I like it when combined with history and biography, though.)

Here are some other books I would recommend to teach about art and artists:



  

Lives of the Artists (And What the Neighbors Thought)

The Usborne Art Treasury: Pictures, Paintings, & Projects

                  

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