This year I'm making a more concerted effort to introduce my children to art.
You know, saying I'm only introducing them makes me feel better. I'm not confident in my knowledge of art (history, technique or discussing technique). But, I'm taking baby steps, I'm trying. I'm introducing them to art. And you know what else? If I can do this, you can to.
I'm using Confession's of a Homeschooler's Worlds Greatest Artists series. We spend a month or so on each artist, learning about their life, studying their art and trying it out for ourselves.
I'm not super creative (although I'm really good at finding things I like and tweaking them) and thankfully I found a great book to help me out on the painting front. It's called the Usborne Art Treasury.
This wonderful book talks a little about 22 famous artists, one of their most famous paintings, and (my favorite part) an idea for an art project to imitate that piece of art. I don't have to be creative, I just get to use someone else's idea. Yay!!
Right now we're studying Jackson Pollack. I have to admit I'm in the camp that doesn't really understand the appeal of his splatter paintings. Although, I do understand the appeal in attempting to imitate them though.
My kids had so much fun and it was really pretty simple. We squirted a little bit of paint into some small containers, mixed it with water to thin it out (for easier dripping) and went to town.
Outside. Away from anything important. Like my furniture, floors and walls.
They each had their own ideas of what kinds of colors and drip techniques they wanted to use.
It was interesting how differently they all turned out, even though they were doing almost exactly the same thing.
Art still isn't my favorite subject (only because I'm the one teaching it), but I'm gaining confidence a little at a time as we move through our school year. Which demonstrates another of my favorite things about homeschooling...I get to learn just as much as my kids do.
And we all have fun doing it (most of the time)!
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