Archive for the ‘Appreciating Art’ Category

7 Art Study Tips

7 art study tips

Thought you all might like a little help in encouraging art study in your homes.

1. You don’t have to be an art student.

I am not an art student. I never was. I didn’t “get it” when I studied it in college. As a result, all I have to go on are my immediate impressions of art. So do you…and you can love art with no teaching at all.

2. The place to begin is in an art museum.

Books are fine, but there is NOTHING like seeing a painting up close. The textures are totally lost in books. And to realize that Ruebens or Matisse stood where I am standing at some point in history takes my breath away every time. So go to a musuem–any one will do because there is always at least one painting worth seeing.

3. Before you enter the museum proper,
buy the picture postcard pack of that museum.

This is esp. helpful with kids. Flip through it. Note the paintings that you want to see and then go straight to them. Don’t stop and meander. Start with the good stuff. It is the weirdest thing–just seeing it in a picture first will make the experience of seeing that painting in person even more powerful.

The point is to make the museum your goal and to not be satisfied with mere imitations in prints.

4. Beg, borrow (we did both) or steal
Sister Wendy’s video series, the Story of Painting.

It is so enjoyable and she has such passion for art that you can’t help falling in love with her and the paintings. Gotta love her habit!

5. Put up prints in your house.

I have the four “heads” print of Van Gogh hanging in my office.  Every day I see Van Gogh and remember how great he was and is. We have Picasso prints, Alexei Jawelensky and Monet hanging out with us too.

6. When you find a painting you like,
sit in front of it for a length of time.

Really look. Look at the colors. Look at the corners. What’s in them? Focus on the activities and the direction of the faces and who’s looking at whom and what they are possibly saying. Look at the position of the sky and how much canvas it takes up. Look at the interaction of light and shadow. Notice the style and size of brush strokes. These things were all deliberately done for effect. That’s why it’s worth stopping to notice. Talk about them with your kids.

7. When you like a painting, write about it.

I have so enjoyed Charlote Mason’s approach to art appreciation. I keep my comments about paintings on scraps of paper, in notebooks and on the backs of programs. When I write/narrate I find that I “see” more than I knew was there. And then I can recall the painting in my memory from re-reading my writing.

Art Appreciation Free Online Workshop for the Whole Family

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Summer Class Schedule and Registration

We’ve got our Summer Class Schedule all set to go with immediate registration already open.

We’re offering three classes and one “One Thing Workshop” (all listed on the same page).

For junior high and high school:

For the whole family:

I want to particularly draw your attention to our “Art Appreciation” workshop. It’s brand new!

What makes the art appreciation workshop so special is that it’s a one-of-a-kind online class! Our instructor, Beth Burgess, has led online art discussions for the last seven years with homeschooling mothers. Many of them have gone from a feeling of utter bewilderment when looking at a work of art to becoming passionate art history buffs themselves. Whether your kids are ready for art or you need a summer treat designed just for you, I highly recommend this One Thing Workshop to you. It will be a real treat! Beth Burgess is one of my dear friends, an artist in her own right, has home educated her children, is currently an art student, and a long-term passionate fan of art history.

The Brave Writer Lifestyle includes experiences like art appreciation, nature walks, freewriting, dictation and copywork, Shakespeare study, poetry enjoyment and writing, revision of one writing project per month, grammar study through games and interaction with real literature. Rather than sending you off to invent how to do these all on your own, the Brave Writer team offers short, intensive workshops to help you develop the skills and creative applications for each of these ideas, one thing at a time.

This particular workshop with give you both the experience of enjoying and examining art for yourself, as well as preparing you to create an art rich environment for your kids.

The tuition is $99.00 per family as you, the homeschooling parent, will do the activities with your children at home.

Write For Fun: I wanted to also point out that Write for Fun starts in just over two weeks. It’s one of the most popular classes with our teens. If you need a class that is utterly unlike any writing class your kids have ever taken, join this one. The first week’s assignments have your kids collecting words from magazines, billboards, the Internet, song lyrics and anywhere they can find them, then tagging them to objects and items all over the house. Trust me, they love it! Changes the way they see language and writing forever.

I hope you find a class that works for you!

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If You are New to Nature Journaling

Nature Journaling

Sometimes our nature journaling happens indoors.
I have an African violet collection that has repeatedly inspired us to draw.
I hope you take time to draw on occasion as well.

Some of you may wonder: Why keep a visual record of the natural items you find near and around your home? Charlotte Mason points out that as we spend time in nature or with art, we are slowly developing our perceptual skills.

  • We learn to see and to notice nuances and differences between plants and flowers and times of day.
  • We learn to observe more closely when we draw than when we run by a tree in a game a of tag.
  • Drawing also helps with those fine motor skills where kids get a break from forming letters and instead learn to follow the contour lines of the item they wish to represent.

When I worked in a Charlotte Mason support group years ago, one of the leaders did a workshop for the moms that gave us some simple instructions for drawing natural items. We eagerly took these three steps home to try them with our kids. I want to pass these fail-safe steps to you for those who are new to nature journaling.

For our exercise, we began with an acorn.

First we looked intently at the acorn from all sides, slowly, taking our time, without any talking. Then we felt the acorn with our finger tips. We let it roll around in our hands and looked at it from all sides. Once we felt we had thoroughly examined the acorn, we put it down on a white piece of paper. Then we closed our eyes and attempted to draw the acorn without lifting the pencil.

Brave Writer Nature Journaling

The only goal at this point was to imagine the acorn in our mind’s eye and then to draw it as best we could from memory. We knew we wouldn’t be able to draw it correctly with eyes closed, but keeping them closed meant we were being forced to really see the acorn we had just explored without the benefit of its appearance right in front of us. This is a mind muscle exercise. We were forming the mental image as accurately as we could from memory.

When we finished, we could look at the drawing. It’s always fun to see how the lines veer off the page or overlap awkwardly. But it’s also nice to see that some of the contours are strong and have an “acorn-y” feel about them.

For the next drawing, we looked at the acorn on the white paper and drew it again, but this time, looking at the acorn the whole time. Somehow having drawn it blind the first time meant we saw the acorn more clearly this second time and we were much more able to draw “representationally,” as well as to focus quietly.

When we finished drawing, we had this satisfaction of really having explored the acorn! I haven’t looked at them the same since.

This process works really well for intimidated kids who don’t think they can draw. The original blind drawing is a bit like freewriting. The second drawing is a bit like revising. These artistic processes are wonderful supports to writing.

So the three steps are:

  1. Look intently
  2. Draw with eyes closed
  3. Draw with eyes open

If you all as a family draw together, it makes for a more satisfying experience.

Inset image by Brave Writer parent, Brandy

Nature Journaling

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Glass Artist: Dale Chihuly

Our Cincinnati Art Museum is fortunate enough to have a Chihuly chandalier (featured above). Dale Chihuly is known for his exquisite glass work. Please visit his site when you have some time to spend. It is exquisite.

Six years ago, I heard about Chihuly online from some friends and looked up his work. Then that weekend, I discovered in the newspaper that a Chihuly exhibition was coming to Dayton, Ohio (just up the road from us) that week. I love those serendipitous coincidences. I threw the kids in the car and we had one of the most delightful afternoons of art appreciation ever. The kids are hopeless when it comes to Chihuly, swearing he is the most visually stimulating and engaging artist they’ve experienced. If you need a way to jumpstart interest in art, glass exhibitions are truly a marvel. Chihuly is the best. You can often find his works in wonderful documentary form on DVDs in libraries too.

I noticed that Chihuly’s art is on display in Columbus, Ohio right now! He has an exhibit at the Franklin Park Conservatory until February 25. We will certainly be going. If you live in the area, schedule a trip. You’ll be glad you did.

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8 Ways to Train the Art Appreciator in You

8 Ways to Train the Art Appreciator in You

I’ve developed this guide for the intimidated among us. Enjoy!

1. Allow your reactions to guide you. I am not an art student. I never was. I didn’t “get it” when I studied it in college. As a result, all I have to go on are my immediate impressions of art. So do you…and you can love art with no teaching at all. Don’t pick paintings to appreciate… look for paintings that you like and start there.

2. If possible, the place to begin looking at art is in an art museum. Books are fine, but there is nothing like seeing a painting up close. The textures are totally lost in books. And to realize that Ruebens or Matisse or O’Keefe stood where I am standing at some point in history takes my breath away every time. So go to a museum—any one will do because there is always at least one painting worth seeing.

3. Before you enter the museum proper, buy the picture postcard pack for that museum in the gift shop. This is especially helpful with kids. Flip through it before you enter the galleries. Note the paintings that you want to see and then go straight to them. Don’t stop and meander, trying to appreciate paintings that you don’t like, understand, or care about. Art appreciation takes energy so feel free to conserve yours for the ones you think are gorgeous, terrifying, creepy, or mesmerizing!

4. Beg, borrow (we did both) or steal Sister Wendy – The Complete Collection (Story of Painting / Grand Tour / Odyssey / Pains of Glass) (affiliate link). It is so enjoyable and she has such passion for art that you can’t help falling in love with her and the paintings.

5. When you find a painting you like, sit in front of it for a length of time. Really look. Look at the colors. Look at the corners. What’s in them? Focus on the actions of the subjects. Look at the directions the faces are looking, and who’s looking at whom and what they are possibly saying. Look at the position of the sky and how much canvas it takes up. All? Some? Very little? Look at the interaction of light and shadow. Notice the style and size of brush strokes. These things were all deliberately done for effect. That’s why it’s worth stopping to notice.

6. Put up prints of famous paintings that you can’t see in person in your house. Put up prints of your favorites from your local museum in your house too.

7. When you like a painting, write about it. I have so enjoyed Charlotte Mason’s approach to art appreciation. I keep my comments about paintings on scraps of paper, in notebooks, and on the backs of programs. When I write/narrate, I find that I “see” more than I knew was there. And then I can recall the painting in my memory from re-reading my writing.

8. If you are someone who doesn’t love art but thinks you should, I strongly recommend going to an art museum either alone or with a friend who loves art, on your first trip. Don’t take your kids with you. Learn about whether or not there is anything in art that attracts you, alone, without education as your objective. If it turns out there is, then you can share that with your kids.

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