Week Four in Review

What we actually did this week...  

January 28th:

• We looked through pictures on Van Gogh and determined if they were oil, watercolor, combination, and so on. The kids got really good at it.
• We studied two of Van Goghs early watercolors.  ( remember we are still in his Belgium period) Weaver Seen From the Side and Women Miners.
• We talked about supplies, how to use brushes, how to blot, prepare the paper, and the paint. (I don't have the money for proper paper and good paints. So we do our best)
• We started a Watercolor Collage similar to this:

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/Lessons/6water.htm

• We used the wet on wet technique.

January 29th

• Today we did two classes. The first was a color wash for the

background  of their collage. It had to dry before we could finish the collage.

• Then in the afternoon they glued their collage strips to the color wash.

I love when learning just happens. My youngest daughter has been

talking about wanting to learn Chinese and go to China to be an Artist.

Well up until yesterday it was just conversation. We went to the library yesterday . She got  books on Chinese art ( very similar to watercolor) and Haiku. When we got home she looked up the Chinese alphabet and copied some of it so she could work on it. She spent the rest of the day drawing , writing letters and reading her book on Haiku. We also had to watch Mulan so we could look at the art. ( ever look at the drawings for the background of a cartoon? Very basic stuff) We stop the DVD often to check out stuff! Try it sometime. Folks who draw and paint for cartoons are artist!

We had to return our Van Gogh books yesterday. I was able to get a few more and some watercolor books.

Vincent Van Gogh Portrait of an Artist by Jan Green berg and Sandra Jordan 

Good story. Easy for upper elementary through middle school.

Famous Artist Vincent Van Gogh  by Andrew Hughs Great for upper elementary.

The World of Van Gogh by Robert Wallace  Very in depth. Good for High School.

Of course all the books have his paintings in them and can be used by all ages for picture study.

I also picked up a few books on Watercolor ( bunny trail!)

Watercolor Fundmentals for Beginners by Arco Editorial Team   Very

good step by step lessons. Great information on supplies.

Watercolor for the Absolute Beginner by Mark and Mary Willenbrink I love this book! Not only do they teach watercolor basics but also beginning basics in art like structure, value, color,perspective. We did all of this at the beginning of the year but it will be great to review it.

First Steps Painting Watercolors by Cathy Johnson Great book! She shows how to do detail.

Watercolor Red Yellow Blue by John R Koser  I really like this book! He shows how to get all the colors from the primary colors. He also starts with sketching or drawing. There is a great section on design elements and composition.

January 30th

• We finished up our Watercolor Collage by using different media ( chalk, pen, crayon, charcoal, pencil) to fill in details. Van Gogh used many different media in his works. We will be using chalk and oils later on. This was one of his favorite mixed medias to use.

January 31st

• Today we worked on practicing dark to light using one color of paint. This is much harder than it seems with watercolor! The girls drew a drinking glass and tried coloring it dark to light. They also practiced outlining with watercolor.

February 1st ( Where has January gone!?)

• Free painting. The kids did a watercolor. ( or two or three or...!)

A note about length of lessons: While I have a "plan" for our study I do not have an ending date. This way we can take our time and enjoy the journey. Sometimes we camp out in an area of interest. We may bunny trail ( go off topic)  and stray for a while as well. The length of our daily lessons varies depending on the children's interest, schedule for the day, and the topic. Sometimes I teach only for a few minutes and the kids do the rest. Other times we spend more than an hour pouring over information, working on a technique and so on. I think our style is "child directed". We do this with a lot of classes besides art: science, history, sometimes grammar, literature.Math is math. I am afraid I am not creative with math above 5th grade. Although my kids fondly remember lego math, math with lolipops, math in the park, cooking math and card games for math.The key is to develop a love of learning. I know I have done this when my kids are "doing" school on their own. My 11yo spent hours yesterday drawing and reading about Chinese art. She has filled a notebook. She has become passionate about it.