Art with a Purpose

  Scroll to bottom of post for our first craft of the new school year

I want to share what we are doing in school a few subject areas at a time.  This post is about Art with a Purpose. The last 2 years we have done some wonderful CM style classical art studies. As I prepared for another year of art I just could not wrap my brain around another CM Study. I needed something more hands on…more practical for this season of our life. After much prayer I felt the Lord has given me the class title “Art with a Purpose”.  I spent many days researching art classes taught across the US and Canada in High School. Here is what I learned…very few schools offer Folk Art or Handicrafts that celebrate our heritage.  We are doing the second half of American History this year and I usually coordinate art with the time period that we study.  We will be dong Folk Art and Crafts from 1860 to present. Most of the projects will be gifts or useful things. ( thus art with a purpose). I have been blessed this year with many free odds and ends that will work well with this topic.  Most of the projects will be from recycled stuff. I hope to encourage my daughters to create to give.

 Here is a scant incomplete outline:

What is Folk Art? 

What is American Primitivism?

Timeline

Who’s Who in Folk Art ( crafters not painters)

Folk Art Crafts

Quilting

Collages and Mixed Media

Tin Punching

Paper Mache folk art basket

Paper making

Weaving ( using t shirts)

Basket Weaving using poster board  or other materials ( newspaper, foam board, ect) Gourd Art

Machine Quilting Project

 Pennsylvania Hex Design

Tramp Art

Wall Paper Boxes

Decorated Chair

Button Bracelets 

 Altered Book Keepsake

Sharpie Tie Die 

Printmaking

Sculpting ( probably dryer lint)

Folk Art Painters

We will choose 9 to study CM Style

Grandma Moses

Charles  Sheeler

Elie Nadleman

William Zorach

Charles Demuth

James Bard

Harriet Knapp

Jimmie Lee Sudduth

Moze Tolliver

Bill Traylor

Horace Pippin

Fredrick Hicks

Josephine Joy (American, 1869-1948)

John Kane (American, 1860-1934)

H.O. Kelly (American, 1884-1955)

Lawrence Lebduska (American, 1894-1966)

Abraham Levin (American, 1880-1957)

Israel Litwak (American, 1868-1960)

Fred E. Robertson (American, 1878-1953)

Ladis Sabo (American, 1870-1953)

Patsy Santo (American, 1893-?)

Clara McDonald Williamson

Charles Hoffman

We started crafting today! We did a very modern craft with very old mark on history. This craft was first done in Japan during the Tang Dynasty. Tie dye with Sharpies is the modern twist. My daughter made a shirt for one of her friends for Christmas. It is a very easy non messy craft. It took quite a bit of time.