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Sep 26 2022

How to Incorporate Art Criticism into your Art Class

Guest post by Pat Knepley

As an art teacher, I feel that art is an essential part of a well-rounded curriculum, as it adds so much value to the learning (and life) experience. But I am sure I need to do some convincing for reluctant home educators who already see a lot of course work they need to squeeze in to their daily routine. This is especially true when many homeschooling moms and dads confess their frustration with teaching art, because they don’t have artistic talents or abilities.

In an effort to show how teaching art need not be constrained by artistic talent, this month the See the Light blog is focusing on a discipline-based approach to art education. This approach focuses on integrating art with the disciplines, including art history, art criticism, aesthetics, and art production.

I am using Leonardo da Vinci’s, fresco The Last Supper as an example of how to approach a piece of art and explore fully each of the four disciplines for a rich art-learning experience. This week’s post will cover the next to a well-thought-out art program: art criticism. Again we return to The Last Supper as a base of understanding.

Art criticism simply involves talking about art. The viewer tries to get inside the head of the artist and ask questions such as, “What was the artist trying to say?” In art criticism, we learn to look at the art work with a critical eye as it relates to use of the seven art elements: line, shape, space, value, color, texture and form.

But the viewer should also look within herself and ask why she likes or dislikes this particular work. Being able to talk about a piece of art work and make it personal is a good way to increase critical thinking skills. There are ample opportunities to connect art to everyday learning. A basic understanding of the seven art elements and the five design principles (balance, proportion, rhythm, emphasis and unity) can be a great way to dive into a conversation when your son admires the graphics in a new game or your daughter gushes over a fabric design and texture.

When looking at The Last Supper, you would immediately notice the strong perspective that da Vinci employed in order to focus the viewer’s attention to the head of Jesus. The lines made if you follow where the ceiling meets the floor, and the lines made by the top of the tapestries on the wall create a strong vanishing point right at the head of Jesus. It was during this era of the Renaissance that artists discovered the principles of linear and aerial perspective to bring more realism to their works. da Vinci pioneered using one- point perspective to provide a strong focal point with his sacred subject matter. da Vinci also used geometry to arrange the rest of the composition. All of the twelve disciples are clumped in groups of three to form four triangles on the side of the table.

This can be a fun exercise for kids – print out copies of the image of The Last Supper and have your students use a marker to draw shapes where there are geometric aspects of da Vinci’s composition: the strong linear perspective and symmetrical balance. This compelling fresco captures the moment in Scripture when Jesus is at his last meal with his disciples, and has just said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” His men are dumbfounded, asking “Surely, not I Lord!” The personalities of each of the disciples can be ascertained by the facial expression and body language that da Vinci was careful to individualize. It truly is an amazing work of art.

Note: Scroll down for a short (8 min) critical analysis of The Last Supper.

NEXT WEEK: We’ll continue our exploration of Discipline-Based Art Education by looking at The Last Supper from the perspective of aesthetics.

Author’s Note: The area of art education that makes people, if not nervous, perhaps hesitant . . . is the art-making process: art production. But drawing is a skill like any other skill. I believe it can be taught (like how to swing a tennis racquet can be taught) with age-appropriate instruction. I recommend the DVD-based drawing instruction that I host: Art Class from See the Light for ages 6 to 10. With this fun, foundational, skill-building series, kids of all ages will feel successful when learning to draw.

Take your art to the next level with See the Light videos:

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Sep 19 2022

How to Integrate Art with History

There are four components to a well thought out art program as described in the Discipline-Based Arts Education (DBAE): Art History, Art Criticism, Art Production, and Aesthetics. The home educator should consider all of these components as equally valuable when they think of teaching art.

The best way to explain how to encompass all four components is to use a piece of art as an example that most people would be familiar with. Let’s look at Leonardo da Vinci’s famous fresco “The Last Supper”

Leonardo da Vinci was the quintessential Renaissance man of the late 15th century. He thought of himself as primarily an artist, but da Vinci was also a mathematician, inventor, scientist, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. Da Vinci spent his younger years as an apprentice to a master artist and increased in skill and recognition.

Later on, da Vinci’s wealthy benefactor asked him to paint a fresco to decorate the refectory (dining hall) in the monastery of Santa Maria Della Grazie. Leonardo worked on this project from 1495 to 1498. Even though he was a great painter, da Vinci was constantly experimenting with his materials, so this project took a long time.

For centuries, frescos had been painted by mixing tempera or watercolor paint into the wet plaster of a wall. That required the artist to work quickly before the plaster dried. Leonardo experimented with tempera, watercolor and even oil-based paint on dry plaster in order to get more detail. The problem was this experimental technique didn’t work, and the paint began to flake off shortly after the piece was completed.

In the 1600s, someone felt it would be allowable to cut a door through the wall that contains the fresco, so Jesus’ feet and a portion of the table were lost forever. A series of artists over the centuries, seeing that da Vinci’s original brilliant color was flaking off, tried to maintain the masterpiece by re-painting over the original, but it was turning into a mess. Then during World War II, a bomb nearly destroyed the monastery. The refectory suffered a lot of damage but the wall with the fresco only had minor damage. Over the ensuing years, rain and water damage through the thinner, repaired walls caused mold to grow on the fresco.

After all those years of misfortune, the most famous painting in the world was in serious trouble. So in 1999, a twenty-year restoration was initiated in order to return the Last Supper back to Leonardo da Vinci’s original vision. Most of the layers of additional paint from other artists have been carefully removed and we can now see the fresco as close to the original as possible.

Next week: We’ll continue our introduction to Discipline-Based Art Education by examining The Last Supper from the perspective of Art Criticism.

The Last Supper — Leonardo da Vinci

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Sep 12 2022

How to Integrate Art with other Subjects

Guest post by Master Artist Pat Knepley

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

I’m sure you’ve heard that adage, probably many times. Perhaps you’ve said it yourself. In today’s highly visual culture, the importance of the visual arts in the total human experience cannot be overstated. Integrating art into the standard academic curriculum isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.

But how do you make art (or the arts) an integral part of your homeschool curriculum?

It is fairly common to think of the visual arts as paintings or drawings we might see hung on a museum wall. But an appreciation of art is so much more. We are surrounded by shapes, space, texture, and color.

For example, everything in the average American home has an art element to it: the pattern in the wallpaper or curtain fabric; or the shape of the lamp, the candlestick, even the tea kettle. And of course, there are objects on the walls: photos in frames, paintings or prints, perhaps even a piece of sculpture. In fact, many people spend quite a lot of money on the design of their home and its interior.

Although our tastes in design will vary widely, we all appreciate the beauty of a well-designed object. Who doesn’t like the classic lines of the 1965 Ford Mustang? Pure art.

So then the question becomes why should the home educator include art as part of the core classical curriculum? Parents often say, “My son or daughter just isn’t interested in drawing or painting, and we need the time to spend on the more important elements of our children’s education: math, history, science, and so on.”

But when parents say this, they are failing to recognize that the arts are already an integral part of our daily lives. Through the ages, people have used the arts to tell stories about every aspect of their lives, cultures, nations, history, and beliefs. Thus, arts education isn’t only a matter of teaching a child to draw a picture or play music or do a sculpture. In fact, you can make art a part of your curriculum without ever having your children pick up a brush (not that I recommend that, but it’s possible). A general understanding of what is involved in the arts is probably more valuable to the homeschooler than any artistic talent.

So how do you incorporate arts instruction into your curriculum? Consider the approach suggested by Discipline-Based Arts Education (DBAE).

What is DBAE?

According to an entry in Wikipedia, “Discipline-based art education (DBAE) is an educational program formulated by the J. Paul Getty Trust in the early 1980s. DBAE supports a diminished emphasis on studio instruction, and instead promotes education across four disciplines within the arts: aesthetics, art criticism, art history and art production.” [Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_education_in_the_United_States]

There are four components to a well-thought-out art program as described in the Discipline-Based Arts Education These components are Art History, Art Criticism, Art Production, and Aesthetics. The home educator should consider all of these components equally valuable when they think of teaching art, as intimidating as that might be.

The best way to explain how to encompass all four components is to use a piece of art as an example that most people will be familiar with. Next week we will look at Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous fresco, The Last Supper.

Take your art to the next level with See the Light videos:

And don’t miss these free resources from our blog:

Sep 05 2022

Draw the fall of Jericho

Draw through the Bible with black light chalk artist, Jim Pence. This video series is designed for homeschoolers who want to have fun learning art and the Bible. And, in keeping with Jim’s black light chalk artistry, each of these projects incorporate black light chalk or paint.

For more children’s art resources, visit: seethelightshine.com

Aug 29 2022

Are You Having Fun Yet?

Whenever I started a new art class, I always gave my students one important rule: Have fun!

If you are a homeschooling mom or dad and are teaching art, this rule applies to you too. I see a lot of parents who become frustrated trying to teach art to their children. And one of the reasons, in my opinion, is that they’re not sure how to critique their child’s work.

After all, when your child brings you a piece of art that looks like it could be at home in the abstract art section of any art museum, and then asks if you like it, what do you say? This is particularly difficult when it’s obvious to your child that this is a picture of something.

Often, you find yourself standing there turning the picture in different directions, just trying to figure out what it is. And you diplomatically try to find a way to compliment your child’s masterpiece without revealing your ignorance of the subject matter.

You usually come out with something like, “Oh that’s so beautiful. It’s the best one of those you’ve ever done.”

If we’re lucky, our child accepts the praise and doesn’t ask the dreaded question, “But does it really look like a… (Fill in the blank)?”

If we’re unlucky, our child asks exactly that question. And then we squirm and try to figure out a nice way to critique the picture without hurting her feelings.

The question of whether to critique or not is a thorny one. If you’re going to teach art to your children sooner or later you are going to have to critique their work. But how do you do that when you’re not an artist yourself? More important, how do you critique a children’s artwork without hurting their feelings and discouraging them from even trying?

But before you even get to the matter of critique, you need to keep the number one rule in mind: Have fun.

I’m convinced that most children who quit drawing do so because it’s not fun anymore. Very young children love to draw and scribble and make enough paintings to plaster the average refrigerator several times over. But once those children get into elementary school and have to learn “art,” for many the fun goes away. Something that came naturally and was fun has now become work.

God made us in His image, and that means that creativity is part of our nature. When God finished His creation, he said, “It is very good.” Remember that when your child brings you a picture she’s drawn, she is feeling that same sense of satisfaction. In her eyes, it is very good. And that is not the time to enter into a discussion of the proper way to draw a horse (or whatever!).

The time for critique will come. But first comes the joy of creating something and delighting in that creation. Let them have fun.

By the way, are you having fun yet?

Take your art to the next level with See the Light videos:

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Aug 22 2022

Fun Sun Projects

Art Teaching Resources: Sun-related Projects

Summer is almost over and it’s time to head back to school. Here are some fun sun-related art and craft projects to help you to remember the fun you had on some of those hot summer days.

EASY SUN-MOON COLORING PAGES: Younger children will enjoy coloring these simple images of the sun and moon.

http://www.morningkids.net/coloring-pages-418-en-stars-sun-moon.html

MORE COMPLEX COLORING PAGES: For children who are a little older, this Web site provides some more complex coloring pages related to the sun, weather, etc.

http://www.edupics.com/coloring-pages-weather-c252.html

SUN HANDPRINT CRAFT: You can do this fun craft with construction paper or paper plates (for more durability).

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/summer/msun.htm

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Take your art to the next level with See the Light videos:

And don’t miss these free resources from our blog:

Take your art to the next level with See the Light videos:

And don’t miss these free resources from our blog:

Take your art to the next level with See the Light videos:

And don’t miss these free resources from our blog:

Take your art to the next level with See the Light videos:

And don’t miss these free resources from our blog:

Art Teaching Resources: Sun-related Projects

Take your art to the next level with See the Light videos:

And don’t miss these free resources from our blog:

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