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May 09 2022

The Art Elements: Texture

Texture is probably the easiest of the art elements to wrap your mind around. Smooth or rough? Shiny or dull? Crumpled (as in the photo)? Like sandpaper? What would the art object feel like if you touched it?

As with form, texture can be real or implied. In the photo above, the texture is implied because, although it looks rough, if you were to run your finger over it, it would feel smooth. Obviously, a piece of sculpture would have real texture, but sometimes you can find texture in paintings. In impasto style painting, the artist makes use of texture by applying the paint in thick layers, often with a palette knife.

However you use texture, it’s an important element in an artist’s tool box. Here are some websites and videos that will help you explain this in your homeschool art class:

Definition & Examples:

Nice summary with illustrations: https://www.smore.com/9xm5-elements-of-art-texture

Lesson Plans:

K-4: http://www.nga.gov/con tent/ngaweb/education/teachers/lessons-activities/elements-of-art/texture.html

Tutorial for High Schoolers: https://www.sophia.org/tutorials/elements-of-art-texture

Video Summary:

The following short video provides a good summary of texture, both actual (as in sculpture) and implied (as in drawings):

May 02 2022

The Art Elements: Form

If the first element of art is line and the second element is shape, the next logical element is form.

Line is one dimensional. Shape has two dimensions. Form is created when a shape takes on three dimensions. The three-dimensional character of form can be real, as in a sculpture. Or it can be implied, as in a 3-D drawing.

Here are some great web pages and tutorials that will help you understand form and how it works in art.

K-4 LESSON PLAN

Here is a complete lesson plan from the national gallery of art: http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/education/teachers/lessons-activities/elements-of-art/form.html

ONE-PAGE SUMMARY

This short page is subtitled Notes and Examples of How to Illustrate Form. It provides a concise resource for young artists who want to explore form: https://www.smore.com/efkd-elements-of-art-form

FOR OLDER STUDENTS

This page is a bit more involved but will be a valuable resource for high school age students who want to dig deeper into this element of art: http://visualartspdsf.blogspot.com/2012/04/form-or-volume.html

VIDEO LESSON

The following short (3 min.) video shows how form works in art and sculpture:

Apr 25 2022

The Art Elements: Shape

The first of the seven art elements is line. The second is shape. (Note: There is no particular order to the art elements. I list them in the order I do because it’s easier to remember if you progress logically.)

Everything you see can be described or depicted as a shape or collection of shapes. One of the keys to drawing what you see is learning how to spot the shapes in the everyday objects around you.

For today’s blog post, I’ve pulled together several tutorials, lesson plans, a YouTube video, and even a PowerPoint presentation. So get out those pencils and let’s have some fun.

LESSON PLAN FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS:

K-4 Lesson Plan: This page from the national gallery of art is a full lesson plan for teaching children how shape relates to art. It is very thorough, with guided practice exercises.

http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/education/teachers/lessons-activities/elements-of-art/shape.html

LESSON PLAN FOR OLDER STUDENTS:

This tutorial would be great for grades 9-12. It’s a bit more complex, but it will give the students a very thorough understanding about how shape works inart.

http://www.sophia.org/tutorials/elements-of-art-shape

The last two items in today’s post are a PowerPoint slide show about shape and a 4-minute video tutorial. Both are worth watching.

PowerPoint Slide Presentation: Shape

Element of Art – Shape from RodriguezArt

Video Tutorial: Shape

Apr 18 2022

The Art Elements: Line

One of the seven elements of art is line.

Today, we’ve got some fun resources that will help you to understand how line works in art, and the different types (or families) of lines that you can use.

HOW LINES WORK IN ART

Follow this link for an explanation of the many different ways line works in art, plus a fun and easy line art/craft project at the bottom of the page:

https://kidcourses.com/line-elements-of-design-for-kids/

LESSON PLAN

You’ll find a complete lesson plan on line for early elementary students at this page from the National Gallery of Art:

https://www.nga.gov/education/teachers/lessons-activities/elements-of-art/line.html

HOW LINES CONVEY MOTION, EMOTION, AND MORE

This page will be good for older students, because it demonstrates the more subtle uses of line in art: to convey motion, emotion, and much more.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/looking-art/elements-of-art/a/line

ART LESSONS FOR KIDS —

http://artlessonsforkids.me/tag/elements-of-art/

This page is definitely one of my favorites. It has some very creative art projects, some targeted at children as young as first graders. All the projects involve the creative and colorful use of line.

A SONG ABOUT LINES

And just for fun, here’s a song about lines. It’s a bit on the corny side, but it might help your younger children remember the different kinds of lines they can use when they create art.

Apr 11 2022

Four Tools Every Homeschool Mom Needs – Part Four

by Angie McFarren

This last installment of the Four Tools Every Homeschool Mom Needs may be the toughest of them all.

Essential Tool #4 – The Ability to Say, “No, Thank You.”

The words, “Ask her. She stays home all day” were just said. The hair on the back of her neck begins to stiffen. Her muscles tighten. She mumbles through gritted teeth, “They better not be talking about me.” She thinks to herself, “They disagree with homeschooling but want me to do the work for them.” Where is that “No Thank You” Chinese Folding Fan?

You may wonder what a No Thank You Chinese Folding Fan is. It is one of those pretty fans, which has the words, “No Thank You” written across it in pretty lettering. Of course, this is something I made up. But it would be handy to unfold that fan when someone begins asking you to do something. It would be a distraction for the person and she just might forget what she wanted to ask you.

Why is it so difficult to say no to others? Could it be guilt or the need to feel dependable or needed? If it is guilt, you need the Guilt Remover I wrote about in my previous post!

Your typical week is full of activities and home responsibilities. There is homeschooling, sport practices, dance lessons, music lessons, Bible study, co-op, at least one library visit, laundry, cleaning, meal preparing, banking, grocery shopping, and completing miscellaneous errands. Some weeks there are doctor appointments, haircuts, and other types of appointments. People wonder why you are grumpy at times. They have no idea what it is like to juggle a schedule, maintain a home, homeschool, and be a loving wife, mother, friend, and so forth.

Imagine this scenario:

It is Sunday afternoon, and you are reflecting on your previous week.

Monday went okay. You completed the shopping, banking, and errands. You even completed some lesson plans. Yet, that evening is when it all began. The president of the Ladies Fellowship called. She asked if you would bake three pies for Sunday’s church social. You agreed even though Saturday was the day you intended to clean your house. Oh, well. What is another week anyway?

Tuesday you were able to catch up on the laundry. You took your son to ball practice and your daughter to dance class in the late afternoon. There was that incident where you left your daughter waiting for 20 minutes until you could pick her up. She had a meltdown over that one. Mental note: arrange for carpooling.

After supper, Mary from co-op called. The art teacher could not make it for Friday’s co-op. Mary said, “You are so good at teaching art. I told the teacher you will fill in for her.” Sigh.

Wednesday was the day for music lessons and a trip to the library. It was a bit hectic trying to fit those in and attend Bible study on time. Oh my, just thinking about what occurred at Bible study makes you tense. Margaret came up to you before class began. She said, “Hello Dear. Did you hear Susan has stepped down from her position as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator? I met with the Nurture Committee last evening. Because of how well you love the children here, we decided you would be the new Coordinator. The materials you need are in the office.” Margaret walks away and leaves you wondering what just happened. Since Margaret is such a lovely person, you cannot let her down.

Then there was Thursday. Your husband came home from work and said, “I invited Bob and Mark to bring their wives over for supper tomorrow night. I know how you like to entertain and knew you would not mind me inviting them. They will be here at 6:00.”

There was not enough food to feed everyone. That required an extra trip to the grocery store. You muttered and fussed as you drove there and back. Oh well, you needed extra ingredients for the pies anyway.

Friday was a busy day. You were up early in the morning to clean the house. You also did some laundry before you went to co-op. Teaching the art class went okay, however it could have been better. Later in the afternoon, you completed the laundry and prepared supper for your family and guests.

Friday evening was going well until… Your son came to inform you the coach arranged for an unexpected ball game for tomorrow morning. You son also said, “Oh and um, you have to work in the concession’s stand.” You wanted to scream and cry! Realizing you had company, you had to control yourself.

You spent Saturday baking pies and working in the concession stand at the ball game. Late in the evening, you realized you had not prepared anything for your new position as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator. What were you supposed to do anyway? It took a couple of hours to determine what your role will be and to do to some organizing.

Now it is Sunday. Today has been exhausting with church, the social, and so forth. You have to admit you were a bit grumpy. You also wonder how you could have handled this past week differently.

Has anything like this happened to you? It is overwhelming when we do not have the ability to say no. The next time someone asks or tells you what to do get out your No Thank You Chinese Folding Fan. Well, at least the mental image will be a nice reminder for you to say no.

Seriously, we do need to guard ourselves from over commitments. Here are a few suggestions before you become involved in something new.

Pray first. Now, be aware God may tell you to say yes. I recently had that happened to me. Let us just say God won. With His help, Tylenol, and Starbuck’s coffee, I know I can handle the upcoming project. Thank goodness, it does not start until spring.
Discuss it with your husband. Is he willing to help and especially not volunteer you for anything?
Determine if it will be beneficial to all the family members.
Do not take on a new project if you cannot finish it or give it your best.
Is there something you should release to someone else if you take on this new activity?
Delegate what you can.
Limit the number of sports or activities your children participate in at one time.
Instruct your children not to volunteer for anything without talking with you first. My daughter has trouble with this one.
Arrange for carpooling when possible.
Be willing to ask for help.

Apr 04 2022

Four Tools Every Homeschool Mom Needs – Part Three

As I had said in the past two posts, moms need many tools to have a full functioning homeschool. However, there are four essential tools that are unseen. Today, I will share with you about the need for a Guilt Remover.

Do you suffer from guilt? Many moms do at some point or another. What causes that guilt? How can we remove it? I know. We need a Guilt Remover, like a laundry stain remover.

Us moms are good about sharing products, which we are impressed with and find helpful. One baseball season, a mom told me about White Bright. This laundry detergent actually removes stains from baseball pants!

My son loves baseball and really gets into the game. I mean really gets into it. When he dives to catch the ball, he slides across the bright green grass. My son also loves to steal bases, and in the process his white baseball pants become even more filthy. For those who are unfamiliar with baseball fields, the dirt is not just dirt. It is like Georgia clay…orange/brown that is. Do you have a mental image of what his baseball pants look like?

After each game, I soak his baseball pants overnight in White Bright. The next day, I turn on the washer to finish the laundry process. Afterwards, the baseball pants are white again. When my boy walks on the field for the next game, he looks good.

Us moms can easily allow the dirt and grime to stain our lives. There are days when people will say things that make us feel less than desirable. The things said, or implied, might be about our how we manage our home, what we look like, the type of meals we prepare, our choice to homeschool, how we homeschool, and the list continues. Sometimes that list seems as if is as long as a cashier-receipt tape rolled out on the floor.

Imagine this scenario:

You are so excited. You are going to spend an evening with other homeschool moms from the co-op you just joined. You walk into the room wearing your new white dress and you look good.

The first person you meet is Mary. She is the perfect homeschool mom. Mary creates her own curriculum, takes her children on multiple field trips each month, teaches one of the co-op classes, is a board member for the county homeschool support group, and the list continues.

Mary tells you about her children’s latest lapbook creations and how wonderful they are. You agree lapbooking is great for your hands-on child. You ask Mary which company she prefers to purchase her lapbooks. Mary says, “I don’t buy lapbooks. I create all of ours from the patterns I have made and….” She then asks, “Don’t you create your own lapbooks?” You tell her you prefer to use the ones with pretty pictures, projects, maps, and so forth. Mary’s response is, “Mine are more meaningful than any lapbook you can buy online.”

There is guilt number one. Guess what? There is a small stain on your white dress.

You see Louise across the room. You are hoping she will not see you. Oh no, here she comes. Why is she here? She does not homeschool. Then you remember she is the host’s sister.

Louise shows excitement to finally be able to talk with you. Her first question is, “Do you really homeschool? You know children can’t make friends or play sports sitting at home. They can’t possibly go to a college without having a real diploma.” The longer Louise talks, the more guilty you feel.

Oops, there is another stain on your white dress.

You see Cindy across the room. She comes over to you and excitedly tells you about the new curriculum she is using. She asks, “What are you using?” You tell her about the books you have chosen and how well they are working for your children. Cindy asks, “Are they textbooks? You say, “Yes, they are.” Cindy’s response is, “Oh.” Then she walks away.

There is guilt number three. You notice there is another stain on your white dress.

By the end of the evening, you are feeling discouraged and the stains on your dress have spread all over. You return home and tell your husband about your evening. He holds you and asks, “Why do you let people make you feel this way?”

There is guilt number four. Your beautiful white dress now looks like Georgia clay. You sure could use a Guilt Remover.

When a mom begins homeschooling for the first time, she has grand plans. She has heard and read how children have excelled by being home educated, and she is looking forward to the fruits of her labor. It is not long until reality hits. She discovers homeschooling is not always perfect. She does not feel validated by all the homeschool moms out there, because she has chosen to homeschool differently than them. The new homeschool mom begins to think she is a failure and feels guilty for numerous reasons.

If you are one of those homeschool moms who are experiencing guilt, remember why you decided to homeschool in the first place. Then continue homeschooling in a way that is best for your children. No one knows them like you do.

It also helps to talk with someone who will listen with a non-judgmental spirit and provide you with a Guilt Remover.