ART
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Notes from December 2000
Favorite resources
Challenges of teaching this topic
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Favorites
Books
Discovering Great Artists - art history and technique, a series of classes
with projects to help understand the artists' style and technique.
Oil Painting (with tubes of oil paint) - teaching technique, for older
kids (teenager). Also available in acrylic.
Drawing Textbook by Bruce McIntire (Audio-Visual Drawing Program. P.O. Box
186, Ridgecrest, CA 93556).
The Annotated Mona Lisa: A crash Course in Art History , by Carol Strickland.
School Arts magazine -projects for all grades.
web page (800-533-2847)
Masterpiece of the Month - unit studies with project ideas for young kids.
Draw Squad - worksheets for easy individual lessons about topics such as
forshortening, shading, etc.
Sister Wendy Story of Painting, by Sr. Wendy Becket - use the art along with
history lessons about each period.
Museums & art centers
LACMA has backpack kits, available at the ticket window, to take
along when visiting an exhibit.
LA Parent newspaper calendar of free exhibits.
Watts Art Center - different programs throughout the year.
Norris Center for the Performing Arts, 27570 Crossfield Drive, Rolling Hills
Estates, CA 90274. 544-0403 www.norristheatre.org
Theater and dance classes for kids.
Other
Becoming a docent of Adventures In Art, a program run by the city of Torrance
in which artists train parents to teach classes to school children. A similar
program in other cities is called Art At Your Fingertips.
Paper & colored pencils in a box in the car - after watching an exhibit pick
one thing to draw.
Action Figure magazines - to trace drawings.
Good art supplies - quality pencils in vivid colors. Palos Verdes Art
Center.
Art supplies and alloted studio time to create art (teaching art history is
a separate subject).
Ourselves - our knowledge and interest in art. Classes we have taught.
Challenges
The parent doesn't have enough knowledge in the subject.
Intimidated by museums - too big, too many, not wanting to go alone.
Kids get bored in a museum or rush through.
Kids not interested in art projects.
Solutions
When visiting a museum, check out just one thing per visit. e.g., when
stdying Greece, view only Greek statues.
Take docent tours.
Bring up questions about particular works of art. e.g., how did the light enhance this painting?
Go on a treasure hunt - go find a certain picture, or find things that relate to a theme.
Some museums have search sheets, or purchase in advance postcards from the exhibit.
Think of other kinds of museums, not just art. The museum district in LA has many different museums (automotive, miniature, folk art, etc.).
LACMA and the Getty have special rooms for kids with many hands-on activities. The Getty is free, and LACMA has free Sunday activities for families.