If I use Artistic Pursuits for my art program do I need more for art appreciation?

[Jennefer@SSA]

I have been looking at Artistic Pursuits online for awhile now but it is very hard to make a final decision without actually looking through it with my own hands! :)

 

I know they say they combine art instruction with art appreciation but is it enough or should I do more? I have looked at Barb at Harmony Fine Arts program where she schedules AP with even more for art appreciation and that is what got me thinking. Exactly what is necessary? Ds7 will be in second grade next year.

 

I realize this is a subjective thing and will vary from family to family but I would still love input - from anyone but especially if you are a very art oriented type family. :001_smile:

[Hazelt"nut"]

Hey Jennefer,

 

I am going to be using AP next year with Princess Poodle. If I understand AP correctly the first book covers the following:

what artists do (they compose, imagine, look, communicate, use photos, make landscapes, make portraits etc.

what artists see (shape, form, line, color, edges, mixed colors)

where we find art (caves, underground, palaces, floors, city walls, churches etc)

 

There are pictures for picture study in each lesson along with some explanation pages on the topic and then a project page with instructions on what to do.

 

I belive book two or three goes more into specific artists of the past.Book two of the K-3 is stories of artists and their art. Book three is modern painting and sculpture.

Hope this helps.

Sheryl in GA

[Kay in Cal]

I wouldn't say that we are "very art oriented", but I do supplement AP a bit by looking at additional pictures. For example, when we talked about landscapes, I pulled out several art books (nothing special, just books we already have like "A Child's Book of Art" and some other art catalog type books) and we looked at some additional landscapes. For me, just ONE example of a particular genre isn't enough to really give the feel for why it is distinctive, and it's simple enough to look at a few more. If you don't already have any art books in your personal collection, you could simply check out a couple survey-type art books from the library for additional visual examples.

 

In years past we've used the Mike Venezia artist series to survey artists chronologically, and I do love those books!

[coffeefreak]

We think it's enough:thumbup1:

We love art so we have a lot of art books laying around. But I haven't felt the need to add to it formally.

Blessings!

[Leslie in TN]

My simple answer would be no, Artistic Pursuits would be fine as a stand-alone art appreciation program. You could always look at free art prints online by the same featured artist.

 

Having said that, though, if you are a very arts-oriented family, Harmony Fine Arts does a wonderful job of incorporating AP as part of an even richer program. We've used it for two years now and love it, but for many a busy homeschool family, just using AP by itself would be more than sufficient. :001_smile:

[Alphabetika]

Artistic Pursuits is excellent on its own, but it would be easy, as others have said, to look at additional prints. With the first K-3 book (emphasis on ancient art) you could also look at additional books about that historical period to flesh it out and give more artistic input. The 2nd and 3rd K-3 books include artist biographies, so you could also read additional books about those artists.

 

HTH!

[Chris in VA]

I'm afraid our art program leaves much to be desired, but I do have a couple of ideas that seem to be working. We used Artistic Pursuits for a few weeks, and I hung up other art prints around the art area we have for dd. We also have Evan Moor's Teaching Art to Children, which is a very strong introduction to the elements of art. With these, we had a pretty good start to looking at art we'd encounter and being able to see how the artist used line, color, shape, form, space --the elements, as I said. We were too informal, but with the mishmash of materials, something must've seeped thru--because the other day, dd saw a print of Van Gogh's Self Portrait and commented on it--

I do catch us saying things like, " Wow, what strong lines the artist used in that painting!" or "I like the way the line of your arm in that photo leads me right to your face!" and stuff like that.

AP 1 is good at introducing those concepts. Don't look for tons of guidance on the how-to's, but it seems fine to me for the "Here's what some artists do, and now you try" stuff.

The prints are very small, so I would get out a really nice art book and see the prints in a bigger format, and also try to find some others to illustrate the same concepts. But if you didn't, you'd still be giving a good beginning education in appreciation.

It tickles me how, even with just a little follow-thru, concepts can be acquired by an interested child. AP is good at fostering that interest, imo.

[Laura Corin]

As you say, this is very subjective. Hobbes does Artistic Pursuits, but I find that the single page on a particular era/artist/theme doesn't stick with him. He enjoys the projects, but the art appreciation/history doesn't stick.

 

We add in Birdcage Press materials at the moment with both boys, and Calvin will be doing Gombrich as well on his next history go through.

 

Laura

[StephanieZ]

art appreciation. It's not particularly comprehensive or oriented towards artist study -- more along the lines of look at this print to see this aspect (line, shading, etc.). . . I have a lot of great resources and would use them all if I had the time and organizational skills. . . I don't think there is a need to supplement AP at this age, I think it is most vital just to get some taste of art each year at this tender age.

 

But, if you WANT to add more artist study. . . I'd add in some of Mike Venezia's Meet the Artist series of biographies on artists that come up during the AP curriculum. That's easy and complements the AP stuff well. Even more important, I'd visit an art gallery on occasion. We are doing American History this year (and last) and started AP 3-5 Vol 1 that covers American Art. We visited some galleries in DC looking for and at artists/art that we'd been exposed to in AP and the kids LOVED it. It really made it meaningful to go look for the George Catlin paintings that we'd read about (biographies plus the AP stuff). I think seeing real live art on occasion is even more important than seeing lots of prints and formal curricula.