Art Projects

The Bermuda Triangle of Homeschooling

October 8, 2010

Planning. Organizing. Scheduling. I’ve never been good at them. Ever. Which makes homeschooling a challenge, because these things are important if you want to create a semi-effective learning experience. Even sparky and creative free spirits like Scout and me benefit from routines, plans and an organized environment. Unfortunately, being aware of this and making it [...]

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Homeschool Project: The Great Wave

September 15, 2010

I love woodblock prints. So recently, when Scout was studying Japanese history, we spent some time learning about Japanese ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760 to 1849) and his iconic work, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. I’ve always enjoyed this print, but I needed a little help articulating the different visual elements at work [...]

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Tangle Drawings

July 22, 2010

OK, this is fun. Today Scout and I made tangle drawings, a great zen activity when everyone is feeling laid back. (Or more importantly, when everyone isn’t feeling laid back.) They’re super simple. Here’s how to do it. 1. Draw a border. 2. Add some curvy, intersecting lines, that create separate sections with interesting shapes. [...]

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Printmaking 101: Part III (Making the Print)

July 21, 2010

Continued from “Printmaking 101: Part II (Making the Plate)”… Making the Print 1. Spread newspapers over a large work surface. (Or just tell your spouse you did.) 2. Pick one or two colors, and squirt an inch or two of each onto your rolling surface. 3. Roll the brayer (toward you) through the ink several [...]

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Printmaking 101: Part II (Making the Plate)

July 20, 2010

Continued from “Printmaking 101: Part I (Intro and Prep)”… Making the Plate Got everything together? Great. This is a relief-style print, which means the image to be transferred to paper is raised above the surface of the printing plate or block. That way, when you ink your plate and press it down on paper, only [...]

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Printmaking 101: Part I (Intro and Prep)

July 19, 2010

Printmaking is one of our favorite art projects, because it’s easy to do and produces great-looking results. The rough, graphic nature of prints mean that even the weirdest designs from children (and, um, parents) come out wonderfully, a bonus if you have a perfectionist child on your hands. This morning Scout and I made a [...]

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