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[Monique]

Anyone know of any drawing or painting (or even cooking) classes offered for elementary school kids? I just looked through the current Community Ed. offering and didn't see anything for little ones.

Seems like something would be cropping up in the private sector since the creative arts are being cut in public schools. Any info is appreciated!

[BigRedDog]

My first thought would be to call or check online at the library...

seems like I saw something going on at the Ida branch lately along that line...

but my youngest "baby" just turned 22 so we don't pay much attention to things

like this

[ducksoup]

Not sure if you are thinking more formal training, or more of an exploration to see if they have skill or liking for something.

If it is more exploration I suggest you make it a family project.  Make salt clay together and sculpt something, maybe even one item, but can be one each.  At crafts 200o you can get paint by numbers and something like pencil by numbers, plus many other crafts.  But also you can get poster board and cut out pictures from magazines and make a montage.  You can do a “what I like” one, or some other theme to help them get a focus on what to do.

Use craft (popsicle) sticks to make a flat “canvas” and paint, or what is more fun is to gather a box of small things like stray buttons, broken jewelry, caps, string, or any other small trinket and glue them on the surface, hang with a piece of yarn and you have some cool modern art.

Drawing, and painting for that matter, is all about training your hands to do repeated forms.  Most art is all of similar curves and shapes, for instance making a perfect circle without an aid.  Harder is making straight lines, or increasing the difficulty to parallel lines with consistent equal distance and straight.  The second part of “learning” is pressure, how hard to press the pencil or brush.

My personal thinking is to make it a family fun time more than something to be learned, because if it is fun you learn more.

With my kids we did, and still do when we all have time, sit down and take a small picture, drawing and use a sheet of typing paper to redraw it larger.  Usually the original is only a couple of inches and expands to the new one many times larger.  In the transfer the person’s style changes it to be their own.  My son and daughter prefer anime, while I do more advanced things, but it is still just family fun time.  For us, those are just paper and pencil, nothing fancy.  You can get about anything you want off the internet to use as material, but suggest that you convert to grayscale when printing to avoid color transfer issues.

Another fun one.  Take sheets of typing paper and blob splotches or streaks of wet water colors (kids paint set works) and bend it in half without creasing to spread the blotches.  Leave a lot of white.  When dry take pencils and make things from the blotches like finding images in the clouds.  I think my kids started with that.  You know... “hey, look, that blob looks like a dog” and draw over it to make it a dog.

I think the most important lesson of art is “there is no such thing as a mistake”  if you boo boo just keep going and make it different.

So, unless you have a child with real potential that needs formal training, then make if a family fun thing instead.  Everyone will benefit.

[Monique]

Those are all great ideas, and we've done many of them. I'm pretty 'into' arts & crafts, so we have a whole room devoted to supplies and workspaces (and bunnies and fish).

I trained in art a bit in college and after, and maybe I'm just being a proud Mom, but I see some real potential with both girls. My youngest did a picture for me today, a landscape, with both accurate perspective and foreshortening. She is also attempting to capture lighting, reflections, and movement. She's 5. My oldest is more into cartooning and humorous illustrated stories. I always enjoyed that kind of stuff as a kid and always wished I could have had some formal instruction to develop my skills.

I like the idea of transferring an image. That sounds like fun! We have a school break coming up, I think we'll give that a try then!

[T-M-T]

http://www.toledomuseum.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/TMA-Class-Catalog-Jan-Apr20122.pdf

[ducksoup]

If the drawing thing works, you can learn to use a scale grid.  Basically, it lets you break a larger thing down to small pieces so it isn’t overwhelming.  So, you would measure off a grid on your smaller image maybe every half inch so it has a grid horizontal and vertical, then do the same to the larger paper but maybe every inch (which would double the size).  Then you simply copy each square instead of the whole image.  This can work with even the most complex picture.

Well, sounds like you are doing great.  Consider art books that go toward their individual traits.  Again, the craft store has a good selection. 

I kind of emphasize just pencil drawing, maybe because it is my favorite, but it has all the basics for everything else.  Most art is training your hands to do the correct curves and such with the correct pressure and spacial distances.  It transfers to all other art.

Painting is all about knowing the tools.  What paint and how it works, what brushes or other utensil is best.  But, it still comes back to the same hand training.

With the transfer idea, you can also use it as a way to teach other things as well. Make a sketch drawing and make the lesson on watercolors over it.  Since yours seem to be advancing well, maybe move to a piece of paneling painted white on back and teach acrylics.  Leave oils for later.

You might want to let them explore sculpture too.  Get some of that air dry or low temp clay at the crafts store and a couple cheap clay tools and see how they do.  It is a good way to learn perspective when working in the round.

[ducksoup]

Monique, don't forget that you can grow too.  Find the area you want to get better at and show that you want to.  Role model. 

Another thing could be a trip to an art museum as a family.  Stop and discuss paintings or sculpture, style, whether you like it or not...  Seeing quality in person can do more than you think. My wife and I often go to Toledo Museum or Art or sometimes Detroit.  I always get some new thing I pick up.

I love the Monet they have and the Kiefer that is totally awesome.  My wife is the modern art person and I prefer the older stuff.  But that one! It is very worth some time.  Seeing how the old master's used light is a good lesson plan to look for as well.
 http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/123/32/invno-asc?t:state:flow=aea8e465-4fda-4089-95d3-028ea9ff77d6

[Aunt Lisa]

 What a wonderful topic Monique. Wow duck, thanks for all the great ideas. The arts and crafts would be great for my daughter and I should get going on teaching my son how to cook, he's got the microwave food covered lol. I think I'll make him make tacos, his favorite.

[ducksoup]

What a wonderful topic Monique. Wow duck, thanks for all the great ideas. The arts and crafts would be great for my daughter and I should get going on teaching my son how to cook, he's got the microwave food covered lol. I think I'll make him make tacos, his favorite.

for sure, cooking can be a fun time.

For us, a big fun night was burrito night.  We did all ingredients separate and everyone makes their own.  Part of the tradition is trying to NOT over stuff them, and laughing at someone for it dripping all over. (yeah, usually me, I like lots of salsa).

Making bread is cool too, and there was always a contest over who got to punch it down.

Cookies usually did not work so good for me.  But, of late, my wife and daughter have been on a decorated cupcake thing.  Making ducks, flowers, and other fun ways to make them look nice.  They got a couple of books to work from.

Thanks A.L. It is a passion of mine.. art... and all that I said I have used.  But, I will say that the museum one didn't work for my kids, as they did not like it.  But, my wife and I go a lot.