Preparation for 2015/2016

I can't tell you how much fun I've been having pulling together plans for the sixth year of SKETCH.

As a quick update, we will continue to meet on the 3rd Friday of each month (any exceptions will be noted on the class calendar).  This year we will be covering the art of Chagall, Calder, Rockwell, and more.  I'm especially excited to offer our students the opportunity to learn how to fuse glass with the help of local artists.

Keep an eye on the class site!  I am beginning to pull together our supply lists and calendar, and will post them as they are finished.  Class registration will begin on August 1st.  If you'd like a reminder e-mail just pop me a message and I will add you to my list.

Enjoy your summer!

Grandma Moses Lesson Extension Activities

Grandma Moses is famous for her American folk art.

Her independent spirit and confident portrayals of rural landscapes as the backdrop for the “old time virtues” are compelling.  

Grandma Moses might just be best loved because she not only painted simplistically, but because she lived the image she portrayed, a simple farm wife who enjoyed farm life, hard work, family, church, and community.

Consider:

Grandma Moses witnessed the multiple world wars, the great depression and a barrage of inventions from the telephone to the car.  Despite all the change around her, she was always the same person inside that she portrayed to the world. She once said:

“Well, people tell me they’re proud to be seen on the street with me … but I just say, well, why weren’t you proud to be seen with me before.”

Do you think you would react the same way to fame?

How do you think God would want you to react?  

Romans 12:16English Standard Version (ESV)16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

Online Activities:

• Printable Grandma Moses Word Search
• Digital Grandma Moses Painting Activity
• Chronological Gallery of Grandma Moses’ Artwork

If you missed completing this craft with us, full instructions are available at LibertyHillHouse.com

Grandma Anna Mary Robertson Moses

Grandma Moses is the subject of this month's Sketch Program. Time for some fun with old-time rural folk-art. This is a great project for kids who worry about perfection and getting their art "right" - our goal is to create simple, naive looking images!

You will need to bring the following items to class:

• Tru Ray Acid Free Construction Paper - 12”x18” - 4 pieces of various colors 
• Reeves Water Soluble Wax Pastels - (if necessary you can substitute regular crayons if you do not have water soluble crayons) 
• Red ink pad - can be shared 
• Grumbacher Filbert Brush synthetic, size 8- 1 per student (or if this brush has been too big for your students, just bring several cotton swabs) 
• Wool roving - .1oz (basically, just bring any leftovers you have from our previous project) 
• 1 glue stick or bottle of glue - can be shared 
• 1 pair Scissors - need 1 per student 
• 1 extra small container with lid - need 1 per student 
• 1 everyday pencil

See you Friday at 6:30!
 

Vermeer Extension Activities

Vermeer was not a note-taker, so much of his life remains a mystery. We learn through public records that his grandfather was a convicted counterfeiter, his grandmother ran illegal lotteries, and he married a woman outside of his own faith. 

Vermeer's distinctive style makes his work easy to identify. Look closely and you will often see ladies, windows, tapestry table coverings, bowls of fruit, and pearls. Items of daily life. You might even notice that he uses the exact same item in more than one painting.

Read

A fun way to learn about the time and art of Vermeer is through the historic fiction Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. It is artistically accurate, suspenseful, and magical.

Discover

• Learn about how enterprising graphic designers are trying to replicate a Vermeer
• Test your own attention to detail with 
  online puzzles of 2 of Vermeer’s paintings
• Look at the complete works of Vermeer, then write about what you learned using these great notebooking pages

Johannes Vermeer

This month's featured artist is Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (c. 1632–c. 1675)

The Procuress.

Purported to be the only self-portrait of Vermeer.

1656

oil on canvas

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister 

One of the most highly regarded Dutch artists of all time, Vermeer is best known for his paintings of the indoor life of the middle class.

Het melkmeisje

The Milkmaid 

circa 1660

oil on canvas

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam  

To complete this month's project you will need the following items:

2 sheets Tru Ray Acid Free Construction Paper (1 white, 1 any color) - 12”x18” 

Prang crayons, one 8 color set - need: 1 set per student

1  glue stick - can be shared

1 pair Scissors - need 1 per student

1 ruler (or any item with a straight edge for drawing lines. ex. book) - we will be working extensively with these, so please make sure you bring enough for your students.

1 everyday pencil (drawing pencil not needed)

See you at 6:30 on Friday March 20th!
 

Leonardo da Vinci extension activities

Hi friends!
This month's artist is featured at LibertyHillHouse.com.  There you will find books, crafts, games and more covering the amazing life of Leonardo da Vinci.

Enjoy!

Leonardo da Vinci

Self-portrait
Leonardo da Vinci
1452-1519
Florenz, Galleria degli Uffiai

The Renaissance can be summarized in just one name, Leonardo da Vinci.  He was one of the most diversely talented men of his day, and still remains well known as a painter, inventor, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, anatomy-scholar, and engineer.

In preparation for class we have the delight of studying one of the most famous paintings of all time, the Mona Lisa.  Please hang a copy of this image in a place where you will see it often.

What is it that makes this painting so compelling?

La Joconde (Mona Lisa)
circa. 1503-1506
oil on poplar wood
Musee du Louvre, France

Our project this month is creating graphite sketches to display at the SEE Science Museum in Manchester.  

For this project you will need:

• Tru Ray Acid Free Construction Paper (assorted colors) - 1 piece white cut to 12”x12” (or 8.5 x 8.5 if that is the largest size you have) per student 
• 3 Drawing Pencils #HB, 2B, and 4B - need 1 set per student
• (for worksheet only) Prang crayons, one 8 color set - need: 1 set per student
• 1  glue stick - can be shared
• 1 kneaded eraser - can be shared
• optional: paper towels or baby wipes to keep fingers clean

Looking forward to seeing you Friday, February 20, 2015 at 6:30!