ARTistic Pursuits, Early Elementary K-3 Book Three: Modern Painting and Sculpture {A Review}

ARTistic Pursuits sent us their Early Elementary K-3, Book 3: Modern Painting and Sculpture ($47.95) for ages 5 and up to review.

First Thoughts
Last year, we reviewed The Elements of Art and Composition. It is designed for grades 4-5. I really like the format ARTistic Pursuits uses of teaching an art concept while sharing a master's piece without the pressure to mimic the artist. We study a lot of artists and the kids are very comfortable with so many of them that this is a natural way of thinking about their own art. This time around I hoped to try something that had to do with sculpture and modeling, so we were excited to receive Modern Painting and Sculpture.

What is Included
Modern Painting and Sculpture is designed for ages 5 and up. It discusses modern art from 1850 to today, the history that lead to it, and influential pieces from Degas, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Cassatt, Picasso, Gauguin, Seurat, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and others. There are projects on modeling, carving, painting, constructing, assemblage, stamping, weaving, making land art, computer art, and more with techniques including: subject, lines, solid shapes, object, space, color layers, among others. There are 36 lessons provided total.

The book is written to the child with the exception of two sections for parents. One describes the process of teaching art in a historical context and one is called "What Happened to Art After 1960?" designed to provide an overview of the various movements in art in the last 50 years. This is where the artist discusses "distasteful" works and encourages parents to seek out local artists (which we have done for years and brings quite a bit of joy to the kids).

How the Lessons are set up
Lessons integrate information about artists' lives, work, and time period. There are full color pieces to study with background about the time and art work and questions. There are children's literature selections listed that go along with the lesson or project.

 

Each project has a materials list (This is also provided in the opening pages in full in the book, on the website, and in this review, so that you can purchase what you need ahead of time.) and clear directions with examples of work, in color, with steps (some examples are by children of the same age as the target range).

Additional Materials Required
To complete all of the lessons in the Modern Painting and Sculpture, you'll need:

• Watercolor paint set 
• 2 Ebony pencils
• 1/2" flat watercolor brush
• 1/4" flat watercolor brush
• #8 round watercolor brush
• scissors 
• X-Large watercolor pad (30 sheets)
• Oil Pastel set of 25
• One package of heavy-weight fade proof construction paper 
• tissue paper 
• Glue
• Chenille stems aka pipe cleaners
• two lbs. modeling clay
• Plaster cloth
• Plaster of Paris 4.5 lb box or 4 lb carton
• gesso 4 oz.
• cotton swabs
• aluminum foil
• masking tape
• paper cups
• foam meat tray
• bar of soap
• paper towel tube
• round balloon
• cotton string
• a few rubber bands of different widths
• Perlite 
• camera

Time Frame
Each lesson takes about 20-30 minutes depending on how enjoyable art is to your child. Some may work on their projects faster, but mine really delve deeply into their art pieces.

How we Used it
Ceesa and Jo-Jo really did not need much from me for these lessons. Ceesa would read them. They would gather the materials. They would create and I would take pictures.

While the majority of the lessons are on painting, we focused on those that centered on sculpture specifically. I went through and put sticky tabs on all of those that we wanted to try out for the review period. We were able to complete most of them.

By Ceesa from lesson 12: Sculpture

By Jo-Jo from lesson 12: Sculpture

Ceesa did figure and Jo-Jo did tree from lesson 13: Modeled Sculpture

Ceesa did figure and Jo-Jo did tree from lesson 13: Modeled Sculpture

Robin Hood by Jo-Jo from lesson 14: Constructed Sculpture

By Ceesa from lesson 14: Constructed Sculpture

Fish from lesson 15: Gauguin Carves a Sculpture

By Jo-Jo from lesson 22: Assemblage

By Ceesa from lesson 22: Assemblage

Fish and Dog from lesson 23: Futurist View of a Horse

By Ceesa from lesson 24: Art: A Reflection of Experiences

By Ceesa from lesson 24: Art: A Reflection of Experiences

Family Project from lesson 33: Land Art

By Ceesa from lesson 34: Clay Modeling Today

By Jo-Jo from lesson 34: Clay Modeling Today

By Ceesa from lesson 35: Sculpture Today

What Ceesa had to say
"I love it. My favorite part was the lesson with the balloons and the animation (Clay Modeling Today). It is fun to see your own movie slide running. It looks like the older movies, except it is not black and white." 

Tip from Ceesa: "Make sure that you put the string across the balloon into x's and don't tie your string to the balloon or it will be hard to remove. "

What Jo-Jo had to say
"It was awesome and fun. I loved shaping the clay and making stuff out of the foil. I liked the paper maches. I like how we got to make whatever we wanted. I have always liked making art projects that use clay and getting to make things with my hands."

Recommendation
There are two brand new sculpting books for ages 11-18. Some of our crew mates reviewed those. You should check those out as well!

Future
For the rest of the year, we will go through the painting projects and complete one a week.

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