Artist Studies Part 2
Mary wanted to know if I could elaborate more on my most recent post. Of course I can!!! 
Actually, I considered elaborating more at the time of writing it, but since I was writing it at 2 a.m.
, I was too tired to go into detail and I wanted to get it posted. So here’s part 2 of my artist studies post. Please keep in mind I’m not an expert on this subject. I am very new at it. I’m just relaying what I have read about the subject.
One of the most basic supplies for any of the projects is a good supply of artwork, preferably ones that are inexpensive and can be cut up, glued and used in projects. Here are some ideas on where to get such artwork:
- Museum Catalogs- I’ll be honest, so far I have not found a source of these. If anyone has, could you please share where you got them.
- Calendars- Sometimes you can get these at clearance or at discount stores.
- Old art books- look for them at garage sales or flea markets.
- Old magazines- same as above.
- Postcards- Dover is a great place for these!
- Stickers- Again Dover is a great source of these!
- Art Prints- I’ve heard University Prints is a great place to buy these. I have not ordered from them yet, but I plan to. It looks like the prints are $.26 apiece if you buy them separately with a $5.00 minimum order.
- Computer- I would save this as a last resort because of the price of colored ink.
The Scrapbook
This project looked really interesting. It would be an ongoing project that could span the time of weeks, months or even years depending on how often you study art and how big you make your scrapbook. To start this project you would need some basic Scrapbooking supplies. At the minimum you would need:
- A scrapbook of some sort. I would suggest an inexpensive 12x12.
- Cardstock- preferably an assortment of colors and acid free.
- Scissors- for added affect you could get some of the decorative edged scissors.
- Glue- if you add photographs you will need acid free.
- Embellishments- this could be about anything. If you are a scrapbooker, you probably have extra stuff lying around. If you don’t scrapbook, then you might want to get some stickers and frames for this project.
There are several ways you can organize a scrapbook of artists. The most basic way is have the child add different artwork on a page for each artist and have them journal about the artwork. I would do at least one 2 page spread for each artist. Your child can make a more elaborate scrapbook by adding artwork projects that your child has done and pictures of artwork and field trips to museums. Have them journal about their experiences and what they have learned about the artist and the works of art.
Concentration and other art games
For concentration, you will need two copies of the same print. Postcards, stickers or art prints would be good for this game. If you plan on using the game a lot, it would be a good idea to cover them with clear contact paper. The postcards and art prints can be used as is if there is nothing on the back of them to identify the card. For the stickers, they would need to be stuck to some sort of card. Black index cards work well with this. Another way to obtain matching cards is to print them out on the computer. Montessori Materials already has some nice cards made up. To play concentration (in case you have never played or you know it by a different name), just turn the cards all so the painting is facing down. Take turns turning over two cards. When you get a match, the player gets to keep those cards. If they don’t get a match, the player turns them back over. When all the cards have been collected, the player with the most matches at the end of the game is the winner. For variations of this game, you can have the players collect different paintings by the same artist or match the painting with the artist. Montessori Materials also has artist cards that you can print out for this use.
Puzzles
Use a print that you don’t mind cutting up. This could be from a calendar, a printout, postcard or art print. I think the calendar would work the best if you can find it because of the size. Cover the picture with contact paper and then cut it into pieces. If the child is really young, it might be best to just cut it into fourths. Make more pieces for older children.
~Please look through any source of artwork that you have before you give it to your child. Many time nudes are included in artwork collects.~
