*This post contains affiliate links for See The Light, a Christian art education company. Clicking on these links can help my family but in no way does this association affect the opinions that you will read below. See the Light provided me with DVDs for reviewing purposes and is giving another set away to one of you.
Last week I shared about my Big Helper's new interest in art.
It's been a few weeks, and her interest hasn't waned - in fact, it's multiplied since watching our Art Class See The Light videos.
A few weeks ago we toured a farm, and afterwards we wanted to send thank-you cards to the very kind farmer (more about this field trip to come). Having recently Pinned a watercolor card project, I wanted to play up the art angle of the cards instead of making simple, quick drawings as we'd begun to do during the school year. (Want to follow me on Pinterest? You can do that here.)
My Big Helper got really into this.
Since we toured the farm primarily because of it's bee population, she decided to draw a large honeybee on the front of her card, with honeycomb in the background.
As she worked on this project, I could see her using what she'd learned from Pat Knepley, the master artist in the Art Class DVDs.
As her project neared completion, My Big Helper grew more and more excited about her work. "Do you think he'll like it, Mommy?" was her first question, but as we talked about what she might do next, her thoughts grew.
"I could give these to other people, couldn't I, Mommy?" she asked. "Do you think that Papa and Grandma would like one? Could I draw on canvas?" The wheels kept turning.
Her finished project:
I'm not saying that my little girl is an art master - she's not. I'm not saying that even she thinks that her work is artistically perfect - she knows it's not. After finishing she looked at her work with a critical eye, talking about what she might change the next time, but she laughed about it.
And she was confident.
Confident that her new card might show Mr. Mike how much she liked visiting his farm. Confident she is learning to do something that might make other people feel happy. Confident that her time and effort might make other people feel good. Confident that she can do something worthwhile.
I believe that she feels this way about other skills that she has - she loves to write and plan activities and share chocolate and sew - but she looked as if a new world of possibilities opened up before her as she examined her picture.
I'm excited that See The Light's simple, short lessons and friendly format can inspire this kind of art love in my daughter, and I'm excited to see what's next. We're definitely going to continue with the Art Class series, but I want to try one of the special Art Projects this summer, too.
Have you ever tried one? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience.
It's been a few weeks, and her interest hasn't waned - in fact, it's multiplied since watching our Art Class See The Light videos.
A few weeks ago we toured a farm, and afterwards we wanted to send thank-you cards to the very kind farmer (more about this field trip to come). Having recently Pinned a watercolor card project, I wanted to play up the art angle of the cards instead of making simple, quick drawings as we'd begun to do during the school year. (Want to follow me on Pinterest? You can do that here.)
My Big Helper got really into this.
Since we toured the farm primarily because of it's bee population, she decided to draw a large honeybee on the front of her card, with honeycomb in the background.
As she worked on this project, I could see her using what she'd learned from Pat Knepley, the master artist in the Art Class DVDs.
- First, we found a bee for her to draw. She settled on this one.
- Next, she studied the bee and then decided on its placement on her paper.
- She drew the outline of the bee's shape using light pencil lines, and then filled in details after.
- The hexagons for the honeycomb came next, and she was careful not to draw her lines over the bee.
- After that, she traced her lines with a waterproof black marker and painted in her picture (which we haven't learned how to do yet from See The Light, but it seemed like a fun thing to try.)
As her project neared completion, My Big Helper grew more and more excited about her work. "Do you think he'll like it, Mommy?" was her first question, but as we talked about what she might do next, her thoughts grew.
"I could give these to other people, couldn't I, Mommy?" she asked. "Do you think that Papa and Grandma would like one? Could I draw on canvas?" The wheels kept turning.
Her finished project:
I'm not saying that my little girl is an art master - she's not. I'm not saying that even she thinks that her work is artistically perfect - she knows it's not. After finishing she looked at her work with a critical eye, talking about what she might change the next time, but she laughed about it.
And she was confident.
Confident that her new card might show Mr. Mike how much she liked visiting his farm. Confident she is learning to do something that might make other people feel happy. Confident that her time and effort might make other people feel good. Confident that she can do something worthwhile.
I believe that she feels this way about other skills that she has - she loves to write and plan activities and share chocolate and sew - but she looked as if a new world of possibilities opened up before her as she examined her picture.
I'm excited that See The Light's simple, short lessons and friendly format can inspire this kind of art love in my daughter, and I'm excited to see what's next. We're definitely going to continue with the Art Class series, but I want to try one of the special Art Projects this summer, too.
Have you ever tried one? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience.
Pat Holt, founder of See The Light, is generously giving away one set of Art Class DVD 1 and 2 to a lucky winner. This contest ends tonight! Enter using the widget below.
Last week Ely at The Traveling Classroom shared a post about why you should - and how to - learn a foreign language. Her list was both honest and funny! To find out more, visit The Traveling Classroom - and Ely, please visit our Inspired Wednesday page and take the "I was featured on
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