A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Art

Fun Friday: Mudworks Part One

By 8 Comments

Did you know that I am teaching an art class at my homeschool groups Co-op days?   The class is called Mudworks.

I have this cool book (called Mudworks) that I did a art book post on… hold on while I find that. Ah, here it is.  Anyways, when I looked at this book I thought, how much run would it be to do this with a mixed ages class, so when HOPE days came up  I said SURE, I’ll do this!  🙂


21 kids in my class!!!!!   It’s loud and noisy and a whole lot of fun…though admittedly… if I don’t really understand a recipe in the book, it lends me well to mental confusion…but that’s part of the fun of the class right?

Anyways, for day one we worked with…. MUD!  🙂

I grabbed up some garden dirt and offered the kids a challenge… see how much water you need to add to one cup of dirt to make it workable.   You need to be able to build a sculpture from the dirt.  I was ATTEMPTING to teach a bit of the scientific method but forgot one important factor… 6 year olds just want to be play in the mud…. 🙂

We also made cotton ball and flour sculptures but I don’t really know how they turned out…they had to dry.  So time will tell eh?   And hey…. it’ll be a post for another day.  

A preliminary glimpse for you though.

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: Kawaii Doodle Class

By 2 Comments

Kawaii Doodle Class is a fun softcover book, that was a pleasure to review.  This book is all about creating cute images from food, drink, nature, monsters, everyday items and more. Zainab Khan shows us how to give these items a cute outlook on life and faces with character. 

Zainab Khan takes items you find in everyday life (plus monsters) and turns them into cute creations in a step by step manner.

 Khan shows us the difference that changing line shape and colour means to the creations we build.

Page after page is filled with delightful creations to make your doodles into items of joy and stories waiting to be told.

Khan closes this book with some fun search and find puzzles.

These pages also give the author a chance to show case how all the doodles can fit together.  I look at them all and see how easily these creations could become characters in a story, just from drawing a few simple lines.  None of the lines in this book are overly complicated, anyone with a will to try can learn from this artist.   Simple lines and basic colours makes for fun, cute creations from anything you can find around you.
Kawaii Doodle Class: Sketching Super-cute tacos, sushi, clouds, flowers, monsters, cosmetics, and more.
Zainab Khan
Publisher: Race Point
Pages:
Age: Elementary and up
Type: Art

Reviewed for: Quarto Group

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: Kawaii Doodle Class.
Amazon.com:  Kawaii Doodle Class.
 

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: Playful Painting Pets

By 2 Comments

Let’s say you have a pet and you like to paint, but you look at said pet and say “I dunno, How can I show off that silky fur?”   Faye Moorhouse comes to your rescue in Playful Painting: Pets. 

In Playful Painting pets, Ms. Moorhouse demonstrates how to paint a wide variety of cats and dogs, she also shows how to do a smattering of other animals as well.

From Fluffy cats

To furry dogs

Faye Moorhouse gives us many ideas for bringing our beloved pets to life on the pages of our art pads.  

She starts off her book talking about tools and techniques.

She then covers dogs: pugs, german shepherds, labs, beagles, Terriers and more.  Some wearing clothes, others with just their fur.  Moving on to cats such as scruffy cats, persian cats, cats on rugs etc.   Other pets are introduced such as hamsters, budgies and rabbits.

Each section concludes with a gallery of the animals covered. 

The part I liked most in this book was her gallery of how to show off your art work.

 I also really appreciated the tips she put within her instructions.

Her step by step instructions

and the different truisms scattered throughout.

It’s a good book to show you how to bring the pets in your life out on paper. 

Playful Painting: Pets – More than 20 fun and clever painting project for animal lovers.
Faye Moorhouse
type: art/techniques/painting
Pages:144
Age: middle school and up
Publisher: Walter Foster
Series: Playful Painting

Reviewed for: Quarto Group

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: Playful Painting: Pets: More than 20 fun and clever painting projects for animal lovers.
Amazon.com: Playful Painting: Pets: More than 20 fun and clever painting projects for animal lovers.

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: It’s Great to Create

By 2 Comments

Jon Burgerman has created a really fun art book for us to use.  Coming up with 101 creative exercises for anyone to do as they play around doing art.

art create exercises

It’s Great to Create is not a very large book but it is very packed full of ideas.   From writing upside down, to creating self-portraits using household items, and so much more.

These ideas are divided into 

  • prompts for paper
  • prompts for objects
  • Prompts for indoors and outdoors

Along with various resources you can use.   In this section Mr. Burgerman talks about the items such as pens, pencils, paints, and brushes available as well as other items.  

Can you imagine making a poem using colour?  I want to try this with some 6-8 year olds and see what they come up with!  🙂

 Some of these ideas make me want to do a fun night of 10 minute art challenges with my home school group.   Can you… create with colour, can you do a self-portrait while blind folded, can you make a smudge animal, and so on and so forth.  Wouldn’t that just be a hoot?  Think quick, don’t worry on perfection, just do it!  Remove the fear from art and just have fun.

  
What do you think?   Doesn’t it look like a fun book?   I think so.  🙂

It’s Great to Create: 101 Fun Creative Exercises for Everyone
Jon Burgerman
Chronicle Books
Size: approximately 5 x 4
Age range: all ages
Type: art book
Pages: 224

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books. 

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: It’s Great to Create.
Amazon.com:  It’s Great to Create.

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: Making Amazing Art

By 4 Comments

Did you know that art has seven different elements to it?
Can you name them all?


Divided into Seven chapters, one for each element.
We have Line, Shape, Texture, Color, Value, Form and Space.  Each section having 4-6 projects that focus on that one element.  Each section has it’s own corner page design so you can easily tract which area you are covering.  The topic is introduced at the beginning of each section.

From there we run into projects such as Giant sunflower, Color Explosion, sock-head sculpture, beautiful butterfly, stencil shapes, visual music and furry pet portrait.  40 projects in all, and each unique in their own way.

I really liked the “meet the masters” and the “through the artist’s eye” sections…learning about people who’ve done interesting things with art such as Meret Oppenheim.

The projects have clear easy to follow instructions.  You really aren’t left guess what you should be doing.

All in all, it’s a great book that will help you teach your students/children the different aspects of art.  Teach them all about Line, Shape, Texture, Color, Value, Form and Space.  This book will help give all those aspects form.  🙂

Making Amazing Art: 40 activities using the 7 elements of art design.
By Sandi Henry
Illustrator: Sarah Rakitin Cole
Series:  Williamson Kids Can
Hardcover

Where can I find it?
Amazon.ca: Making Amazing Art: 40 activities
Amazon.com:  Making Amazing Art: 40 activities using the 7 elements of design

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book:1 2 3, I Can Sculpt

By 2 Comments

 1,2,3, I Can Sculpt is colourful book geared to helping your young ones have fun creating sculptures.  The book starts off explaining what a sculpture is

“a piece of art that has more than one side to look at”.

Isn’t that just the most straight-forward definition of a sculpture that you have heard?


The next pages walk you through some items you can use for sculpting, egg cartons, aluminum foil, tape and more. 

Our path is led on by the question “How do you form the idea for a sculpture?”

For instance.. what can an egg carton make?  or how about a piece of paper? Can clay make a sculpture?  Before you know it, you’ll have seven ideas for sculptures you can make.. perhaps you might even come up with more.. all on your own!

I loved the big text, and the clear images, making it easy for anyone to help a younger child learn how to make a sculpture out of the various objects used throughout the book.

Try things out, see what you can make a sculpture out of! 

The book closes with a parent/teacher section, giving you ideas and vocab words to use with your children. 

It’s a nice beginner sculpting book, check it out eh?

1, 2, 3, I Can Sculpt!
Irene Luxbacher
series: starting art
Kids Can Press
24 pages
hardcover

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca: 1, 2, 3 I Can Sculpt!
Amazon.com:  1, 2, 3, I Can Sculpt!

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Art Book: Stick Sketch School

By 4 Comments

I want you to imagine that you have just taught your children about this amazing animal called the blob fish.  It comes out of Tasmania, and you asked your children to draw a picture of it and they give you a blank look… How can you help them draw this amazing fish?   Well, if you have the Stick Sketch School book it will be easy peasy.. just turn to page 86 and before you know it your children will have created a beautiful image of the blob fish.  🙂   Might be a sketch figure but it will be “beautiful” enough to colour in and create an underwater world.

Allow me now to introduce you to a wonderful book called “Stick Sketch School”

Stick Sketch School

This is a rather neat book that I see so much potential for in a homeschool situation (or even a lets just draw together at home).

There is such a variety of animals (real or imagined) such as frogs, tigers, bears, reindeer, spiders, flies, blob fish, whales and more

Each animal comes with a small introduction, along with where they are from.  They have fun introducing the animal.

stick sketch school

The rest of the page shows you different ways you can draw your stick figure animal.

Stick Sketch School: An Animal Artventure: Mastering the Art of Stick Figure Critters (Stick World)

Each animal is given a two page spread.
One to show how to draw it and give ideas.  The second to create a scene with your newly drawn animals.  Do you see how he has three sheep started?   Wouldn’t it be fun to draw them in and then add some little sheep frolicking about?

stick sketch school

I think this is a such a neat art book.  Animals, with their place in the world, an author with a sense of humour that shows various ways you can draw the same animal in a simple stick figure way.  Bring those critters to life eh?   

It could be such a fun addition to geography study, nature study or just a fun art class.  🙂   Use it as part of a co-op class!   Have fun, bring your stick figures to life, give them facial expressions and interesting poses. 
 

Stick Sketch School: An Animal Artventure: Mastering the Art of Stick Figure Critters (Stick World)

Stick Sketch School.  Mastering the art of stick figure critters.
Author/Artist: Billy Attinger
Author: Rachel Kochackis
Series:Stick Figures- An Animal Adventure
Softcover
Art Book

Reviewed for: Quarto Group

Where Can I Find It?
Amazon.ca: Stick Sketch School
Amazon.com: Stick Sketch School, an animal adventure

Linked up at the Virtual Fridge!

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time . We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites