A Review – ARTistic Pursuits

When you have girls around, there is just no end to the art that goes on at home. ARTistic Pursuits has made this a true learning experience rather than just doing crafts and I am so thrilled about that!

ARTistic Pursuits has a slogan that I fell in love with: “THE Curriculum for Creativity.” We are working in and reviewing Elementary 4-5, Book 1: The Elements of Art and Composition. This art curriculum is designed for age 9 and older and takes the student step-by-step through lessons that develop their observational skills and strength their drawing technique. Throughout, it allows the student to show their creativity by choice in the subjects chosen to draw.

The book is set up for success, which I appreciate. It begins with Getting Started. That includes a table of contents and a list of necessary art supplies. Then you come to a page titled “What Parents Want to Know”. That page covers the content of the book and how to schedule the lessons. Each unit is set up with 4 lessons and 5 pages. The first page always deals with building the visual vocabulary. The second and third page cover American Art appreciation and history with direct connection to the visual vocabulary being studies in the unit. Page four is about artistic techniques. Page five is the application of the new technique and topic to a final project for the unit.

Following that is a page for the students titled “What Students Want To Know.” It is written directly to the student, giving them help in how to look at the world around them. It then talks to the student about the different elements of art and prepares them to get into the book, working on their art.

To use this curriculum, you will need a few things. First of all, you will need the printed book. This is available on the ARTistic Pursuits website and is $47.95. You will also need the art supplies, which include items like a sketch pad, ebony pencils, eraser, and more. These can be found locally at art supply stores or you can order packs through ARTistic Pursuits link with Dick Blick. We went local because we already had some of the supplies but, after the fact, wish we had gone with the link they provide.

During the review period, E has covered three units. She has enjoyed working on her drawing skills but did have a couple of things she wanted to share about the experience. She was very excited about getting an art curriculum just for herself and she has been able to work mostly independently through the materials. We have realized, though, that when it is time for an assignment or project, the detail in the instructions is just not sufficient for her. She wants more specific information about what she is supposed to be doing and how she is supposed to be using the techniques.

What we do now is that she reads through the information for the lesson. She then brings it to me or her dad and we read through it (if we haven’t yet) and help her interpret how she is supposed to be applying the technique to a drawing. She then takes that help and does her drawing assignment.

We have definitely seen her observational skill drawing increase throughout this period and I am excited to see her continue with the curriculum. She definitely wants to continue.

When we decided to homeschool, one of things that I knew we would need to do is to continue with a good art curriculum or program. So far, I had not found one that I was pleased with. Mostly, the art programs and curriculum that I had found were more like doing crafts than growing techniques OR they were a “copy this picture that is put before you” style program. ARTistic Pursuits is nothing like either of these things. Each assignment is an done so that the student has the freedom to choose what object(s) will be drawn using the current techniques. This has allowed E to expand her choices to a number of different objects that are of interest to her on that particular day. Choice is key in enjoyment of art and ARTistic Pursuits allows that in a wonderful way.

ARTistic Pursuits has art curriculum books for all levels. These include:

Sculpture Technique: Construct
Sculpture Technique: Model
The Way They See It (Preschool)
Early Elementary K-3, Book 1: Introduction to the Visual Arts
Early Elementary K-3, Book 2: Stories of Artists and Their Art
Early Elementary K-3, Book 3: Modern Painting and Sculpture
Elementary 4-5, Book 1: The Elements of Art and Composition
Elementary 4-5, Book 2: Color and Composition

If you are looking for an art curriculum, I encourage you to visit ARTistic Pursuits at their website (http://www.ARTisticPursuits.com) and see all that they have to offer or to join them on Facebook. We will be visiting their booth at a convention soon and purchasing another book for the younger giggly girls to grow their art techniques. At Home.

 

You can see reviews of all of the curriculum levels by visiting the Review Crew.

Tagged: art, curriculum, E, homeschool, reviews