Usborne Art Treasury

After many years of homeschooling, seven to be exact, I finally made an effort to include art appreciation in our school day.  I decided to use The Usborne Art Treasury as our “spine”.  The book introduces artists of many genres – from African masks to Vincent van Gogh to Georgia O’Keefe.  Each artist is covered on four pages.  The first two pages introduce one piece of art and a short biography about the artist.  The next two pages offer step-by-step instructions to create an art project based on the artists piece of art.

This is a wonderful way to introduce your children to various artists and their artwork.  In creating the art projects, your child will have the opportunity to explore various art medium – from oil pastels to watercolor paints to chalk pastels.  They will also learn about different techniques used in art – from creating collages in the style of Picasso, creating African masks, or making sculptures in the style of Giacometti.

Emma's art based on Van Gogh's Starry Night

What do my kids think?

My daughter (my budding artist) loves the book!  She loves being able to explore the different genres of art and to try to recreate art by the “real” artists.  My son (who has no desire to do “art) tolerates it.  He doesn’t complain, and has created some really nice art work based on the art in this book.

My experience with this book has been fabulous.  I highly recommend it.  This is a gentle introduction to art and artists.

Issac's art based on Van Gogh's Starry Night

Written by Tara, homeschooling two with a little bit of everything.  You can visit her at her blog, Mom Teaches 2.