ARTistic Pursuits has been my 13 year old daughter's favorite product we've reviewed this year. She has been so excited to be able to take art lessons and create art. I have been thrilled that this book is so easy to use, she can teach it to herself. It seems like art is too often that "one more thing" that we just don't get around to. With ARTistic Pursuits, my daughter isn't left waiting for me. She can take the text, and run with it!
ARTistic Pursuits, Junior High Book One: The Elements Of Art And Composition (by Brenda Ellis) is written to the student! They simply read the text, study the art images provided as examples, and do the exercises. Each chapter has several exercises for the student to apply what they are learning. I love how many different examples they give from art to help the student see what is being taught.
ARTistic Pursuits teaches the mechanics of art (line, shading, space, movement, proportion, etc) as well as the history and culture of art. Students will use several different media to create their own art while working through the text. Understanding the mechanics of art will help them to evaluate the art all around them.
ARTistic Pursuits is a spiral-bound, softcover textbook with a plastic protective cover which adds sturdiness. The text is very attractively designed and easy to read. It has a comfortable font size and a well-structured layout. It is available for $42.95 at the ARTistic Pursuits website. This textbook is completely non-consumable and reusable. It can be used with each of your children as they reach junior high age, or with two children at once.
ARTistic Pursuits has curriculum available for all your students, K-12. You can see examples of each book at their website. This page has examples from the Junior High Book One text, so you can see how beautifully designed the textbook is. And while you're at the website, be sure to read about the author, Brenda Ellis and her homeschooling family.
In our home, my 13 year old daughter and my 11 year old daughter are both using ARTistic Pursuits. My oldest daughter enjoys it more than the 11 year old, but I think part of that is a comparison factor, and the other part is just personality. My 11 year old prefers to be interacting with people, rather than drawing or studying.
My 13 year old loves art and is having so much fun with this curriculum! The best part is that all I have to do is provide the art materials, and ARTistic Pursuits does the rest! I do have to give some constructive criticism and evaluation of their art, but ARTistic Pursuits really does do the hard work for me.
I love art, and I enjoyed my own art classes in high school so much. But, I didn't know where to start in teaching art to my own children. The beauty of ARTistic Pursuits is that I can relax and just let the children work through the text on their own, confident that they are getting a quality art education. They may not become great artists, but they will understand the elements of art, the process of creating art, and hopefully they will grow more confident and skilled in their own abilities.
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Trusting in Him,
April
