INTRODUCTION
Discovering Great Artists offers children
hands-on activities to explore the styles
and techniques of the worlds greatest
artists. Each art process focuses on one
style and one artist. A brief biography and
portrait of each artist adds depth and
interest to the art project. The most
important aspects of the art projects are
discovery, exploration, and individual
creativity. The finished product will be an
indirect benefit.
Discovering Great Artists introduces
children to the great masters. Many great
artists will be familiar names, like
Michelangelo, da Vinci, Picasso, Rembrandt
and van Gogh. Other names will perhaps
be new, such as Arp, Nevelson, Hokusai, or
Paik. Each featured artist has a style that is
readily imitated and explored by children,
with a life history that will inspire or add
depth to the experience. Try one or try
them all!
Discovering Great Artists is a book of
exploring. Young children are usually most
interested in the process of art, not the
finished product, and may or may not
show interest in the associated art history
or art appreciation. Many will be curious
and can absorb as much as their interests
allow. Most older children will want to
know more about the artists life and how
it affected the artists style. No one is
required to learn the history of each artist
or the eras or movements they represent.
The information on each page is offered as
a source of reference and inspiration for
interested learners. Dont be surprised if
children want to collect information about
different artists much the way they collect
baseball cards and statistics.
Discovering Great Artists encourages
children to learn by doing, to become
familiar with new ideas. If a child
experiences painting with the impasto
paint van Gogh used in his swirling,
expressive brushstrokes, then that child
will feel more comfortable and familiar as
an older student or adult studying van
Gogh. Imagine visiting a gallery in Paris
and seeing that same impasto style by van
Gogh in person! Many children have
expressed that it is like meeting an old
friend.
The most important thing for the child is
to explore new art ideas and techniques.
Above all, the activities are open-ended”.
It is up to the child to decide exactly how
his or her work of art will turn out.
Independent thinking is encouraged, while
skills and responsibility are enhanced
through individual decisions.
Discovering Great Artists offers art
activities to expand the creative
experience and awareness of children in
all aspects of the visual arts through:
painting, drawing, printing, sculpture,
architecture, and other manipulations of art
materials. The activities in this book work
well for all ages and abilities, from the
most basic skill level to the most
challenging. Repeat projects often and see
new outcomes and learnings each time.
Discovering Great Artists encourages
children to expand their knowledge.
Getting to know great artists will inspire
children to read books, visit museums, go
to the library, collect information, and look
at the world in a new way. They will begin
to encompass a greater sense of history and
art appreciation and see themselves in the
scope of time. Perhaps they will be inspired
to carry art in their hearts as they grow and
develop. They are already great artists in
every sense of the word.
ART RESOURCES:
Resources for wonderful art materials are everywhere
you look in libraries, in stores, in museum shops, in
catalogs, in the trash! Once you start looking, they will
seem to appear out of nowhere! Some are free while others
range from inexpensive to costly.
Books with colorful reproductions of artwork are readily
available at libraries and bookstores. Posters and prints of
famous artwork can be purchased from catalogs,
bookstores, museum shops, or checked out from most
libraries. Illustrations can be cut out of magazines and used
books, then mounted on cardboard to create small posters
and cards. Many videos and slide sets are available for
school and home use. The internet offers connections with
museums around the world, with thousands of great
paintings to view. Visits to museums, art galleries and the
studios of local artists, give children eyewitness, hands-on
experiences with works of art. Free brochures and catalogs
of expensive art prints can be cut apart and used in many
ways. The following resources for books, prints and other
art history materials are suggested. Contact all of them for
their free brochures and catalogs.
BOOKS ABOUT ARTISTS FOR CHILDREN
Eyewritness Art, series
by Colin Wiggins
Over 10 books. Like having a private art gallery or
museum. Available on Perspective, Watercolor, Monet,
Manet, Goya, Renaissance, and more. Post
Impressionism is excellent.
Published by Dorling Kindersley, Inc., New York, NY
Look at other publications by Dorling Kindersley.
The Famous Artists, series
Offers 8 excellent paperback books on famous artists,
including Miro, Da Vinci, Michelangelo. Many others.
Published by Barrons Education Series, Inc.,
Hauppauge, NY
The First Impressions, series
Offers at least 17 titles developed especially for young
people (and old people who like things simple and
sweet!), with each artists own works and life story.
Titles include: Chagall, Cassatt, Frank Lloyd Wright,
Rembrandt, Wyeth. Many more.
Published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, NY
Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Artists, series
by Mike Venezia
Gives children a delightful glimpse into the lives of 13
different artists and their works.
Published by Childrens Press, Chicago, IL
POSTERS AND ART PRINTS
Write to each supplier for a catalog, price, and availability.
Many of the catalogs will be sources for cut-and-paste activities
using prints of great art.
Prints, Posters, and Laminated Reproductions
Art Extension Press, Box 389, Westport, CT 06881
Dover Publications (Print Portfolios), 31 East 2nd St.,
Mineola, NY 11501
Parent Child Press (Art Prints for Children), PO Box 675,
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
Shorewood Reproductions, 27 Glen Rd., Sandy Hook,
CT 06482
University Prints, 21 East St., Winchester, MA 02890
Postcard Art Reproductions
Abbeybille Press, Inc.,
488 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022
Dover Publications - see above
Parent Child Press (Mommy, Its A Renoir materials)
see books above
Pavilion Books Limited,
196 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8JL, England
Running Press, 125 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
Programs, Textbooks, Newsletters, and Other Books
Art Image Publications, PO Box 568,
Champlain, NY 12919
Art Media, Etc., 1905 Studebaker Pl.,
Gold River, CA 95670
Bright Ideas for Learning, series, art activity books by
MaryAnn F. Kohl, Bright Ring Publishing, Inc.,
PO Box 31338, Bellingham, WA 98228-3338
Crizmac, PO Box 65928, Tucson, AZ 85728
KidsArt, art education booklets,
PO Box 274, Mt. Shasta, CA 96067
Dale Seymour, PO Box 10888, Palo Alto, CA 94303
Davis Publications, 50 Portland St.,
Worcester, MA 01608
Wilton Programs, PO Box 541, Wilton, CT 06897
Museum Reproductions
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Special Services Office,
Middle Village, NY 11381
Museum of Fine Arts, PO Box 1044, Boston, MA 02120
Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St.,
New York, NY 10019
National Gallery of Art, Publications Services,
2000 B. South Club Dr., Landover, MD 20785
St. Louis Art Museum, Resource Center,
Forest Park, St. Louis, MO 63110-1380
Whitney Museum of Art, 945 Madison Ave.,
New York, NY 10021
museum gift stores
all local art galleries and museums with art
THE INTERNET
Museums and galleries around the world have sites on
the internet, with more added each month. This is a new
and changing medium. Our best recommendation is to
use a search option to find names of individual artists or
museums. These searches will yield the most current
information, and by following the links suggested, a
world of information and images will be discovered.
DONT FORGET
The public library has the most to offer for childrens
curiosity, found both in the childrens and the adult
departments. Enjoy the discovery of searching for
materials to supplement Discovering Great Artists based
on the curiosity of each individual child.
Free catalogs are available from museums and museum
shops, filled with reproductions of great art that can be
cut apart to your hearts content!