The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (an unofficial review)

The Battle of the Five Armies (an unoffical review)

I went to see "BotFA" with my niece and one of my brothers on December 16. 10:00PM showing. The closest we could get find to a midnight premiere. :) We found ourselves the only 3 people in the theater. While it was a tad bit disappointing since we went with "premier" expectations, it allowed me personal outbursts without fear of annoying anyone.

Later I went to see it with some family and a friend. This time there were more people in the theater and I forgot that we weren't alone. My friend and I were asked to be quiet. My embarrassment was deeply felt. Still, I was able to view the movie with a far less emotional mindset and found that I enjoyed it even more than the first time I watched it.

Overall: BotFA was a mixture of gorgeous visual splendor, too much CGI (computer generated imagery), corny moments, epic moments, and scenes that forced you to applaud.

The soundtrack is lovely. Howard Shore never fails to bring forth new and beautiful things. Notable tracks include: The Last Goodbye, Ironfoot, Courage and Wisdom.

*WARNING: Here there be spoilers!

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Pros:

One of the most intriguing scenes involved The White Council (Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond, Radagast, and Saruman) battling Sauron at Dol Goldur. I loved seeing them all display their power. In "Lord of the Rings" we see them as the wise and reserved guardians they are. It was exciting to see a different side to their characters. One word though to keep in mind when watching: Galadriel. I will never see that elven queen the same way ever again.

Smaug was a visual treat. Vivid and well handled by the film crew. The costumes, particularly the armor, were rich and culturally fascinating. There's a sense of detail and depth applied to all of the landscapes, cities, and dwarven halls.

Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman. Their characters stood out to me the most.

Richard Armitage portrays the madness of Thorin painfully well. His death scene made me cry for the first time in a theater. I can count on one hand the number of movies I've cried for.

The change in our protagonist, Bilbo Baggins (Freeman), is moving and thoughtful. Towards the end you can see Bilbo Baggins: Elf-Friend; of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield; praised amongst men and dwarves; pondering the hobbit he used to be. Is he really the same quaint hobbit who cared more about his handkerchief and mother's doilies? No, no he's not. He's seen some of his very closest friends die, he's seen monsters, elves, and a shape shifting bear man. How can he possibly continue on with his life that used to be the only thing he cared for or knew of?

The end of BotFA gave a strong nod to the ending of the "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." How do you pick up the threads of an old life? I won't say exactly how the movie ends. It was perfect and made me want to go watch the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy all over again.

It's fitting that they had Billy Boyd sing the ending credits song. "The Last Goodbye" is similar to "Into the West" but stands out by itself with no trouble. *whisper* I'm actually listening to it on repeat right now as I type this post.

source: Pinterest

Cons:

-Tauriel
-Legolas

I would end the cons list there but that's not fair.

Most every scene I disagreed with involved those two in some way.

The almost love triangle we had going on with TaurielxLegolasxKili was disappointing to see. This is Middle-Earth. It's a world that I had hoped to see untainted by romantic sub plots. Of course we have Aragorn and Arwen in the Lord of the Rings. But that was far subtler love story, it worked as a main plot support, but it wasn't a romance.

I'm one of the strange peoples (considering I'm a hard core book fan) who actually likes Kili and Tauriel's might-have-been relationship. What I dislike about it is how they handled it. More could have been conveyed in a glance than in a sappy dialogue exchange.

There are similar feelings surrounding Legolas. There's a bridge scene that is downright NOT possible. I understand he's an elven warrior, but I couldn't take that scene seriously. In some of the scenes where he interacted with Tauriel or his father it felt a little too much like watching a teenager rebelling. I understand this is a younger Legolas than we see in "Lord of the Rings," but it doesn't reflect the spirit of Tolkien's writing and younger Legolas is still old by the standards of men.

I'm less upset about the inclusion of the characters of Legolas and Tauriel than I am about how they handled them.

Alfrid. Also known as Grima Wormtongue Jr. Why did we have yet another irksome character when we could've shared more screen time with the dwarves?

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End Spoilers

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"The Battle of the Five Armies" was difficult to watch as a book fan. But I still loved it and look forward to seeing it again as soon as it comes out on DVD.

It may have been disappointing in some places, but it made me cry. Whatever Peter Jackson puts his mind to, will undeniably come out amazing. What he does well isn't just good, it's perfect.

Thank you Peter Jackson for the memories you have given us. I wish you well in your future endeavors.

source: tumblr

*I do not own the extended edition of the soundtrack. As a result any extra tracks can not be taken into account in my selections.

Related blog post:

-Desolation of Smaug - Midnight Premiere

CHRISTMAS (a noun)

We're almost there.

Can you feel the pull?

The nonstop anticipation. You frantically check off your to-do list. You panic over the final touches.

All the while various body parts, particularly your eye lids (when did they get so heavy?) seem determined to turn you into a bobble head.

In just a couple of hours it will be Christmas Day.

If you look at the word *Christmas*; what comes to mind?

- Santa Claus? Presents? Maybe that one weird gift you never talk about...

I decided to look up the official definition of Christmas.

Christ • Mas

noun

1. 1. the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25 in the Western Church.

Now say what now?

It doesn't say anything about waiting up all night (insert yawn here) for a jolly man in a red suit.

It doesn't make mention of presents.

It doesn't even mention being a nice person.

All it says is that it's a Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth on December 25th. The day we know as Christmas.

Wow.

Some might view that as anticlimactic.

What we often miss, is that the real reason for the season (and yes I will be that cliché) is the most exciting climax in the world's history book that we will ever encounter.

There is a God. In fact He is the Lord of All Creation.

And He created everything from the single celled organisms, to the human brain, to the thousands of galaxies we can only dream about, and beyond.

I won't turn this into a mini Bible lesson. I won't go on for much longer (sleep is only 1 hour 12 minutes 25 seconds away!).

However I think everyone deserves to know something. Even if they don't want to remember it as soon as they leave church.

That something, is that God became man. God sent his only Son to save mankind from a world of hurt. A world of their own making. That's what we created.

Humans have this tendency to look at only the worst possible side of the story. Or ignore the problems that don't affect us and move through life in an ignorant, deliberate, kind of bliss.

What we should look at is both. We need to be aware of what's going on outside our personal bubble of space.

I always avoid the news because it makes me sad. But what I don't remember is that there will and already has been a rescue mission successfully conducted.

God's Son, Jesus (remember that guy from the Christmas definition?), saved us from having to pay the price for the misery we dole out day to day.

So I guess I should take back what I said earlier.

The definition of Christmas does mention at least one present.

The birth of Christ Jesus. The person, who was both God and man, who stooped low in the dust of the earth to grant us Salvation.

We have the choice to accept His gift.

I believe that that is a far more worthy reason to say "Merry Christmas!" to everyone you meet; than waiting for Santa Claus to come down your chimney.

Merry Christmas!!!

Art Curriculum- Week 14- Snowman Handprints

Week 14- Snowman Hands

Last week's project was creating a 3D Snowflake. To view it click here.

This is a very simple project. :)

Category: Winter

What you will need:

-blue construction paper
-white/black/orange paint (acrylic/tempera/craft)
-smaller brushes (for the detailed little buttons and noses)
-1 larger brush (for applying the paint to their hands)
-"Snowmen at Night" by Mark Buehner and Caralyn Buehner (optional)

Time: 30-45 minutes

• Use the large brush to apply white paint to each child's hand. Be liberal with the paint, you will probably need more than you think.

• Press the hand into the paper. The paint will dry quickly so you need to press the hand quickly. Don't let them wiggle their fingers! :) I had to press down their fingers and hands to make sure they made contact with the paper all over.

• Slowly lift the hand and send them to wash up!

• While the handprints dry, you can read them a story. The story that goes with this project is called "Snowmen at Night" by Mark Buehner and Caralyn Buehner.

• You can read it online for free. --> "Snowmen at Night."

• After you finish reading break out the brushes and paint. I worked each part step by step with them. (Hat, buttons, carrot nose).

And that's all there is to it! I hope you enjoy making these happy little fellows!

Overall: A very quick and easy winter project! Good for younger ones and the story is more engaging for the older ones.

Related Posts:

-Watercolor Winter Scene
Make a Snowman Out of Socks!

(logging 1 hour for prep and execution)

Art Curriculum- Week 13- Zentangle Snowflake

Week 13- Zentangle Snowflake

Last week's project was creating a winter scene with watercolors. To view it click here.

This project was fantastic practice on following directions, cutting skills, and drawing patterns.

My niece, Keirstyn, co-taught with me today! Together we instructed and helped with drawing zentangle and assembling the snowflake.

What you will need:

-colored paper (construction paper is fine)
-scissors
-markers
-staples/tape/glue (staples work best)

Time: 45+ minutes. Most of the kids needed guidance on each new pattern, some of the patterns I selected required step by step guidance.

-look up zentangle patterns and zentangle art for extra inspiration and references

Preperation:

• Cut all papers into squares. You will need 6 pieces of paper to create the star shape. If you have more than 6 kids you can still use this project for a fun art piece. Or you can create a Zentangle Landscape which requires the same set of skills.

• Draw broad "stripes" on all of the squares for the kids to fill in. I made a patter of "thick/thin/thick/thin."

• Fold the squares in the snowflake pattern. --> Make a 3D Snowflake. After we folded we drew in the lines for where they would cut to. After that we unfolded the paper to full squares again.

• I made little guides. A different set of patterns for each child, then each child was assisted in copying the patterns. They all did very well.

• After they completed their zentangles we folded the squares up again. Then we cut and taped according to the snowflake step by step tutorial.
  
• We assembled each arm of the snowflake with staples.

Overall: This project will require a lot of guidance. However the result is beautiful and there are multiple projects and skills you can utilize in other projects.

Related Posts:

-Zentangle Art
-Sketchbook #4

(logging 1 1/2 hours for prep and execution)

Art Curriculum- Week 12- Watercolor Winter Scene

Week 12- Watercolor Winter Scene (+salt)

Our last project focused on making adorable little snowmen out of socks! To view it click here.

Category: Winter

What you will need:

-multi purpose paper (you want something with a little texture to soak up the watercolors)
-blue watercolors
-masking/painters tape
-salt
-brushes (we used the cheap foam brushes, easy to buy in bulk and various sizes)
-black marker

Time: 30 minutes. This is a very simple project. It took me 15 minutes to create an example. Time will depend on your group's level. I also taught this same lesson to a a group of over 20 kids (all around 9-11), and it took an hour.

Preparation:

• I drew 5 lines to mark for the kids where they would place the tape (1).
  
  
• I taped the papers to the newspapers. If you have a smooth surface it's helpful to tape directly to the table. However I didn't want to take the chances of our nice tablecloth getting stained with blue paint (2). ;) The tape around the edge will keep the paper from slipping and give the finished produce a clean, professional border.

• They got to put their own tape. I gave each kid one piece at a time.
  
  
• Lay down a quick coat of water.
  
  
• Brush on the blue. I gave some of them dark blue, other light blue for variety. This part you need to do quickly, you don't want it to dry out (3).
  
  
• Sprinkle the salt on!
  
  
• Rub off the salt when it's dry, then you can peel the tape forming the trees (you can use a hairdryer to speed up the drying process)
  
  
• Use a black marker to draw in the lines on the trees. Point out and demonstrate how you can make your lines go from side to side, thick and thin.
  
  
• Peel off the tape and you're done (4)!

In the fourth picture there are branches. This is if you want to be more detailed with the project. I cut smaller pieces of tape at an angle and taped them in.

The Finished Pieces!

Related Posts:

-Week 8- Van Gogh's Fields
-Week 7- Monet's Bridge

(logging 1 1/2 hour for prep and execution)

Art Curriculum- Week 11- Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

 

Week 11- Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

 

Our last craft was on Pointillism. To view it click here.

 

Category: Winter

 

 

What you will need:

 

 

-long white/grey socks, preferably larger sizes

-buttons/caps/something for eyes and buttons on the body

-rubber bands

-broad ribbon for scarfs

-stuffing/baking soda/something to stuff the sock (we used stuffing, but if you use baking soda these cute little guys can double as odor killers in your drawers!)

-hot glue

-scissors

 

Time: 30-45+ minutes (45 minutes for prep, depending on what you can find for materials. I had to scrounge so it took me longer). Each child had to be helped individually with their hats and buttons/eyes.

 

• Cut the foot and heel from the sock. Leave only the rectangle part (top left picture) This will be the body.

• Turn the body piece inside out, fasten a rubber band, then flip it back out again. (top right picture)

• Cut the "toes" off from the remaining sock. (bottom right picture) These will be the hats!

 

• Stuff the body of the sock. You'll probably need more than you think. Fill it to the top and make it has firm as you like. (far left picture)

• Tie the top shut. (middle picture)

• Make your snow man's body with a large rubber band in the center. I tried to make the head a bit smaller than the bottom part but that's up to you. (far right picture)



• Use hot glue to attach the eyes, buttons, and hat. You can arrange the hat in different styles.

 

• Use a piece of broad ribbon or long piece of fabric for the scarf.

• DONE!

Enjoy your cute little snowmen for yourself or give them as gifts. Or use them to decorate your home!

Overall: Easy prep, the younger kids needed help with tying their rubber bands. I had to go one on one with each child for hot gluing on the buttons. I would drop the glue on and they would get to push the button in place. It's a very rewarding project however and a lot of fun!



Related Posts:

-Maleficent Horns- DIY
-TARDIS- Step by Step

Blogger Recognition Award

This week in honor of Thanksgiving we are taking a break from our homeschooling endeavors.

Today I am posting about the "Blogger Recognition Award." Emily Tjaden, at Dreaming Hobbit, nominated me for this award a couple weeks ago. I offer my most delighted thanks to Emily!

You can find her page on Facebook, here.

What this award entails is:

• Thank the person who nominated you.

• Leave a link to their page.

• Give a brief story about how you started blogging, and share some tips.

• Nominate 15 other bloggers.

• Notify your other nominees by email or comment.

How I Started Blogging

I decided to start a blog (and a Facebook page) because I thought it would be a fun way to begin sharing my art under a more official setting. It's been over a year since I started Bright's Wanderings and I'm still refining and learning about this whole blog thing. I also started it with the intent that come college time it would be something useful to have under my belt.

Tips

Keep a schedule. This is very helpful if you want to post consistently and with a set purpose.

Larger, simpler text with more spaces makes for easier reading.

Adding a photo to your post can help catch the readers eye and can emphasize your post's message. It's a nice addition for us visual learners. :)

Nominees

Here are the links to several blogs that I greatly admire and enjoy.

Apassionata - Leah K. Oxendine

Firefly Closet - Allison Tjaden

Blogs from Geekdom - Brad Williamson

In Darkness There is Light - Morgan L. Busse

The Ramblings of an Eccentric Writer - Hannah Mummert

Scribbles and Inkstains - Abigail Hartman

Writing is Hard Work - Roger Colby

Not the desired number of 15... Oh dear. Quality over quantity I guess.

Now comes the difficult part, contacting each of these people. Which means... I have to practically talk to them. I can hear the gasps of horror. Such is the life of an introvert.

Every single one of these bloggers deserves recognition. They have contributed some wonderful bits to the blogosphere. Enjoy!

Art Curriculum- Week 10- Pointillism

Week 10- Pointillism

The past lesson was on Fauvism. To view it click here.

Artistic Movement: Pointillism

What you will need:

-tempera/craft paint
-Q-tips
-Brushes
-paint pallettes
-wood letters (I got these 1.87 a piece at Michael's, there was a variety of other options and different prices. If you don't want to go and buy the wood you can print bubble letters on construction paper have them paint them in in the same manner they paint the wood.)

Time: 45+ minutes (only because the paint has to dry, but it still dried relatively quickly)

• Have each child pick one color. Apply the single color in a solid coat over the entirety of the letter.

• Next pick 2 colors other than their first coat. Each child gets a Q-tip. There are 2 tips, one tip for each color.

• Let them cover their letters with the dots in whatever pattern they wish.

• Once they're dry they're done!

Ideas that you can use these letters for:

-Christmas ornaments
-stick them on to doors/walls/boxes for ornamentation

Overall: A fun painting project. Easy to prep for. It's a nice break from normal painting on paper. It's 3D and you can do lots of fun things with it.

Related Posts:

-Week 8- Van Gogh's Fields
-Week 7- Monet's Bridge

(logging 1 1/2 hours for shopping, prep, and execution time)

Art Curriculum- Week 9- Fauvism and Zebras

Week 9- Fauvism and Zebras

Last week's blog post involved copying one of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings, to view it click here.

Artistic Movement: Fauvism

What you'll need:

-printer (regular copy paper)
-markers

Time: 30+ minutes (it depends on the coloring sheet you choose, and the level your young artists are at!)

Fauvism:

"...emphasized painterly qualities and strong color over the representational or realistic values retained by impressionism."

(quote taken from Wikipedia)

• A very simple project to prepare for, all I had to do was look up coloring sheets of zebras.

• As a bonus, look up fauvism in trees, animals, zebras, horses, etc. to show the kids. I knew that if I was going to have them coloring in what adults would usually consider "bad" I needed to provide a reason for it! I showed them a variety of examples of fauvism, explaining and pointing out the use of color and what it meant.

• I have a wide pool of ages to provide for, all on different levels of patience, so I ran off options that ran on 2 different difficulty levels.
• The rules were:
  -No black/brown/skin colors
  -No two stripes could touch if they were the same color
• I was surprised however when 2 of the younger ones finished their simple zebra head and asked for more to color. I gave them a go at trying a "big kid" coloring sheet and they did very well.

• The amount of time for this project is specific to your own group of kids. Some kids are naturally quicker at coloring while others must painstakingly make every marker stroke perfectly in line.

Overall: The kids surprised me, this fan group of "no coloring" spent a lot of time and detail on each of their pieces. A fun project that's easy to prepare for. 



Related Posts:

-Week 8- Van Gogh's Fields
-Week 7- Monet's Bridge
-Week 5- Stained Glass Leaves

(logging 1 hour for prep and execution)

DIY Steampunk Earrings

Heyloeth everyone,

Today I have the delightful honor of being a guest blogger over at Emily Tjaden's, Dreaming Hobbit!

To view it click here: Steampunk Earrings - DIY by Ellana Turrell

Related:
-Steampunk Jewelry

Art Curriculum- Week 8- Van Gogh's Fields

Week 8- Van Gogh's Fields

The previous lesson involved Monet's Bridge.To view click here.

Artistic Movement: Impressionism

What you'll need:

-tempera/craft/acrylic paint (blue//light blue/white/yellow/red)
-medium sized brushes
-paper (I used white construction paper)

Time: 45 minutes

I drew a line to where I wanted the sky to come down to so that the kids would have a guide.

We used 2 different shades of blue for the sky. I had them make squiggly horizontal lines to give the sky more texture.

I gave them white and had them do a quick squiggly line at the edge of the blue.

The rest of page we painted yellow, I likened it to corn and wheat so they needed to make their lines up and down for the stalks. Then I had gave them a dark red. I allowed them one dip in the red, then they had to use only that one dip's worth of red to add to the yellow.

The birds are black paint. Either a wobbly "V" or 2 hills next to each other.

Overall: A relaxed painting project. Simple step by step.

(logging hour for prep and execution)

Art Curriculum- Week 7- Monet Bridge

Week 7- Monet Bridge

The last lesson involved making stand up pumpkin "books." To view it click here.

Artistic Movement: Impressionism

What you'll need:

-tempera/craft/acrylic paint (green/yellow/blue/purple/pink/black)
-paper (I used white construction paper)
-medium brushes

Time: 45 minutes to an hour

This is a more time consuming project. It requires more patience and step by step instruction.

I drew the bridge in pencil on each page before we began painting so that there was a reference point to use.

I started by showing them pictures of weeping willows and lily pads. I also showed them some of Monet's paintings.

I showed them how the weeping willows go "up and down" and the water and the lilly pads go "back and forth."

I started with green, then progressed to yellow with up and down strokes.

The water (blue/purple) goes back and forth. For the lilly pads I had them making little stripes of green. Then on every green little line I had them put a pink dot.

The pencil drawing of the bridge still showed through the paint and so I guided them in tracing them.

Overall: The kids handled this project very well, but it is good to have kids who've had experience in following step by step instructions and have more patience.

(logging 1 1/2 hours for prep and execution)

Maleficent Horns- DIY in 5 Steps!

Maleficent Horns- DIY in 5 Steps

Happy Halloween everyone!

A friend asked if I could make Maleficent's horns to complete her costume. My initial answer was no because I didn't think I had the necessary supplies.

Then I got it into my head, "But I really really want to make them..."

As a result I ended up browsing Pinterest for inspiration and tutorials. This is the one I used mostly for inspiration --> Make Your Own Maleficent Horns

I'm very proud of how they turned out. Once I realized I had all the supplies I needed just loitering around my house they took maybe 30-45 minutes to make!

And my friend enjoys them so I'm happy. :)

Supplies:

-8 oz. plastic/paper/Styrofoam cups
-headband, the wider the better
-a lot of black electric tape
-tinfoil
-wire (I used aluminum)
-sharpie
-scissors

Step One: Tape the cups the headband. At this point they don't have to look pretty because any tape job here is going to be covered up. To get the placement right I put the head band on, held the cups on, and used a sharpie the trace their placement on the headband.

Step 2: Use scissors to stick two holes in the bottoms of the cups relatively close to each other. Thread the wire through it. As long as you want your horns to be so that you can mold the tinfoil around something and bend the horns.

(tip): Stick the wire in before you put the cups on the headband. ;)

Step 3: Take rectangle swathes of tinfoil and proceed to cover the cups and wire until they are of a satisfying length and thickness.

Step 4: Wrap with electric tape. What I did was let the tape wrap around the horns in its natural curving pattern. Don't try to wrap in neat "rows" all the way down the horn. You're going to want to try to pull the tape tightly around the tinfoil without warping the shape.

Step 5: Wrap around the tips and center of the headband to complete the wrapping process!

Here are a few extra tutorials if you're feeling adventurous!

-Make Your Own Maleficent Headband
-DIY Lightweight Horns
-How to Make Horns

 



Art Curriculum- Week 6- Pumpkin Books

Week 6- Pumpkin Books

First off this project is directly inspired and taken from this site: Craftberry Bush: Fall in love with Fall...

Last week I posted a quick review on our time in the Renaissance Period for the month of September. To view it click here.

What you'll need:

-construction paper
-popsicle sticks
-green/brown markers
-hot glue
-scissors

Time: 30-45 minutes tops

This project required them to practice their cutting skills.

I folded all the "pages" to the little book (each child got 8) and traced a prototype I made beforehand onto each page individually for them to cut.

Originally I stapled all the pages together to make a book, and cut all the pages in one go. Then my mother pointed out that they have little kid scissors and not enough finger strength to cut through that much paper. So I unstapled all the pages and then proceeded to trace the demo onto each page.

After they cut their pages I had them each color a popsicle stick green or brown for the stem. I hot glued the stem between 2 pages after stapling the little "booklet" together.

Then all they had to do was spread the pages so their pumpkins could stand on their own!

Overall: Depending on your age group of kids a lot of prep time, but a very easy project for little ones.

Related Posts:

-Week 5- Fall Leaves Project

-A Poem for Fall!

(logging 2 hours for execution + prep time)

Art Curriculum- Renaissance in Review

Weeks 1-4: Renaissance in Review

This week we had a bit of a break due to sickness and Columbus Day.

So instead of a new lesson, I decided to post a quick overview of the first 4 weeks projects and how they're all Renaissance Inspired.

Last week's lesson was a Fall project (and also began the Impressionist period). To view it click here. Last week before our Fall project was when I did a quick review with the kids to see what they remembered.

I looked up pictures of Renaissance art and other cool pictures I liked that showcased the techniques we were doing. Then I would have them try and remember which project fit best with each picture.

Most of the photos I used as reference or inspiration for my projects can be found on Pinterest Board: Art Curriculum.

• Week 1- Gridding: A project involving each child coloring in one piece of the bigger picture. I explained how you can transfer a photo's measurements and even make the image you're copying smaller or larger.

• Week 2- 1 Point Perspective: A painting project which introduces distance and a horizon line for the kids. The Renaissance period was when art was up for being expanded upon. Things like color and texture had more of an impact on the feeling of closeness or realism.

• Week 3- Tri Toned Cube: Painting a 3 toned cube to create a 3D feel. During the Renaissance shadows and light were paid more attention to. I showed them similar images of blocks and we reviewed the "light source." And I also showed showed how in normal portraits of people how the lighting was used to create depth in skin and hair.

• Week 4- Self Portrait: Coloring and drawing their own clothing and features on a stick figure. I pointed out that like the kids added gardens or castles people would pose for hours with objects they valued like a favorite pet or a treasured sword. I also made of point of reminding them back then they didn't have cameras. It would take months and a lot of money to have someone paint a realistic portrait of themselves or family members.

This is a very basic overview. But some of them are quite young, and for now this is a good start. As they grow older they will cover the Renaissance in greater detail.

I hope this was helpful and you enjoy the projects!

(logging 1/2 hour)

Art Curriculum- Week 5- Stained Glass Leaves

Week 5- Stained Glass Leaves
Last week's lesson involved coloring and creating a self-portrait. To view it click here.

Artistic Movement: Impressionism (loosely - you can tie it in with the vibrant colors and impression of warmth and vivid happy feelings the colors are associated with)

What you'll need:

-Copy paper
-baby oil/cooking spray/canola oil (any one will do, baby oil is the most popular choice but we managed with cooking spray just fine)
-crayons
-cotton balls
-paper towels

Time: 45 minutes + 15 minute recap of previous weeks

The purpose of this lesson was to have fun and it required them to use their cutting skills.

I looked up leaf templates and coloring sheets, then I copied and pasted the ones I liked into a word document. I had 3 leaves per page. Then I ran off 6 copies of each so each kid would have 9 to color and cut.

Because some of them are young and most of them haven't built up much patience I tried to pick the some of the simpler shapes with toothed edges.

I picked out red, orange, and yellow crayons and spread them in the center of the table for them to use.

In order for the stained glass effect to work properly you have to press hard with the crayons to get a thick coat on.

After everyone finished coloring they cut out their leaves.

Finally each kid got a paper towel that they placed their leaves facedown on one at a time. Then I went around as needed with the canola cooking spray, spritzed the leaf, and then the kids would rub the oil over the leaf with a cotton ball.

Once quick spritz was usually enough, you can spread the oil far with more pressure from the cotton ball.

TIP: For extra vibrant color rub oil on both sides of the leaves

Finished! Just tape the leaves to the windows in whatever pattern fits your fancy! :)

Overall: This was a more time consuming project. Every child will go at their own pace. Continuously give encouragement and advice to color hard!

Related Posts:
-Week 4- Self Portrait
-Week 3- 3D Cube
-Week 2- 1 Point Perspective

(logging 1 1/2 hours for prep and execution including recap of past weeks)

Art Curriculum- Week 4- Self Portrait

Week 4- Self Portrait

Last week's lesson involved painting a 3D cube. To view it click here.

Artistic Movement: Renaissance

What you'll need:
-copy paper
-markers

Time: 30-45 minutes tops

The purpose of this lesson was to create a self portrait. They had to look at the colors of their clothing and any patterns and try to incorporate that into their picture.

I ran off multiple copies of a stick figure. The bottom left picture is mine. While I drew I continuously pointed out the color of their shirts, their eyes, or the fact some of them had stripes on their clothing.

The original intent was just to draw hair and clothes; but the kids asked about making grass and sky and flowers and so we ended up with these lovely drawings including gardens and castles. :)

For the most part they took this project in stride and I didn't have to instruct so much as give suggestions and try to guide them to being a bit more detailed in things like curly hair vs. straight hair.

Overall: The kids enjoyed the project immensely, it needed next to no prep, and required minimal instruction.



Related Posts:
Week 3- Tri Toned Cube
Week 2- 1 Point Perspective
Week 1- Gridding

(logging 45 minutes for prep and execution time)

Art Curriculum- Week 3- Tri Toned Cube

Week 3- Tri Toned Cube

Last week's lesson involved 1 Point Perspective. To view it click here.

Artistic Movement: Renaissance

What you'll need:
-tempera/craft paint
-printing size paper (I used copy paper, but the kind you use is up to you)

Time: 20 minutes approximately

The purpose of this lesson was to try to teach the kids about light and shadows. An early start on shading and explaining what a "light source" is.

I allowed the kids the ability to choose their own color but only offered red, blue, and yellow (I used this as an opportunity to have them recall the primary colors to me).

In the picture below you can see the gray scale picture I printed. I showed it to them and pointed out the really bright side, the extra dark side, and the in between side and tried to explain what caused the different shades of color.

What I did as a coloring sheet for the kids: I looked up Tri colored cubes and searched until I found a coloring sheet in the shape I wanted and printed off multiple copies of it.

When each child has his/her color, I had them color the top diamond on it's side.

Then I gave them each white, and helped them carefully mix the blue and the white to create a lighter hue.

In a similar manner I gave them black to achieve the darker shade. They only need a tiny dab of black.

Overall: This was a very easy project to prep and took very little time. The kids (depending on the age group) will probably need help figuring out which portion of the cube is left or right. :)

Related Posts:

-Week 2- 1 Point Perspective
-Week 1- Gridding

-Creating an Art Curriculum

(logging 1/2 hour for prep and execution)

A Poem for Fall!

An poem to celebrate the arrival of Fall! :)

To the tune of A Few of My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music.
__________

Pumpkins and lanterns and worn out grey sweaters
Spices and sweet treats and south turning ventures
Soft bars and cookies all smothered with cream
These are a few of the things that I see

Crips winds and bright trees and wilting dark flowers
Red leaves and gold leaves delight all the hours
Hot soups and fresh squash with colorful themes
These are a few of the things that I see

Multi toned corn cobs and frosty dew warnings
Hot tea and new books and dark blanket mornings
Warm scented candles that conjure up dreams
These are a few of the things that I see

When the cold comes
When the air stings
When I’m feeling down
I simply consider the things that I see
and then I don’t feel so bad

__________

Related Posts: Song for Fall (2013)

Art Curriculum- Week 2- 1 Point Perspective

Reference Picture

Week 2- 1 Point Perspective

Last week's lesson involved basic gridding. If you want to view it you can click here.

This week's lesson was 1 Point Perspective.

Artistic Movement: Renaissance

The project was good practice for watercolor painting with different methods and listening to instructions.

What you'll need:
-watercolors
-plain art paper of some kind (it doesn't have to be fancy but for water colors you want paper other than regular copy paper so that the watercolors have some texture to soak into)

Time: 40 minutes approx.

The original painting (pictured above) is something I found on Pinterest. I used it as a reference and quickly drew 7 rough copies of it using a sharpie.

I kept it basic, explained how when things are far away they get smaller and smaller whereas when things are closer they get bigger. I used a paint bottle on hand and I zoomed in back and forth in front of them.

This was another piece that I did step by step with the kids. I gave them one color at a time and we moved in stripes down the page. Blue-Orange-Yellow-Purple-etc.

For the red and orange ground I had them "messily" color within the lines with red leaving wide spaces. Then I gave them the orange and had them fill in all the white spots. I wanted there to be a bit of color mixing going on without creating mud.

The road we used black paint but I had them practice using lots of water with their brushes while taking tiny dabs of paint to achieve a lighter gray.

Overall: Easy and fun project. Simple cleanup (watercolors don't stain) and the kids love painting so it was a great learning experience.

In Addition: Something you might want to point out and explain is that cooler colors (blue, deep purple, etc) make things look farther away, while warmer colors (red, yellow, etc) make things appear closer. ;)

Related Posts:

Art Curriculum- Week 1- Gridding
Creating an Art Curriculum

(logging in 1 hour for prep and execution)

Art Curriculum- Week 1- Gridding

Week 1- Gridding

Today I taught the first lesson in my curriculum. Gridding.

Artistic Movement: Renaissance

This is an attempt to expose them to the classical methods in art early on. Even if they don't understand it technically and exactly, they'll at least have experienced it to a small degree.

The project required them to listen to instructions and for the younger ones it was good practice with coloring skills and identifying numbers.

What you'll need:
-markers

Time: 30 minutes at the most for both pictures

I looked up simple coloring sheets. I picked flowers to do a color by number, and then an abstract piece so they could see realism and a more fun piece side by side.

I cut the page into 8. There were only 6 kids, so whoever finished coloring their piece first got an extra.

For the sunflowers I went and numbered the different parts with pen. Then I had them do one color at a time. They would pick out a number, and I would tell them what color belonged with it.

For the abstract one I told them they could color it however they wanted to with rules that:
(1) They had to use at least 3 colors
(2) No colors could touch

When they finished coloring we pieced them together again so they could see the final picture.

Then I taped each piece to a black piece of construction paper. Not a necessary addition, but I did it because I thought it gave the paper some stability and if they ever were to put their separate pieces in an art book it would look nice.

Advanced Art Project- Week 1

Keirstyn's assignment was to pick any picture (preferably an animal/landscape etc), apply grid lines to it, and then copy the picture on to a blank grid.

It's not complete yet here's glimpse of the set up:

(Logging in 1 hour for prep and execution)

Related posts:
Creating an Art Curriculum

Art Curriculum- Update

I spent a good portion of this evening trying to plot out January-March 2015.

January is now has a project for Cubism, Surrealism, and Fauvism.

February is still empty.

March is mostly filled up with projects leading up to Easter and reflecting spring.

For the advanced art curriculum, January is covered but not much else.

(Logging in 2 hours)

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

One year ago I created this blog and a page for my art on Facebook.

As of now this blog has had 2,179 page views.

On my Facebook page I have 104 likes.

Thank you everyone for your support. :)

Tardis Step By Step

Above: Reference photos I used. I do not own them or the concept of the Tardis in any way.

Last week I made a my own Tardis out of cardboard and I'm very happy with it. :) This is a step by step process of how I made it.

Supplies:
-blue, white, black acrylic paint
-black pen
-mini glass jar
-lots and lots of cardboard
-tardis shaped box
-stiff brushes
-newspaper
-hot glue
-mod podge

I collect cardboard from various places like the backs of calendars and packaging.

The box was just packaging from Amazon for something we ordered. The first thing I did was to mod podge newspaper onto it to work as a base since cardboard suck up paint.

I painted over the newspaper with a brighter blue to work as a base, then I went over it with ultramarine blue. Any kind of acrylic works, there's some that's .99 a small bottle and some that's 4.00 a bottle. Either kind works, the Tardis has changed colors multiple times over the years so I figured it was safe to go with whatever came of the process.

I took and measured out strips to work as the corners that jut out down the entire length. How thick you make them is up to you, whatever looks appropriate for your box. I painted them white for a base coat, then went over them with ultramarine blue.

The black rectangles I measured out for the "Police Public Call Box" sign.

All of the color is dry brushed on. I layered the different blues and some white to give it a weathered look.

The strips and pieces were hot glued on.

For the rows between the "columns" I had to measure each part individually for the best fit.

Then I took a dry brush with black acrylic paint and went into the corners and shaded the blue to give it more depth.

The windows are white and black acrylic. The "Pull to Open" sign was written on with a black pen.

The top square on top is a cut out cardboard square with rectangles propping it up. In the pictures below you can see the seams of hot glue. :)

I got the jar from Cracker Barrel. It held blueberry jam, I kept it and I'd been saving it. The lines are painted on the inside with black. I also painted the lid dark blue.

Because the doors refused to close I created a latch using a paperclip, a clasp, and a chunk of chain (all of the jewelry items I bought from Michael's). The Sherlock charm is something I made using a marble and mod podge.

The final product:

Towards the end I just touched it up and played with the coloring and weathering effects until I was satisfied. It's a lot of eyeballing it and adding on as you go. I didn't set out with anything outlined.

I also trimmed the doors so that they wouldn't scrape as they were pulled open. But that's just my preference.

Overall at least 12 hours.

Once you have your box it's just a matter of measuring lots of long strips and painting it to your satisfaction.

Enjoy, and if you have any questions feel free to comment below. :)