INTRODUCTION "Great American Artists for Kids" offers children hands-on activities to explore the styles and techniques of America's greatest artists, from colonial times to the present day. 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.An option for very young children is offered for most activities. All young artists will create their own artwork using a technique or material that reflects the work of the great master.The most important aspects of the activities are exploration, discovery, and individual creativity. "Great American Artists for Kids" offers seventy-five artists selected from hundreds of greats.The selection process was based on artists whose styles, histories, techniques, and artworks appeal to children of all ages.
Many artists could not be included, but they are not forgotten! The companion book, Discovering Great Artists, has one hundred artists to explore, many of whom are American.We hope you enjoy researching them all and seek out those artists who were not included in this volume. Perhaps you'll see them in one of our new books in the future. Visit the Bright Ring website for links to artists from all over the world. "Great American Artists for Kids" is a book of exploration.Young children are more often interested in the process of art than iin their finished product. They may or may not show interest in the related art history or art appreciation. But they will be soaking up the information! Many will be curious and eager to know more about an artist's life, what the artist's world was like, and how it influenced or inspired the artist's style.
The information on each page is offered as a reference and inspiration for learners. Don't be surprised if children begin to collect knowledge about different artists and styles of art the way they collect baseball cards or dinosaur statistics. "Great American Artists for Kids" introduces children to the masters of American art. Many great artists will have familiar names, like Cassatt,Warhol, and O'Keeffe. Other names may be new, such as Asawa, Smithson, and Magee. Each featured artist has a style that is accessible to children, and a life history that will inspire and interest them. "Great American Artists for Kids" encourages kids to learn from doing as they become familiar with new ideas. If a child experiences composing a painting with the bleached-bone and desert-landscape shapes of Georgia O'Keeffe, then that child will feel more comfortable as an older student studying O'Keeffe's works.
Imagine visiting the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and seeing in person those same works by O'Keeffe! Many children have expressed that it's like meeting an old friend. The activities in "Great American Artists for Kids" are open-ended.The most important thing for children is to explore new art ideas and techniques, celebrating their own unique art styles, abilities, and interests. It is up to each young artist to decide exactly how his or her work of art will turn out and what direction it will take. Independent thinking is encouraged, and differences are celebrated as skills and responsibility are enhanced through individual decisions. "Great American Artists for Kids" has been carefully organized and presented to make its use easy, quick, inspiring, and useful. It is divided into chapters where artists are grouped by the years they have been most artistically active.The chapters are color-coded so that flipping through the book becomes a comfortable way to find artists, art activities, or artworks by style or technique.
The icons are also color-coded, as is the Chart of Contents. Most artists' pages show an original piece by the artist or a fine child's work in the artist's style.When an artist's work is not shown, a website is given where art may be readily seen.A full list of Internet sites is offered for viewing all artists' works in the Resource Guide, pp.128-129.The Index has just about everything you can think of, including listings by artists' names, art activity names, and art materials. Last but not least, the artists' birthdays are listed in the Resource Guide to assist in planning art celebrations, learning, and just plain fun. "Great American Artists for Kids" encourages children to read books, visit museums and libraries, use the Internet, collect information, and look at the world in new ways.
They will begin to encompass a greater sense of history and art appreciation while seeing their world in new perspective. 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. "Great American Artists for Kids" offers art activities to expand the creative experience and awareness of children in all aspects of the visual arts through painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, and many other experiences with art materials.The activities in this book are for all ages and abilities, from the most basic skill level to the most challenging. Repeat projects often, and discover new outcomes and learnings each time. Repetition brings comfort with art process and surprising growth in art technique and skills.