Art is life

We have a sculpture in town that was commissioned around a year or so ago, that is of a train conductor waiting for the train.  He's looking at his watch and he's got a little dog beside him, waiting patiently.  It's really great, and a wonderful addition to an already colorful and artistic town.

I gave the kids a challenge to try and draw the sculpure.  I gave them some pictures I took, and tried to get them to caputre the essence of the sculpture in a 2D format.  They did a really great job, and Kassy in particular took a real effort at getting the lines and shading right.

I know I couldn't have done that when I was a kid.  I had no idea what good art was, and how in the world you could produce it if I wanted to.  I think the kids have more talent than me!  But I also think it comes from talking to them about it.  We'll walk by the sculpure, and I'll point out a few details, or "wow, look at how detailed the lines are on his jacket" or things of that nature.  It's all about the talking I think.  It's all about conversing with them at their level, but at the same time raising their level on a daily basis.

Who knew that running your mouth was a good parenting technique?

Check out http://www.mredie.com/ for more on drawing techniques, and how to incorporate them into your homeschool or away school class!