Thursday, November 1, 2007

Do I have time for Art?

Preparing fresco background.


Have you ever said, "I just don't have time for art," or "Our curriculum doesn't include art." I am one that thinks no matter what, art is very important in our daily lives.
Does it have to be structured? NO not really. You could be studying geography and decided to make a paper mache world. What about drawing a map and coloring it in? Then there is history. The sit down and hurry up and do your work so you can get done way to do it would be, "read this and do a report on this person." Have you thought of making a diorama of that time? Then there are classes some take on watercolor, pottery, flower arranging, sewing, crochet classes and so many more.
We are using Artistic Pursuits and so far are loving it. Not only do we learn about an artist from history but also get to do a project. This is the best kind of learning. When you are learning about something and you include a hands on fun project. Today we are making a "fresco." Although my boys would love to paint on the walls, I draw the line there. They each have their own board that they put spackling on it and it's outside drying right now.
Not only did we learn about Giotto but are making a fresco and while spreading the spackling also learned another lesson. My son commented that it was hard work trying to get all the spackling on the board and for it to spread out smoothly. My light bulb went off here. I had to include a life lesson in this one.
Although it is a lot of work to get the board done right and smooth when you finally get to paint, it will look so good if you spend some time preparing the background. Same as anything we do, if we take our time cultivating and preparing in all we do the end product will be wonderful. That is what Jehovah our God expects of us. He expects our best in all we do.
He was happy to get the work done and not only did he learn about Giotto and how hard spackling is to work with but he also learned that we must work hard at all we do if we want please our God. Pretty good lesson, don't you think?
Stay tuned for our next post on our finished product. By the way, the spackling we got is pink and when it dries it turns white.

2 comments:

Dana Leeds said...

What a great lesson! Both with the fresco work and how it applies to our lives. I look forward to seeing the finished results!

Also, sorry for the typo on my blog - we went to an arboretum, not whatever I spelled. :-) I'm not sure why they even call this one an arboretum as they also have lots of herbs and a large butterfly garden.

Just: CH said...

You are such a good mom! I wanna be like you when I grow up~ ;-)