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How do YOU use the Artist Portfolios
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Considering purchasing for next school year but curious how everyone actually uses them.
Thanks for sharing!
We read the biography of the artist over a period of a couple weeks – just stopping at whatever point seems best. We read it once a week. I put the picture we’re studying in a cheap-o frame and hang it low on the wall in our living room. We talk about it some – general things, like what the title might be or what colors or shapes we see or how many people or whatever.
The picture stays there until the next week when we change the picture. (Or for several weeks, if life happens and we skip artist study. Actually that’s one thing I like about these portfolios – the prints. They’re pre-selected for modesty and by hanging it in a cheap frame, it can stay up for a couple weeks without small fingers messing it up, although they are printed on good cardstock and laminated.)
Easy Peasy, no guilt! Even if we skip a few weeks (or never actually finish reading the biography) my children are still exposed to great art.
As far as I’m concerned, the price is well worth the convenience. I figure the $15 is worth the time I DON’T spend searching the library or searching for calendars and whatnot. I own all the portfolios and have shared them with another homeschool family and we’re on our second time through them. I can’t wait for more!
We use the picture portfolios by following the instructions included with each packet. We have picture study scheduled once a week. We start off by reading the biography. We read it in one day but you might stretch it out a bit more for younger children. Then we study one picture each week per the instructions and display that picture for the rest of the week. Easy peasy. I love SCM picture portfolios! We are getting ready to start studying our 3 artist using them and they have been just the ticket to make picture study a consistent thing in our homeschool.
We school for 45, 4 day weeks. So I make the pictures last a little longer by having the kids look at the picture and then two me what they remember the first week. Then for the second week I have them draw/paint their version of the picture. I let them look at it as they work on their image. This is when I will talk more technical about the artists approach to composition and color and what is actually being shown in the picture.
For example, we did Diego Velazquez this year. On of his images is of him in the background painting the little girls in the foreground. The little girls clothing is pretty notable. So I dragged out my history of fashion book and explained what panniers are and how thy made the dresses so poofy. Then we were reading Littlw Pig Robinson later that day and the donkey had panniers to carry things. I loved that my daughter remembered.
We read a little of the biography once per week. We change the picture once every one to two weeks. We study the painting for a few minutes and then I turn it over and they tell what they remember about it. This helps them grow in the habit of attention. We also discuss colors and read the title and bit of info. from the packet. The pictures are a nice quality, size 8 x 10. I use two magnets on each top corner to display it on our large whiteboard on the wall, where it stays until next time. But a frame would be nice too. I plan to keep ours to use again in four to six years, and my cousin plans to borrow them. So I think they are worth their cost.
Thank you so much! Your responses have been very helpful to me! I’m looking forward to ordering a few of these for next school year!
I follow Karen basically we read the bio over 2 weeks. We do picture study once a week. We follow the instructions and I add more when I can and we keep it very simple. I like having the picture up in the living room. It’s amazing what they “see” even though they all say they don’t pay any attention to it all week. LOL
I LOVE the idea of using the picture to have the kids copy it for art. I had no idea what to do for art next year but I’m hooked. Simply making their copy of the original is perfect for us. We can mix it up, pastels, crayons, markers, watercolors, what ever I have around! YEPPIE!! I can then just add a few more crafty ideas during the holidays etc and it’s a win win for me. Thanks for the “AH HA” moment Kayla!
I wanted to mention it’s the best money you’ll ever spend on artists!
Now I just wish they would be able to turn them out quicker 😉 J/K SCM Team you are always doing amazing work and making less for me, how could I ever repay you????!!!!!
Misty! So glad I could help. We do exactly that. Sometimes they use colored pencil, sometimes pastel. My almost 6 year old likes to draw the whole picture and the 4 year old usually focuses on one thing. They really enjoy it.
We have used some projects in Discovering Great Artists by Kohl for ideas to do art projects similar to the style or media, etc. of the artist we are studying.
I like the idea of the kids doing their own interpretation of a painting. I purchased the Van Gogh portfolio and found a Dover Masterwork Color Your Own Van Gogh Painting Book on Amazon. Typically how many weeks do you take to go through an entire portfolio? I am planning my next year and I see SCM suggests doing three artists per year.
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