Ok – The You-Tube video links are working (THANKS DOUG!). http://www.creatingamasterpiece.com/videos.htm For those of you that had wanted to see them, I thought I’d start a new thread so you’d know they are available.
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
For those of you that weren’t following the other thread. This is a video curriculum created for homeschoolers to do starting with kids as young as 5 in the beginning levels. Sharon is an artist by trade, yet is a gifted teacher as well – she has a 3-4 year waiting list for her art instruction here in Omaha. These videos came as a result of those kids on the waiting list desperately wanting to get a head start and work while they waited. Now it’s available to the general public too! Very excited because Sharon is making more videos in August and will continue to add to the 6 mediums that are currently available.
Looks awesome. I want to buy them for ME. Watching the video clips makes it seem possible that a totally talentless artist like myself could produce something interesting. I have NO idea where we’d hang the finished products – each project times 5 people equals too much wall space! My boys are really into manga right now (rolls eyes) but I’d love for them to have some exposure to different mediums and basic art instruction.
Do you need to go in order for the different series? Obviously you’d want to do Series 1 before Series 2…but what about inside of a series?
Haha! Yes, lots of moms are going to have fun with this too! I would recommend if you have little kids and you can find the time – do each lesson on your own first – totally not necessary, but easier that doing it along side them, just because it’s SO enjoyable and you’ll be amazed at what you can do! Little kids will need moms guidance, just to make sure they are doing what Sharon tells them to do in the video (and not painting the cat or their little sister).
AND don’t worry about where to hang those same pictures – give them away…. we’re giving ours to grandparents and aunt and uncles as Christmas and birthday gifts – that way we can use our normal “gift” budget to pay for our art education! Plus Grandma is getting something beautiful and these truly ARE lovely – you’ll be amazed at how well they turn out.
Inside of a series that are certain media that are easier to work with than others. The easiest being the pastels and then the acrylic paint. The drawing with pencil should come before the watercolor, because the watercolor starts with drawing before painting and is a more difficult medium to work with. The sculpture you can do at anytime. The ink is another one that’s more difficult. And if you find that you really enjoy the pastels or acrylics, then you could even go on to level 2 for those BEFORE completing the more difficult ones in level 1.
Momof3 – it’s brand new so as far as I know there aren’t any reviews, but we’re hoping to get some out to bloggers so they can review them. In all honesty, Sharon, as an artist, is VERY sensitive to making sure that people are happy with the DVDs and she’s so proud that so far she’s only recieved back positive comments. As a friend of hers, I’m not impartial, but I, by nature, am an “improver”. I constantly have “constructive criticism” for EVERYTHING. The only reason I could imagine someone NOT being happy with these dvds, would be if they purchased one of the more difficult mediums to work with from level one and then found it to be too hard for the five year old that we’ve said could use these videos. If you have a young child, get the pastel or acrylics, theirs will not look EXACTLY like the one that Sharon completes, but I assure you the results will be far better than anything they’ve completed before AND they’ll have learned how to work with a medium in a structured way.
Another potential criticism of these dvds does not go to their quality, but rather to a more modern art philosophy that shuns have children work on a “model” project. Often art classes just give kids the media to work with and allow them to create whatever they want with very little guidance. This generally results in very abstract and even chaotic art. Sharon believes in creating beautiful artwork that is “orderly” – my word not hers, but helping a child create something so that people can tell what it is! While the child is learning a very specific project in her videos, she is also teaching them the general concepts and techniques they need to know to translate their new skill into whatever their particular passion is.
I hope that’s helpful to you and as soon as we get some impartial reviews out there, I’ll be sure to pass them along.
Thank you so much. I hope to be able to fit this into my budget soon. I have been looking for something my kids and I can do together. I come from a family of artists but everyone is too busy with their own lives and schedules. I have always felt left out because I can barely draw a stick figure! Can you tell me what supplies we would need to go with these dvds? Also, this may seem like a silly question, but what kind of stand is she using to hold her canvas? It doesn’t look like the typical artist easel. Thanks so much again!
I’m not sure what kind of easel she is using, but it’s easy to find things around the house to use. We used cookbook holders! and just put them on the kitchen counter. For the pastel paper, I taped it to my girl’s art easel (the little kid kind you see on craig’s list all the time) – some other friends taped it to cardboard and propped it up. Be creative! A nice easel is helpful, but not necessary.
Do you know if there are any reviews out there on the dvd series?
We haven’t written a formal review but we’ve been able to look at the material and like it enough that we’ll be making it an official SCM recommendation for art instruction.
I recently went together with a friend and bought a set of 6 for our daughters. They have created their first masterpiece – and it is as promised! It looks just like the ones she showed us at the show. The girls loved it and are looking forward to the next project. I think this is a great thing and looks like we will be anxiously watching for future releases. Hope that helps!
Anniepeter – YEAH!!! I’m so excited to hear about your great results!!! PLEASE send Sharon a picture via her website – she’d love to see how the girls are doing. Which convention did you go to? I’m curious if I met you!
Am I understanding correctly that all 6 dvds in a set offer 24+ lessons combined? Or does each dvd contain 24+ lessons? Do they basically end up with only one finished project at the end of each dvd? I am considering perhaps one dvd per term…
Suzukimom – I’m not sure if Sharon’s selling in Canada yet, but she’ll likely do giveaways with the Blog reviews – so maybe you’ll be able to win one!
4myboys – Using a DVD a term is a great idea. Yes, the set contains 24+ lessons. Each DVD contains 4-6 lessons, so you could use one lesson a week and complete the project in a term, but then I would recommend letting your boys use the remaining supplies to create something on their own. I hope to post pictures soon of the landscape that my girls made from the video and then the secondary project they created on their own with the remaining supplies just so people can have an idea of what kids can do once they’ve got some initial instruction. It’s amazing at what my girls are able to see as potential art projects now. Prior to doing this DVD all the girls had ever liked to draw were princesses and mermaids – we had seen Monet’s beautiful landscapes, but that was not a desire they even attempted. Now everywhere they go, they are seeing things that are potential pastel paintings!