ARTistic Pursuits

 

 

Senior High Book One

The Elements of Art and Composition

Author:   Brenda Elllis

Published by: Artistic Pursuits Inc.

Available from: ARTistic Pursuits

Price: $42.95

 

About the Book

     ARTistic Pursuits describes itself as “A comprehensive art program designed to involve the student in the creative process while developing observational skills”.  It is a very complete, very thorough art program. The Senior High Book One covers a year’s worth of art instruction and art appreciation.  This book has 16 Units with each Unit consisting of 4 lessons.The lessons are written to the student, so students can work independently.

      Lesson one introduces the focus of that unit. The term is well-defined with excellent examples. A “Challenge Your Vision Section” is included in lesson one which gets  kids thinking in a different way about the topic. A “Try This” is included to get started working artistically with the topic.

 

 

Sample of Unit 3 Lesson One

Texture

by Sarah

 

 

 

  Lesson two features a famous European Art piece with a brief history on the artist. The student will look at the full-color reproduction of a famous European art piece. Then the text “pulls” the art piece apart to look specifically at the artistic element for that unit represented in that piece.  Lesson two also has an art assignment for practicing the topic.

 

Sample of Unit 2 Lesson Two

Filling the Space of a Page

by Sarah

 

     Lesson three focuses on Techniques. This page features the actual “art instruction” . For example in Unit two the topic is “texture”. Lesson three shows different effects, such as blend, line, irregular line, and cross hatch. The student is encouraged to experiment with the technique shown. A “To Do” is also given to continue learning the technique being studied.

Lesson four is the Application lesson. A specific assignment and which material to be used is given. A “Look Back’” section asks the student to critique his or her own work according to the topic of the lesson.

What the ClarkClan thought:

     We were very impressed with ARTistic Pursuits. Sarah (13) was the one in our family who used this book. A little background on Sarah is that she loves art. Before we moved, she took private art lessons which she absolutely loved. We do not have art lesson options here and she has missed them dreadfully. This book ARTistic Pursuits has fulfilled her longing for more art instruction.

     As evidenced by the pictures above, Sarah eagerly devoured this art book. Wednesdays and Fridays were the two days of the week that Sarah worked through the book. She would take about an hour at a time and read through the book and work on the assignments. It truly is written specifically to the student, she needed no extra help.  She was so inspired by the techniques she was learning that she continued to sketch and work with them after school and in the evenings.

     This book requires the use of certain art supplies. Specifically drawing supplies. These I obtained easily and relatively inexpensively. We live in a very small town and I was able to order the pencils and erasers online and the paper we found in town.

     As this is a high school course, I appreciated the fact that how to evaluate each project and assign an number and letter grade was included. Art is very subjective and this Evaluation sheet was easy to use and I could objectively  evaluate the pieces to see if she completed each assignment. The sheet tells you that if a student enjoys art, they will most likely make A’s and I found this to be true. I also liked the fact that this course is rigorous enough to count for a year of art instruction, or one credit on a transcript. 

Airplane Sketch

Using a variety of techniques learned

by Sarah

 

 

Recommendation:

     As could be surmised, we highly recommend this book. Sarah found the instructions to be clear and well written. She enjoyed the assignments given to her. I liked that the book was written to Sarah. I did not have to explain something I did not quite understand how to do myself. We will definitely be continuing with this curriculum. I am also seriously considering buying one of the elementary books available for two of my other children who are in 3rd and 4th grade.

     The only thing that some families may feel is a drawback could be the art instruction. This is not a book that tells you draw this line first, then add this line and so on to complete a picture. It lets the student decide what they would like to draw and then instructs them in how to achieve the technique. In other words, it teaches “how to think like an artist”.

How to Buy:

     ARTistic Pursuits is available online.Visit their website, Artistic Pursuits, to read more information and how to purchase.  The ARTistic Pursuits curriculum is not only for high school. They have a whole range of art instruction books for every age range from pre-school through high school.

Many other of my crew mates reviewed a wide range of the Artistic Pursuits books. Go to the Crew Blog and read what all the others thought about this art curriculum.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received the ARTistic Pursuits Senior High Book One for free from Artistic Pursuits, Inc. in exchange for my honest review of their product.