This book provides high school students with an in-depth look at the elements of art and composition through a comprehensive text designed to engage them in the creative process as they produce original drawings using graded pencils and charcoal. High school students can begin this book without prior knowledge of art and work independently without the need for parental instruction. The organized content and conversational tone is equally engaging for both the novice and the more experienced art student. Students learn how to see the world like an artist as they are introduced to topics such as space, line, texture, and value. Each unit is crafted for focus on one art element while exploring the topic in four unique ways. Students explore their world in engaging studies designed to strengthen observation skills as they learn about the creative process. The student gains insight about artists and movements in Western art. Art appreciation lessons show how each element is used through the study of art from European masters like Leonardo da Vinci, Durer, Raphael, Tintoretto, and more. Technique and application pages allow skills to develop naturally, as the student works independently. The unique feature of the book is the way students learn from its pages, choose a subject to draw from their own environment, and then easily apply the new information to their own art. Four special assignments show how artists combine elements of art and broaden the student’s experiences with art materials. The book provides content for a full credit with the completion of sixty-eight finished drawings in pencil and charcoal media that are both original and entirely the student’s own. Upon completing the course, students will be prepared for college art-related course with a thorough knowledge of the foundational principles of art. “Encouragement to create a personal work, rather than copy step-by-step instructions, gives students a sense of accomplishment. …extremely user-friendly…The introduction of single elements in each lesson makes this program approachable to beginners yet not overly simplistic for more talented students.” Homeschool Parent – Heidi Pair / Michigan

This book is sure to delight young children with over 185 colorful illustrations and great Master paintings. Lessons capture each child's interests and imagination while introducing the fundamental principles of the visual arts. Parents read a simple ten-minute lesson with their child that includes art appreciation. The topic is pointed out in a full – color work of art by well-known Masters like Rivera, Chagall, De Hooch, Van Gogh and more. This time is followed with a project that allows children to immediately apply their new knowledge of the subject, while creating works of art from their own experiences and observations, making each piece produced personal and unique. The first section covers the activities artists engage in when making art (composing, imagining, looking, etc.,) how to use the materials of an artist (watercolor crayons, pastels, pencil), and the various types of subjects artists work from (landscapes, people, still-life, etc.) Activities broaden children’s awareness of the world they live in. The second section of the book covers the elements that artists use in two-dimensional and three-dimensional work such as shape, form, line, and color. The third section is a comprehensive study of ancient art as children are introduced to different kinds of art that we see such as art in caves, pyramids, cathedrals, and more. This section covers early cave paintings and figurines from Jordon to tapestries and book illumination of the Middle Ages. Children's ideas about art are greatly expanded as they learn how ancient cultures used art. The hands-on projects help them remember what materials the culture used or the major ideas of the culture. This book provides lessons for the completion of thirty-six finished drawings, paintings, and sculptures that are both original and wholly the child’s own. “The instruction is so well-suited to the book’s audience of kindergarten to 3rd graders. Mrs. Ellis uses a conversational style of writing that is so appealing to younger children, yet her curriculum never “talks down” to them nor does it go over their heads!” - Homeschool Parent – Jenny Thompson / Florida

"With its gentle affirmations, inspirational quotes, fill-in-the-blank lists and tasks — write yourself a thank-you letter, describe yourself at 80, for example — The Artist’s Way proposes an egalitarian view of creativity: Everyone’s got it."—The New York Times "Morning Pages have become a household name, a shorthand for unlocking your creative potential"—Vogue Over four million copies sold! Since its first publication, The Artist's Way phenomena has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron's novel approach guides readers in uncovering problems areas and pressure points that may be restricting their creative flow and offers techniques to free up any areas where they might be stuck, opening up opportunities for self-growth and self-discovery. The program begins with Cameron’s most vital tools for creative recovery – The Morning Pages, a daily writing ritual of three pages of stream-of-conscious, and The Artist Date, a dedicated block of time to nurture your inner artist. From there, she shares hundreds of exercises, activities, and prompts to help readers thoroughly explore each chapter. She also offers guidance on starting a “Creative Cluster” of fellow artists who will support you in your creative endeavors. A revolutionary program for personal renewal, The Artist's Way will help get you back on track, rediscover your passions, and take the steps you need to change your life.

A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, this memoir of one woman's later in life career change is “a smart, funny and compelling case for going after your heart's desires, no matter your age” (Essence). Following her retirement from Princeton University, celebrated historian Dr. Nell Irvin Painter surprised everyone in her life by returning to school––in her sixties––to earn a BFA and MFA in painting. In Old in Art School, she travels from her beloved Newark to the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design; finds meaning in the artists she loves, even as she comes to understand how they may be undervalued; and struggles with the unstable balance between the pursuit of art and the inevitable, sometimes painful demands of a life fully lived. How are women and artists seen and judged by their age, looks, and race? What does it mean when someone says, “You will never be an artist”? Who defines what an artist is and all that goes with such an identity, and how are these ideas tied to our shared conceptions of beauty, value, and difference? Bringing to bear incisive insights from two careers, Painter weaves a frank, funny, and often surprising tale of her move from academia to art in this "glorious achievement––bighearted and critical, insightful and entertaining. This book is a cup of courage for everyone who wants to change their lives" (Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage).

Two purposes of this compendium are: (1) to recommend to researchers and funders of research promising lines of inquiry and study suggested by recent, strong studies of the academic and social effects of learning in the arts; and (2) to provide designers of arts education curriculum and instruction with insights found in the research that suggest strategies for deepening the arts learning experiences and are required to achieve the academic and social effects. The compendium is divided into six sections: (1) "Dance" (Summaries: Teaching Cognitive Skill through Dance; The Effects of Creative Dance Instruction on Creative and Critical Thinking of Seventh Grade Female Students in Seoul, Korea; Effects of a Movement Poetry Program on Creativity of Children with Behavioral Disorders; Assessment of High School Students' Creative Thinking Skills; The Impact of Whirlwind's Basic Reading through Dance Programs on First Grade Students' Basic Reading Skills; Art and Community; Motor Imagery and Athletic Expertise; Essay: Informing and Reforming Dance Education Research (K. Bradley)); (2) "Drama" (Summaries: Informing and Reforming Dance Education Research; The Effects of Creative Drama on the Social and Oral Language Skills of Children with Learning Disabilities; The Effectiveness of Creative Drama as an Instructional Strategy To Enhance the Reading Comprehension Skills of Fifth-Grade Remedial Readers; Role of Imaginative Play in Cognitive Development; A Naturalistic Study of the Relationship between Literacy Development and Dramatic Play in Five-Year-Old Children; An Exploration in the Writing of Original Scripts by Inner-City High School Drama Students; A Poetic/Dramatic Approach To Facilitate Oral Communication; Children's Story Comprehension as a Result of Storytelling and Story Dramatization; The Impact of Whirlwind's Reading Comprehension through Drama Program on 4th Grade Students' Reading Skills and Standardized Test Scores; The Effects of Thematic-Fantasy Play Training on the Development of Children's Story Comprehension; Symbolic Functioning and Children's Early Writing; Identifying Casual Elements in the Thematic-Fantasy Play Paradigm; The Effect of Dramatic Play on Children's Generation of Cohesive Text; Strengthening Verbal Skills through the Use of Classroom Drama; 'Stand and Unfold Yourself' A Monograph on the Shakespeare and Company Research Study; Nadie Papers No. 1, Drama, Language and Learning. Reports of the Drama and Language Research Project, Speech and Drama Center, Education Department of Tasmania; The Effects of Role Playing on Written Persuasion; 'You Can't Be Grandma: You're a Boy'; The Flight of Reading; Essay: Research on Drama and Theater in Education (J. Catterall)); (3) "Multi-Arts" (Summaries: Using Art Processes To Enhance Academic Self-Regulation; Learning in and through the Arts; Involvement in the Arts and Success in Secondary School; Involvement in the Arts and Human Development; Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE); The Role of the Fine and Performing Arts in High School Dropout Prevention; Arts Education in Secondary Schools; Living the Arts through Language and Learning; Do Extracurricular Activities Protect against Early School Dropout?; Does Studying the Arts Engender Creative Thinking?; The Arts and Education Reform; Placing A+ in a National Context; The A+ Schools Program; The Arts in the Basic Curriculum Project; Mute Those Claims; Why the Arts Matter in Education Or Just What Do Children Learn When They Create an Opera?; SAT Scores of Students Who Study the Arts; Essay: Promising Signs of Positive Effects: Lessons from the Multi-Arts Studies (R. Horowitz; J. Webb-Dempsey)); (4) "Music" (Summaries: Effects of an Integrated Reading and Music Instructional Approach on Fifth-Grade Students' Reading Achievement, Reading Attitude, Music Achievement, and Music Attitude; The Effect of Early Music Training on Child Cognitive Development; Can Music Be Used To Teach Reading?; The Effects of Three Years of Piano Instruction on Children's Cognitive Development; Enhanced Learning of Proportional Math through Music Training and Spatial-Temporal Training; The Effects of Background Music on Studying; Learning To Make Music Enhances Spatial Reasoning; Listening to Music Enhances Spatial-Temporal Reasoning; An Investigation of the Effects of Music on Two Emotionally Disturbed Students' Writing Motivations and Writing Skills; The Effects of Musical Performance, Rational Emotive Therapy and Vicarious Experience on the Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem of Juvenile Delinquents and Disadvantaged Children; The Effect of the Incorporation of Music Learning into the Second-Language Classroom on the Mutual Reinforcement of Music and Language; Music Training Causes Long-Term Enhancement of Preschool Children's Spatial-Temporal Reasoning; Classroom Keyboard Instruction Improves Kindergarten Children's Spatial-Temporal Performance; A Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Music as Reinforcement for Education/Therapy Objectives; Music and Mathematics; Essay: An Overview of Research on Music and Learning (L. Scripp)); (5) "Visual Arts" (Summaries: Instruction in Visual Art; The Arts, Language, and Knowing; Investigating the Educational Impact and Potential of the Museum of Modern Art's Visual Thinking Curriculum; Reading Is Seeing; Essay: Reflections on Visual Arts Education Studies (T. L. Baker)); and (6) "Overview" (Essay: The Arts and the Transfer of Learning (J. S. Catterall)). (BT)