Best of the Best Michelangelo

Here's my second, longer video on Michelangelo that goes into more depth on what I believe to be his 5 best artworks. Watch and then let me know if you agree! What would you choose instead?

5 - _____________________ - Why is it so significant (2 reasons)?
4 - _____________________ - How was it made? How big is he?
3 - _____________________ - Why is his head so big?
2 - _____________________ - Why was it so difficult to paint? How long did it take?
1 - _____________________ - Why does it need to be protected?

Bonus questions:
What is mannerism?
What did Michelangelo think of "constructive criticism?"
Why do you need to know the rules of art?
Did Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel lying on his back?

More biographical info:
-For elementary aged kids try here
-For more, including a cool interactive panaromic view of the ceiling, try here or here
-Khan Academy's section on Michelangelo can be found here

Michelangelo in the News:
-For an in-depth article on The David and his weak ankles, try here
-Leonardo or Michelangelo: Who is the Greatest? (it would be great to follow-up this article with one of your own answering the same question!)
-For more about the attack on La Pieta, read here

Videos to watch:
-Mati and Dada's animated short story on Michelangelo
-Artrageous' fun, in-depth look into the difficulty of painting the Sistine Chapel
-Crash Course's look into whether the Renaissance was really a thing

Happy Birthday Jackson Pollock!

Jackson Pollock was born in 1912, so he would be enjoying his early hundreds if he was still around today. Sadly he died back in 1956. I must be getting old because I look at those numbers and think he sure was awfully young to go. He only got about 20 years to share his ground-breaking art with the world, and that includes his years as a student. The best part, and the bit that makes him the most fun for kids to emulate, is that he combined the act of painting, the movement, with the painting itself. 

You could say he was involved with his paintings. :) He said, "On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting."

That resonates on a very basic level. In fact, for toddlers and young children, the act of moving the crayon across the page is more important than the finished product. But for most of us, that changes as we get older. My daughter had SO much fun dancing as she literally flung paint around from the bottom of her brush. Anyway, you could read a short biography on him here.

For the project, I had bought massive rolls of paper, because if we're going to do this, we were going to do it right! He painted on enormous canvases, so we should too :) (if you used chalk paint or anything that washes off easier than the leftover house paints we used, you could even have your whole driveway be your canvas!!) With the older kids, we started out taking a survey. I asked them on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being not important at all and 10 being essential, how important different things are to art. Or in other words, how important are these things to making a piece "good" or not. I listed off a bunch of things like the art is beautiful, the art has a political purpose, the art is in a museum, the art was done by a famous artist, the art has good lines, the art looks realistic, the art is impressively big, this kind of art has never been done before, the art took skill to make, the art makes you think, the art tells a story, etc. We read "Action Jackson," and watched this short video of the artist himself working. So cool to see the real artist in action! I asked them each to point out something they'd noticed about his style or techniques. They couldn't wait to get started! I gave them the option of collaborating on a really huge sheet, or doing their own smaller work.

Darn North Dakota wind caused some problems, but overall it was a hit! And they turned out pretty impressive too! Oh and my bathroom looked like a color wheel had exploded in it. Make sure you have access to LOTS of soap and water if you give this a try. And a press washer for your driveway. Tee hee. Oh and if at all possible, do your best to discourage intentional paint flinging at fellow students, but I wouldn't mention it if they haven't started on their own. Better not to give them ideas! Ha!

To see examples of students' work, check out my original post here. And have fun!!

Guess Who in Two #2

I'm super excited to introduce you to our new mystery artist. But he or she really needs no further introduction, since it's all in the video anyway. Let me know if you guessed it!

What was your favorite fact about our mystery artist? 

For additional and current information, check out these articles:

"David's Ankles: How Imperfections Could Bring Down the World's Most Perfect Statue"

"Leonardo or ___________: Who is the Greatest?"

"The Hidden Meaning of _________'s Creation of Adam"

"Art and Symbolism: The Creation of Adam"

Also, I definitely recommend the book "______________ and the Pope's Ceiling" for serious students. Not a quick read by any means but FASCINATING details about the artist, his methods, the times, the Catholic Church, and anything else at all possibly related. Lots of stuff I haven't found anywhere else.

Best of the Best: Leonardo da Vinci

Here's my second, longer video on Leonardo da Vinci that goes into more depth on what I believe to be his 5 best artworks. Watch and then let me know if you agree! What would you choose instead? 

For notebooking pages that accompany the "Best of the Best: Leonardo da Vinci" video, click HERE.

But that doesn't have to be the end!

"Art is never finished, only abandoned"

If your learning about Leonardo da Vinci isn't finished yet either, I've compiled lists of places you and your kids can go to read or watch more.

More biographical info:
-For elementary age kids try here
-For focus on his scientific interests try here
-53 interesting facts here

For a whole unit worth of at-home study and activities, "Leonardo da Vinci for kids: His Life and Ideas" is awesome. Buy it here.

For reading about Leonardo in the news:
-Scientists Reveal Cause of Red Spots Ruining Leonardo Da Vinci's Self-Portrait
-Lost Leonardo Da Vinci Painting Found in the Swiss Bank Vault
-An Art World Mystery Worth of Leonardo

Videos to watch:
-Animation about Leonardo and his flying machine
-10 Worst things to happen to the Mona Lisa
-Interested in how science helps solve art mysteries? Watch here
-If you read "The Da Vinci Code" and have some time, watch this documentary to learn the truth

Guess Who in Two: 1

Here is my very first "Guess Who in Two" video! It's my new series where I try to stuff as much information into 2ish minutes while hopefully making it into a fun guessing game. Because art history doesn't have to be boring (despite my personal experiences in college in a dark sleepy room with a slideshow and a monotone voice droning over the microphone)! And there's so many great gems we can learn from these artistic geniuses. I'm having fun making the videos, and hope they're just the beginning of my many ideas coming to fruition. Enjoy and let me know if you have any feedback! Thanks!

And click HERE for a downloadable notebooking page to go along with it!