November 25th, 2009 by admin

Soldiers returning home from Iraq or Afghanistan have seen some unimaginable things. Although many of these young men and women are returning to their hometowns to heroes’ welcomes, under the glory and celebration are painful memories of the horrors of war. Places like the Abu Ghraib prison are not part of most United States citizens’ memories, but these horrible places may be memories keeping our returning soldiers up at night. We need to recognize that our countries newest veterans have young and impressionable minds that will need help readjusting to their once familiar neighborhoods. Many types of therapies are used to help returning soldiers, but an easy therapy that is relatively inexpensive to initiate is to use clay.

People who create sculptures have the ability to build something, make something new. This is the exact opposite of the soldier in battle who is destroying the environment and the enemies around him or her. Sculpting allows the returning soldier the chance to be a creator. Plus, he or she can use detail tools like glaze chalk to add color to his or her creation. Creatively bringing a figure of beauty and color into the world can be extremely therapeutic.

Local communities might tie into their American Legions and Veterans of Foreign Wars to help create ceramic art centers for returning soldiers. Local art teachers might be willing to donate time and things like clay making lesson plans to bring a therapeutic art program together. The bonus is that the community receives the joy of working together to help their beloved returning heroes.

Some of the returning soldiers may feel so comfortable with the ceramic arts that it could lead to a new hobby, or even career. Those interested in ceramic art education will find that many art schools are very willing to work with former soldiers, and money through the Armed Forces (G.I. Bill) will be helpful in fulfilling a new artist’s dream.

We must do what we can for our returning soldiers. Ceramic art therapy at the local level could be an excellent way to help soldiers readjust to their hometowns. AMACO thanks all who protect the people of America. Civic leaders looking to help returning veterans with ceramic art education will find useful information on AMACO’s website. Detailed information on glaze chalk or clay making lesson plans are available. AMACO is proud to help local communities help their returning soldiers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alice_Lane

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October 29th, 2009 by admin

During the 1960’s and 1970’s the majority of public schools in the United States had regular music and art programs as part of their curriculum. Art teachers and music teachers were employed by the schools and children as young as Kindergarten received instruction in both music and art.

Every week, children would have singing lessons, be introduced to instruments, and learned about the great composers. Art instruction included using mediums such as watercolor, charcoal, and tempura paints, as well as art history lessons and exposure to artists from across the centuries. Children were provided with all the materials they would need, and musical instruments were rented to families who did not have their own, for a nominal fee.

At some point in time around the early 1980’s, music and art instruction in the public schools came to an end. Budget cuts were blamed and schools were left scrambling to find the money to continue their art and music programs in the schools. Art and music teachers were not rehired and classroom teachers attempted to take over. Much of what they taught was based on what they had learned from the professional art and music teachers in years past. Schools in more affluent area were able to carry on with their programs, in large part because of the donations of time and supplies made by their parents who could financially sustain them.

During the 1990’s they was a resurgence of music and art programs due to the efforts of the large artistic and musical communities who saw the need for this type of instruction in the public schools. Movies like Mr. Holland’s Opus opened our eyes to the need for these programs by our young people.

Do music and art programs in the schools really help our children learn academic subjects more easily? Music is associated with mathematics, patterns, and memory function. Art stimulates a part of the brain that has been linked to writing proficiency. Music and art programs do add to our children’s academic progress and should be a regular part of their school curriculum.

Connie Ragen Green is a motivational speaker and author. Visit her at http://www.ReinventYourLifeWithPassion.com

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October 25th, 2009 by admin

My guess, we’re all hard-wired to be creative.

I don’t mean we all have the latent capacity to be the next Picasso or Haydn… rather a biological need to balance our brain. And creativity is the portal.

I’ve been an artist all my life. Besides my freelance projects I spent years teaching art history and graphic design to middle-graders.

To my astonishment, I noticed there seems to be a symbiotic relationship between forms of art and the activities of kids. Take, for example, the fact that Lynn Swann studied ballet as a kid. Surprised? Well, to see him on the football field should leave no doubt…balance, rhythm, leaping, timing. I noticed that students of mine who were Little League baseball pitchers were most often predisposed to be artistic. Kinda makes sense. A pitcher must develop awareness of perspective and the relationship of objects in space, not to mention cadence and timing (so valuable to musicians and dancers).

These are just observations. But in this digital world where we seem to be straining the right side of our brains to the max I wonder about the left side, the creative side. The benefits may be subtle but who knows how many Lynn Swanns there may have been had a kid gone to ballet classes?

Just some brainfood to munch on.

Suggestions:

Check out your local museums for children’s art tours and weekend art programs just for kids. Also, your community college may offer summer art and crafts classes for kids. Your local library often offers art activities for kids and art fairs are great fun.

Patricia Gresham is a free-lance commercial artist and graphic designer, author and educator, wife, mother and grandmother. She is currently the publisher of the family website DoodleDuds Depot

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September 25th, 2009 by admin

Anyone who has ever had a child come home from an art class for kids and excitedly present their latest masterpiece has or is struggling with this dilemma. Knowing the great care and effort they put into each stroke of the pencil or paintbrush, it can be extremely difficult on both of you when you are forced to deal with the growing piles of work.

You don’t want to make your child feel like their work is unappreciated and you want to remember the fun and growth they had via their children’s art education, but there is only so much you can keep. Did you know that there are several ways for parents to deal with the artwork while still making your kids happy?

Selection

Deciding what to keep from a children’s art education and what to toss can be difficult. Many parents eliminate quick scribbles quickly to control the speed at which these items can multiply. Others sit with their child once a month or quarterly and choose one or two pieces created at an art class for kids to keep and toss the others. Other parents will keep only items that demonstrate a new skill or represent an important moment in their life.

Once the keepers have been selected, there are a few systems to keep these works organized. Large envelopes, scrapbooks, or file folders are a common choice. Plastic containers or boxes work well. For truly priceless items, wrap them in acid free paper to preserve them as best you can. For the really special ones, buy old pictures from a yard sale or inexpensive ones from a craft store and display them for the world to see. A shadow box works great for the cotton-ball-and-cereal-covered items that are beautiful, but oh so hard to store safely.

Digital And Printed Methods

Children’s art education has one benefit today that it didn’t have several years ago thanks to technological advances. When a child comes home from an art class for kids, take a picture or scan their new creations. You can save these images onto a disc preserving them in perfect condition for years to come. Some parents use these to work with their kids to make personalized calendars. Some companies will also do this for you in addition to offering several other printable products, such as mugs or plates. Other companies will print the images into a bound book that you can keep for yourself and even order extra copies to give to friends and relatives.

Share The Wealth

For grandmothers, grandfathers, and other proud relatives who live a great distance away, items from a children’s art education are often missed causing them to lose out on this part of your son or daughter’s life. You can collect the items from an art class for kids and ship them on a weekly or monthly basis to family members so that they can enjoy their artwork as much as the kids do. For the largest paintings and drawings, use them to wrap presents for a personal touch.

As much as a children’s art education can produce an intense sense of pride and important memories, it can also create a vexing problem for parents. With a few helpful hints, you can make you and your child happy by being creative when preserving these irreplaceable pieces. The entire family can enjoy an art class for kids for a long time after the class is over.

Christine O’Kelly is an author for Young Rembrandts, an experienced provider of children’s art education. In an art class for kids, your children have the opportunity to work with a variety of mediums in order to explore their creativity.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_A._Harmen