Charlotte Mason Highschool: Handicrafts

"Creativity is not just for artists. Subjects like design and technology, music, art and drama are vitally important for children to develop imagination and resourcefulness, resilience, problem-solving, team-working and technical skills...These are the skills which will enable young people to navigate the changing workplace of the future and stay ahead of the robots, not exam grades." 

The quote above is from an article written two years ago. In the same article a professor who teaches surgery to medical students said that young people need to have a more rounded education, including creative and artistic subjects, where they learn to use their hands. He has noticed a decline in the manual dexterity (muscle memory) of students over the past decade and that it is a big problem for surgeons who need craftsmanship as well as academic knowledge. Students have become "less competent and less confident" in using their hands.

"We have students who have very high exam grades but lack tactile general knowledge."

Handiwork is just as important in the highschool years as it is with younger children. The beauty of working with the hands, whether it be woodwork, felting, patchwork, metal work, or any other type of material, is that it provides a respite for mental work and acts as a pressure release valve for the person whose time is mostly spent studying. It brings balance by working with an entirely different set of skills.

A young person of highschool age also has a wider range of handiwork available to them. They are capable of using tools that a younger child would find difficult to handle and they have a greater awareness of the safety issues involved (hopefully!). There are also more options for lessons. 

Last weekend Hails attended an all day adult workshop on drypoint printing, a form of Intaglio printing. The teacher was quite happy to include her in the group even though she's only 15 years old after I'd chatted to her. The class was a small group of five students she enjoyed the workshop so much that we've registered her for another class on Mosaics early next year. I asked her to do a written narration on the drypoint technique and this is what she wrote: 

Drypoint is a print making technique. By a print I mean an artwork that has gone through a printing press. The materials used in drypoint are a piece of acetate and a special needle with a very sharp, tiny point. Usually a reference image is printed out and placed under the acetate, then the artist traces the image onto the plate with the needle. It makes a very annoying, squeaky sound, as the needle is actually scratching into the acetate. A special drypoint ink is scraped over the top of the plate, forcing the ink into the cuts. Then the ink on the surface is rubbed off and you can see the image start to show up, as the ink is in all the scratches. Then both sides of the acetate are rubbed again to remove any excess ink, and it’s ready to print. The printing press is basically a machine with a large steel roller in the middle to force the ink down onto the paper which sits on a large printing plate underneath the roller. The acetate is placed cut side up on the printing plate, and a piece of paper that has been soaked in water is placed on top. Then three layers of thick, felt-like material is put on top of the printing plate, and it’s time to roll it through. Printing presses have a lever on the side to roll the plate underneath the roller and out the other side. Sometimes the acetate has to be rolled through a second time because not enough ink has been pressed onto the paper. 

When the image has fully transferred to the paper, you take it off the printing press and leave it to dry. Usually you have to make a few copies of the image before it turns out to your satisfaction, because if you leave too much ink on the plate, the image will be smudged, and if you don’t leave enough, the image is too light. 

The composition of the image or drawing is also important. As mentioned before, the image is usually traced onto the acetate, but it can also be drawn freehand. That is probably not wise unless you’ve been doing it for a while, because every scratch you make is going to show up on the image, and if you make a mistake, it’s very obvious.

After experimenting and trying to get the right balance of ink etc., she chose the picture above to frame. 

The workshop also included Lino (relief) printing which is quite different. There's a good explanation of Lino Printing here. 

Charlotte Mason recognised the importance of manual dexterity. Her method stresses relationships; that children need living books and 'things' - handiwork, manual skills, nature walks...and so the teaching and practice of handicrafts should be continued all the way through highschool.

'...we know that the human hand is a wonderful and exquisite instrument to be used in a hundred movements exacting delicacy, direction and force; every such movement is a cause of joy as it leads to the pleasure of execution and the triumph of success. We begin to understand this and make some efforts to train the young in the deft handling of tools and the practice of handicrafts.' - A Philosophy of Education.

A Charlotte Mason Picture Study Resource

Here is Part 2 of the Australian Artist Picture Study featuring the work of Tom Roberts. I've concentrated mostly on his portraits this time. For a short biography of his life see Part 1.
Download the PDF for Part 2 here. I hope you find this helpful and if you find any errors or have difficulty downloading it please let me know.

‘By making art the perfect expression of one time and one place, it becomes art for all time

 and of all places.’

Tom Roberts (1856-1931)

Mother Culture: Interior Riches

Interior Riches
I happened upon this fetching little phrase in the second chapter of Elizabeth Goudge’s book, The Rosemary Tree, and immediately thought how well it matched the idea of Mother Culture. (If you are unfamiliar with the idea of Mother Culture, the concept is explained in this article at AmblesideOnline's Parent's Review Archives.)

'...out of chance phrases and flashes of beauty (Michael) had always in old days been able to build for himself his country of escape. “Rest and ease, a convenient place, pleasant fields and groves, murmuring springs, and a sweet repose of mind.” Cervantes had known the same country, and had doubtless retained the power to create it even in the midst of misery, so great were his own interior riches.
But Michael’s imagination had always been dependent upon exterior bounty, and cut off from that he had been cut off from his country too.'

The Rosemary Tree by Elizabeth Goudge

 

Goudge’s character, Michael Stone, has an aura of mystery about him as well as a great affection for Don Quixote.
It’s been said that the inspiration for Miguel Cervantes’ character, Don Quixote, came to him while he was in prison and Michael believed that thinking of the great Cervantes and his suffering helped to keep him sane at times.
Cervantes had a great store of interior riches that he drew upon during his miserable and inhumane imprisonment by Ottoman pirates, whereas Michael was reliant upon external sources, and once they were removed, his imagination was unable to give him a place of rest; to take him to his country of escape. He did not have to power to create a sweet repose of mind, a pleasant place, because he had never made the effort to store up interior riches.

Last year I lost myself in one of the most inspirational autobiographies I’ve ever read: Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng, a woman, who in her early fifties, who was locked up in solitary confinement for six and a half years during the Cultural Revolution. During those years she drew upon her interior riches: Poetry and Psalms she had memorised; the intellectual culture of thinking and remembering she had practised throughout her life while she was still free; not to mention the physical disciplines she made herself undergo to keep her body from total deterioration while enduring the effects of starvation in prison.

Interior riches. We never know when we may be left without external resources to sustain our souls but what we have made a part of us can’t be taken away.

•    Scripture memory
•    Beautiful art work stored in the mind
•    Intellectual & aesthetic culture
•    The discipline of reading, thinking, & remembering
•    Inspiring music
•    History
•    Nature appreciation


Mother Culture: filling my soul with Interior Riches for the present, and to draw upon in the future.

Books for Lovers of Ballet

We went to see a live performance of Giselle on the weekend. My knowledge of this particular ballet was rather sketchy but Moozle gave me a general synopsis as we were driving to the theatre. She's read a few books over the years that have given her a good general knowledge of dance in general and classical ballet in particular, so I thought I'd share some of them here for those of you who have children who are interested or are interested in expanding your own knowledge.
A ballet performance can be very bewildering if you have no idea of the story and although the ballet itself is charming, it won't be fully enjoyed if the storyline is obscured. Looking through the brief synopsis provided on the theatre programme is helpful to a certain extent, but these stories are fairly complex tales and a child won't pick up much of the detail with a only a cursory overview just before the performance.
This is where stories of the individual ballets are so helpful, and not just for chlidren. They allow you to really know the storyline and to understand the pantomine with its various expressions that the dancers use to demonstrate emotions or events, such as a broken heart. There are so many details and quick action in a live peformance and time spent poring over a story before its actual performance helps in the appreciation, and therefore the pleasure, once you are there.

Dance Me a Story by Jane Rosenberg - this is a collection of twelve titles from classical ballet in story form and includes Cinderella, Coppelia, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. Giselle, for example takes up eleven pages, two of those pages are watercolour illustrations of scenes from the ballet and the story is divided into two acts.

This book is delightfully illustrated by Merrill Ashley and complements the authors' text, which together help to clarify the mysterious elements of the different ballets. Inclusions of dialogue shed light on the pantomine and descriptions of the music assist in creating the atmosphere behind the ballet. A great book for around ages 10 years and up. 128 pages.

A Child's Introduction to Ballet by Laura Lee

This book is a light-hearted look at the history of ballet, its most famous dancers, composers and choreographers, plus stories of various ballets. It covers twenty ballets but only in about two to three pages and not the same depth as the above book. The book comes with a CD that includes selections of music from some of the ballets and instructions on when to play certain pieces that match up with the stories. Suitable for around ages 8 to 12 years.

Ballet Class

This is a simple colouring-in book that Moozle loved when she was about seven or thereabouts...

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild (1895-1986)

Noel Streatfeild had a background in the Dramatic Arts and wrote a number of books for children that reflected her interest in this area. Ballet Shoes, written in 1936, was an immediate best seller and continues to be popular with children. It is the story of three children adopted by an eccentric explorer who join the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. My girls loved her books around the age of 9 years.

Young Person's Guide to the Ballet by Noel Streatfeild (1976)

This is out of print but available at reasonable prices secondhand. A dance teacher explains ballet techniques to her young pupils and includes in the lessons the history of ballet, stories of the great dancers, and discussions of famous ballets.
This is a black and white, no frills book, but it has plenty to interest a young person who loves ballet. One of my girls' favourite books on ballet. 112 pages; illustrated.

These are some of our favourites. How about you? Any recommendations?

Art Appreciation & Picture Study

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a series of art appreciation books written by Richard Muhlberger that we've used for upper primary and the highschool years. Sometimes I've read portions aloud to everyone or they've read them individually. Each book is about 50 pages in length and explores how a particular artist differs from another and gives clues to identifying an artist's work. I appreciate that the author doesn't over-analyze the artist's work but gives enough insight and information to help the observer develop their 'seeing' skills. About 12 paintings are studied in each book and one of our favourites in the series is, What Makes a Raphael A Raphael?
Other artists presented in the series are Monet, Bruegel, Degas, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, Mary Cassatt & Goya. They are mostly out of print but there are loads of secondhand copies at Amazon and Abebooks.

A short overview of the defining features of each artist's work is included at the end of each book:

 

Artist of the Reformation, The Story of Albrecht Durer by Joyce McPherson. The book is written on a 5th to 6th grade level and is a good family read aloud - as with other books  by this author, they are well suited to a mix of ages. Durer (1471-1528) was one of the foremost intellectuals and artists of his day.

'For verily, art is embedded in nature; he who can extract it has it.' 

 Albrecht Durer

Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork; Illustrated by Lena Anderson. A lovely introduction to the artist that is suitable to read with multiple ages around 10 years old and under or for a confident reader to read on their own. I read it aloud a number of years ago and then Moozle read it for herself when she was eight. Linnae goes to Paris and visits Monet's garden and tells about his life. Very nicely illustrated. See inside the book  here.

Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin by Marguerite Henry is a lovely book about the young Quaker boy, Benjamin West, and the extraordinary gift he had. I wrote about it here. A wonderful read aloud and a great insight into the development of a God-given artistic ability. 

Books by James Mayhew - for a younger age group, these are picture books with a short story that help to get young children interested in an artist's works.

Katie and the Spanish Princess 

Katie visits the art gallery with her Grandma and steps into the paintings and meets the people portrayed by the artists Velazquez, Goya, and Murillo. Moozle liked them when she was about 4 or 5.

Katie and the Sunflowers (Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cezanne) is another in the series.

Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists by Mike Venezia.

This is a series of books on various artists that were much loved in our home around the ages of 6 to 8 years. They include interesting information and pictures of some of the more famous paintings by the individual artists. The inclusion of some quirky humour and cartoons make it a very enjoyable read for younger children.

The Great Art Scandal by Anna Nilsen 

'A detection game, a mystery story and a reference book - all in one!'
This is a great book especially for children around the age of 10 years of age who like puzzles.The  reader gets an introduction to 30 modern artists and has to find a rogue painting by comparing the paintings in an exhibition with the masterpieces that inspired them. Very well done.

Art Fraud Detective is another similar book by the same author with paintings by the old masters such as Rembrandt and Raphael. Surreptitious art appreciation...

 I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino is a Newberry Medal novel set in the  seventeenth century. Juan de Pareja was the slave of the Spanish painter Diego Velazquez. The only off-putting part of the book was towards the end (Chapter 12) when Juan had his fortune told, otherwise the book gives a feel for the time period and is a good introduction to spark interest in the artist's work.  There's also an audio version but my children didn't enjoy listening to the narrator although I know another family who did...

I've previously mentioned this series of art books published by Phaidon Press which I found earlier this year at the National Art Gallery. Bookdepository have a good selection at the same or slightly reduced prices so I ordered the one below from there. If you are using the Ambleside Online art rotation, these books have excellent, good-sized reproductions of many of the art works AO recommend.
 

 



I was very happy to find Harmony Fine Arts when Moozle was about the age of six because it gave me a structured way to include not just art appreciation but also some art instruction. Two of my girls have been more interested in drawing, painting etc than the others and Moozle's older sister had used some of the Artistic Pursuits material. It wasn't really a good fit for her younger sister so I decided to use this material instead and purchased Grade 1 in the print edition but it also comes as a download.  It includes 32 Weeks of Plans – 8 artists and 8 composers so I decided to follow the composers also. There's a sample lesson here.
We both really enjoyed the year we had with this. The Oxford First Book of Art and The Usborne Art Treasury were two of the options we used and they were both very good.
 

At the same time I used the Medieval and Renaissance Art & Music with her three older brothers as we were covering that historical period at the time. This was very enjoyable also but it didn't have the practical art component of the Grade 1 material, not that the boys minded. The author may have made some changes to her materials as it was about five years ago that I purchased my copies. If you have a younger child who enjoys art and you want a simple, non-overwhelming plan to help you be consistent in giving them some instruction, I'd recommend the Grade 1 programme.
Harmony Fine Arts also has some free downloads.

 
Some practical ideas for art appreciation and art in general:

How to make tempera paint

Basic Art Supplies for Kids

This is an interesting article on nudity in art from a Christian perspective.

How to Teach Pastels at Home - we haven't used any of these ideas yet but Moozle has done some work in pastels and is keen to do more so I'll be checking this out soon.