Monday, May 13, 2013

Artist Study: Degas

Our most recent Artist Study was on Edgar Degas.

 We read through the Getting to Know biography (and watched the DVD version since it was a little different) and just used parts from Edgar Degas: Paintings that Dance.

 One week we read Degas and the Little Dancer, which tells the story of his famous statue.  We also read Marie in Fourth Position which is the same story, but we enjoyed the Anholt book more.

 I recently bought this book that has projects to go along with all of his artist books.  I wish I had gotten it earlier to use with Jack, but I will use it with Alice when she's older.

 I really enjoy this series, but they are a little more detailed than I want for just sitting down and reading straight through with the kids.  I usually pick a few pages that deal with a specific piece we're looking at.

Even though Alice is going to be learning about these artists again when she's older it's nice to find some art books for little kids so she can really enjoy it now!

 In the Anholt book we read about how Degas used all kinds of odds and ends to make the skeletons of his statues.  We tried our own using pipe cleaners, which I hot glued to their bases.

 We covered the pipe cleaner with model magic and then painted it.  Alice's isn't pictured here because I'm still trying to figure out how to make it stand up again.   Model magic is lightweight, but it is still heavy enough that her dancer won't stand on its own.

We also tried this project from Dream, Draw, Create.  I think they turned out nicely!

 Alice did this all by herself!

We tied in some Oklahoma history by reading about Maria Tallchief and visiting her statue, too!

We're finishing up the school year with Mary Cassatt!

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