I have heard more than a few times, that many schools are cutting way back on their art programs. That always made me happy that we homeschool, because we have all the say on what goes into our curriculum. Sadly, I must admit that when our schedule gets crazy, as schedules sometimes do, art is what gets pushed out of the school day. I never would have thought that could happen in our household because I love art. Painting, sculpting, drawing, just creating, is something that I love. Art was a major for me in college. As a preschool teacher, it was the most important part of my class' school day. I love to get lost in a project. It may sound weird, but the smell of paint, the beautiful rich colors, the feel of clay, the moment when I find a composition that is simply...right, the process relaxes me. Yet, it has often been neglected.
All of that being the case, this latest review could not have arrived at a better time. My 14 year old and I were stalking the mailbox as we waited for Master Kitz The Starry Night from Kidzaw.com . This fun little kit has everything you need to create a personalized version of the famous painting from Vincent Van Gogh. What a fantastic, hands on way to learn about the masters of art! As our Homeschool Review Crew wraps up within a few weeks, this is a very nice way to end the cruise.
What's included in the kit?
- Reusable Artist's Tool Box
- Three Custom Paint Colors
- Custom Van Gogh Roller
- Sponge Roller
- Five Artist Quality Oil Pastels
- Two Pieces of Deluxe Art Paper (16" x 20")
- Composition Stencil
- Star Mask Sticker Sheet
- Van Gogh Learning Materials
- Easy to follow Instructions
It is very easy to complete, from start to finish. You will definitely want to prepare an area before painting, because you will get painty! The only extra items required for this project are, a hard surface to tape the art paper to - we used cardboard, tape that peels off easily, and paper plates or a palette for the paint.
The beauty of Master Kitz is that it combines the hands on fun of an art project, with the history behind the artist and in this case, his painting. Inside this kit is a sheet that features a simple summary of the life of Vincent Van Gogh. You might choose to use this project to enhance a study on Van Gogh, or famous paintings. You might also do this just for fun, which is what we did. When you open up the summary sheet, you'll find the easy to follow instructions inside that will help you recreate a beautiful print of The Starry Night. Let me show you the steps in pictures.
The Summary Sheet. Use this as a quick history lesson, or as a jumping off point.
The summary sheet opens up to reveal the instructions.
Tape your paper to a sturdy, hard surface. We used a piece of cardboard. We used painter's tape, but it was actually too easy to peel off, so we secured it with regular scotch tape.
Affix the star stickers wherever you like. You'll peel them off after painting over them.
Pour some paint on your plate...
Roll that paint all over your paper.
Peel off the star stickers.
Put the stencil over the paper, tape it on, and paint black paint over the open spaces to create the buildings.
Remove the stencil, and you are ready to personalize!
Add your personal details to make this picture your very special creation.
Beautiful!
This is a fun, easy to complete project, suitable for, as the kit states, ages 5-105. Younger kids will need help with certain steps. The design of the toolbox that all of the materials come in, cause the paper and stencils to be rolled up. This does create a challenge in getting them to stay flat. I pressed the papers under heavy books overnight, but they still curled up a bit. Make sure your tape sticks well enough to keep everything flat, but not so much that it rips the paper when removing it. This kit says that it makes two projects, but we found that the star stickers stuck so well that they pulled some of the paper off, and could not be used again. Likewise, the stencil could probably be wiped off after painting, but it is fairly thin, so it could be tricky. So, we only made one print. Other than those very minor details, we really did enjoy the process of creating this project, and would work with other kits like these. What a wonderful, fun, and educational activity. Click the links below, and order a kit today!
No comments:
Post a Comment