Susan SchwakeCritiques

Such a great book to artistically inspire toddlers to teens. The author encourages freedom of expression from a young age utilizing various methods and mediums. With an easily attainable list of supplies, many already found in your home, you can create a temporary space or a permanent art studio for your child's creations. Plain English explanations means that everyone can understand the instructions while learning about different styles and techniques. This book belongs in every home library for rainy days or any day that inspiration strikes.

art projects for preschoolers/Preschool STEAM. Some of these require a bit more planning (and cleanup!) than others, but a good variety of projects incorporating different media.

art explorations for kids (and grownups). These are more about process than product, more about learning techniques and experimenting than anything else--great for low-pressure activities to encourage kids' creativity and experimental thinking. Many of the activities will require specific art supplies/materials, but they all look like they would produce charming artwork from even the lesser talented individuals.

Art Lab for Kids: Express Yourself by Susan Schwake has five different chapters, focusing on different tools and mediums. Most projects are easy to carry out. My cubs and I worked through the book together. They chose several experiments that they found unusual or interesting, and several that they really enjoyed:

Weird experiments include:
Blind portraits, where you keep your gaze completely focusing in a partner while you draw them. The results are quite interesting.
Stripes and lines, where you paint a composite of just thin lines and fat stripes.
Big rolling prints, that teaches you how to use big round plastic jugs to make jumbo printing presses.
Wire wonders, where you get to make funky wire sculptures.
Colourful beasts invites artists to sketch out their favorite animals, and fill in the shape with colourful strips of paper.

Fun experiments include:
Night creatures, where you draw a night creature out, then paint it with water colours.
Colour pops, where you lay down a colour background and overlay with black/grey foreground.
Texture plates, involved in learning to use different textures in your projects
All that Glitters, where glitter is the name of the game
Two in one weaving teaches a unique method of weaving

A great book for sparking creativity, and get kids interested in art. Perfect for classroom projects!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a book I'd very-much like to add to the shelves at my school library. Like its title suggests, Art Lab for Kids: Express Yourself! presents a series of "Labs," or projects, in a variety of artistic endeavors: drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, and paper-based. Each project includes a materials list, a description or prompt, and step-by-step instructions. From its introduction, the book seems written with adults in mind, e.g. parents or educators, who would assemble an artistic space and offer the projects as lessons -- but the way the projects themselves are presented, I think that older children could also explore them independently. (Some techniques, like using a cutting tool, are meant to be performed under adult supervision.)

Last year I worked at a before/after school program and the kids just loved doing art projects. I got so many good ideas from this book. The open ended projects allowed for creative exploration and were great for the wide range of ages that I worked with.

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