Announcing a series of published art lessons for children

By Elspeth Young



"Color Theory With Crayons" in Vol 13 No 5 of The Storybook Home Journal (A Mississippi Summer) presents four projects to open children's eyes to the world and uses of color.  Two art projects help children apply what they learn from artworks--conceptually advanced enough to exercise even a professional artist, yet simple enough to finish before a brief attention span begins to wane. The lesson is available for $5, plus shipping and handling.



Step-by-step instructions are illustrated with process photographs. Selected drawings from my own childhood are also featured.



I have long wished to create an art curriculum for little ones, using the tools and tastes of childhood. I remember my own inclinations as a young one--a love of bright colors, the smell of a new box of crayons, the intimidation of charcoals, and a keen desire to create as quickly as possible.



Adapted to the innate ability of a child, this first installment is the beginning of a mini course for beginning artists, using nothing but crayons and paper (and the odd glue stick or two). Each lesson seeks to teach principles and practice without the encumbrance of artistic idioms and free from right-or-wrong-style methodologies.



The second installment, teaching beginning sketching skills, is scheduled to appear in Volume 14 No 2 of The Storybook Home Journal (Northanger Abbey).