For those interested in seeing Europe without the constant, hectic bustle of tourism, relaxing cruises on the Rhine River have proven to be a hit. In addition to a never-ending opportunity to learn to speak German, here is a list of several fun activities to partake in during a Rhine River cruise: Allstate: This town includes a medieval castle, a parish church dating to 1794, a historical museum, and numerous delicious restaurants. Glattfelden: Situated on the River Glatt just above its junction with the Rhine, this town is the hometown of Swiss writer Gottfried Keller and is frequently referred to in his novel “Der grüne Heinrich.” Over an old stone bridge is the nearby old town of Eglisau. Rheinfelden: A little town of 7,000 inhabitants situated on the left bank of the river, Rheinfelden is home to a popular salt-water spa, ancient walls and towers, the Fricktaler Museum, and St. Martin’s Church, which dates back to the 15th century. German Beer: Germans produce the best beer in th...
It is often difficult for many children to come up with ideas for art projects. While there is certainly no wrong style of art, we often see children, when left to their own devices, creating drawings of images with which they are quite familiar, such as a local park, a favorite pet or a family portrait. To further enhance your child's creativity, show them the works of famous artists and a range of styles that will inspire them to think outside the box.
For many kids, it is easiest for them to draw, paint and color pictures that are fairly realistic, but it can be fun to introduce them to familiar scenes painted in less realistic ways. Impressionism and Post-Impressionism are two styles of art that look somewhat realistic yet are somewhat different. You can show your child how to mimic the brush strokes of an artist such as Seurat or even download a printable mural of one of his works from a website like ArtProjectsForKids.org. This site breaks down famous works of art into manageable sections which you color and then reposition like a puzzle, and you end up with a work of art very similar yet different from the original. Other artists to consider include Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
Surrealism is another painting style that can provide a great deal of inspiration to children. For example, you can easily center an art project around the works of Joan Miro or Salvador Dali. Share with children that this style of art is very much like a dream, and the artists of this style hope to alter the way people look at things. One fun project would include looking at the works of Rene Magritte, who is famous for his paintings of business men with an apple instead of a face. Have children draw a body and then instead of a face, they can add an apple or any type of fruit or food. For Joan Miro, consider having children draw a picture of a person or animal using only circles, straight lines and stars, and then filling in the shapes and sections in vivid colors.
The style of art known as abstract is a wonderful option for children as it allows them to create with color but not have to worry about any real structure or form. To begin an abstract project, show them the pictures of Sonia Delauney or Jackson Pollack. For Delauney, consider creating a project based around colorful circles. For Pollack, dive in and get messy, splashing or dripping paint onto a blank canvas or even using your fingers for part of the painting. You can even paint the paper first in one solid color and then splash on a variety of colors.
Art is truly all around us and just about any object can be a great art subject, from the can of soda in the refrigerator or the comic strip from the weekly newspaper. This has certainly been the opinion of Pop Art painters, who were inspired by the popular products of the current times. For instance, Andy Warhol painted a can of Campbell's Soup. Roy Lichtenstein created vivid paintings that look like they are straight out of a comic book. David Hockney transforms a realistic painting into something unique by overlapping and using collage. A Hockney project could be as simple as cutting a photograph into pieces and pasting the pieces down in a slightly skewed manner. Children could paint a picture of a favorite food package or create their very own comic strip as other Pop art ideas.
No matter what type of project you decide to do, the main goals are always to have fun and also to learn about many types of art. By exposing your children to many styles, they see that the only limit to art is the limit of their imagination.
For many kids, it is easiest for them to draw, paint and color pictures that are fairly realistic, but it can be fun to introduce them to familiar scenes painted in less realistic ways. Impressionism and Post-Impressionism are two styles of art that look somewhat realistic yet are somewhat different. You can show your child how to mimic the brush strokes of an artist such as Seurat or even download a printable mural of one of his works from a website like ArtProjectsForKids.org. This site breaks down famous works of art into manageable sections which you color and then reposition like a puzzle, and you end up with a work of art very similar yet different from the original. Other artists to consider include Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
Surrealism is another painting style that can provide a great deal of inspiration to children. For example, you can easily center an art project around the works of Joan Miro or Salvador Dali. Share with children that this style of art is very much like a dream, and the artists of this style hope to alter the way people look at things. One fun project would include looking at the works of Rene Magritte, who is famous for his paintings of business men with an apple instead of a face. Have children draw a body and then instead of a face, they can add an apple or any type of fruit or food. For Joan Miro, consider having children draw a picture of a person or animal using only circles, straight lines and stars, and then filling in the shapes and sections in vivid colors.
The style of art known as abstract is a wonderful option for children as it allows them to create with color but not have to worry about any real structure or form. To begin an abstract project, show them the pictures of Sonia Delauney or Jackson Pollack. For Delauney, consider creating a project based around colorful circles. For Pollack, dive in and get messy, splashing or dripping paint onto a blank canvas or even using your fingers for part of the painting. You can even paint the paper first in one solid color and then splash on a variety of colors.
Art is truly all around us and just about any object can be a great art subject, from the can of soda in the refrigerator or the comic strip from the weekly newspaper. This has certainly been the opinion of Pop Art painters, who were inspired by the popular products of the current times. For instance, Andy Warhol painted a can of Campbell's Soup. Roy Lichtenstein created vivid paintings that look like they are straight out of a comic book. David Hockney transforms a realistic painting into something unique by overlapping and using collage. A Hockney project could be as simple as cutting a photograph into pieces and pasting the pieces down in a slightly skewed manner. Children could paint a picture of a favorite food package or create their very own comic strip as other Pop art ideas.
No matter what type of project you decide to do, the main goals are always to have fun and also to learn about many types of art. By exposing your children to many styles, they see that the only limit to art is the limit of their imagination.
About the Author:
Kate Halfey likes writing about art projects for kids. For additional information about different styles of arts like Joan Miro for kids art projects or to find Kandinsky circle painting projects, please check out the ArtProjectsForKids.org site now.