I love great line art in children’s books. One of my favorite line art illustrations are those found in Narnia books. Illustrator Pauline Baynes did such wonderful work! I finally mustered the courage to study and copy her lines! Such magic and energy in those lines!
I doodled on my January pages of course. Hobonichi can handle some serious line art using my reliable Tombow Fudenosuke.
Enjoy!
I wonder who will be my artist spotlight for next month?
Selah
I finally got a copy of ‘The Ology’ by Marty Machowski. This book is not available in any local bookstores so I had to pre-order it from an online seller who can order and ship from the US and UK. After months of waiting, it finally arrived, yipeedoo!
I first got a copy of ‘Big Truths for Young Hearts’, the recommended book follow-up for older children. That book is geared for highschoolers and older students. The Ology writing style and over-all feel caters to gradeschoolers.
I read the intro and the first truth to the children this morning and I would like to share our experience opening the book together for the first time.
What led me to use this book were the beautiful illustrations and of course, the many positive reviews made by homeschooling Christian families across the globe. We also use other Bible storybooks to supplement our devotionals with a real ESV or NIV Bible versions.
Other top bible books in our shelf are ‘The Jesus Storybook Bible’ by Sally Lloyd-Jones (we have been using this since we first homeschooled 5 years ago and still is a favorite read), ‘Who is God?’ by Apologia, ‘The Child’s Story Bible’ (a recent addition and favorite in our homeschool) by Catherine Vos. My husband and I find ourselves realizing deeper biblical truths through these children’s books! Amazing authors can do this!
Going back to ‘The Ology’, I approached our 3rd grade daughter and excitedly showed her the book. She was intrigued by the intricate and mysterious look of the book cover.
It starts with a story about how two children found a rare book in the church cellar. I love how the author made it read like an adventure story which excites children. Sweetpea listened intently and I knew she was really listening (not spacing out hehe).
At lunch, I read the intro again and the first truth (God Always Was and Always Will Be), this time with both our 3rd and 9th grader as they were finishing their meals. Our 9th grader appreciates picture books with nice illustrations. I can tell this book will make a great family devotional.
Bible verses also accompany the bible truth page. One bible truth covers one chapter of about 2 to 3 pages. We were done reading in less than 5 minutes. I then had an idea to let them draw God’s throne as how they imagined it to be. It will serve as our follow-up activity to help retain the lesson.
My eldest also recall listening to The Ology music from Spotify. We played the songs in the background as they worked on their drawings.
I browsed through the next chapters and this page with illustration of fingerprints caught my eye. I immediatly thought of an activity for this chapter. I might ask the children to make imprints of their fingerprints with colorful paints. I think this book also makes it easy for parents to easily come up with activities.
The book also has a Parent Guide on how we can effectively approach the book. It is a children’s picture book with solid biblical worldview written for all ages! It is a good foundation for theology. I highly- recommend this book as a read-aloud or devotional for families with multi-level children.
Sweetpea has always been fascinated with the colorful collage-style art of Eric Carle. Her favorite among the books is āThe Very Hungry Caterpillarā.
It was windy and rainy this afternoon so it was a relaxing time toā¦yup, make some messy art!š
If you were inspired by Eric Carleās art too, here is the simple process we followed.
The technique is to use bristly brushes and contrasting colors (paper color contrast with the paint color) to create varied strokes.
Little ones may need help with the drawings of animals and the cut-outs.
All you need:
~Construction paper in different colors
~brushes and sponges, bristly toothbrush works great,
~poster paints, gouache or acrylic, ~glue,
~scissors
~colored markers
Steps:
1.Draw or trace the outlines of the animals on a sheet of construction paper. Cut-out with scissors. Grown-up help needed for younger kids!
Using a bristly brush, dip it in a darker or lighter color and make strokes. The messier the strokes the better! The goal is to see lines and various textures on the animal figures.
Make it Easy Tip: You may use colored markers to add tiny details such as the eyes and spots. For the eyes, a grown-up can cut small round circles from bond paper. Glue the eyes on the animal figure.
Tip: We found out that a regular hard toothbrush works best to achieve fine lines and bristly strokes!
3. Collage- this is optional. If you have more time and you want to apply more collage technique. You may cut separate pieces for the animal figures (head, legs, wings) using varied colored shades of paper. Assemble the parts and glue them together.
Optional: Paint a background to create scenes for the animals!
Welcome to the colorful world of Eric Carle!š
We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!
I am currently reading The Heart of the Artist by Rory Noland. The book cover says it is a “a character-building guide for you and your ministry team”.
I like the way the author wrote this book with such honesty, passion and practical applications. I personally use the book like a daily and weekly devotional because there are guide questions at the end of every chapter. I use a separate journal to write down my reflections.
One of the chapters in the book’s first part discusses “Servanthood vs. Stardom” in the artist’s journey. Reading through the chapter spoke closely to my heart as this area has been a personal struggle. How do you balance things out? How do you guard the artist heart that longs to serve and not have other selfish motives? How does an artist remain humble? How to receive criticism about our art? These sensitive topics were written as if the author, Mr Noland, is a close friend whose desire is for the artist reader to reach his or her full potential.
If you are looking for a book that is written especially for the Christian artist who longs to do more for the community and the church and at the same time be guided in the journey, I highly-recommend this!Ā If you are part of the church’s worship team or creative team, this book is a great resource to motivate the leaders and members.
As we approach the start of the school year, another book finds its way to our library. (I kinda believe books have invisible wings that fly their way to our hands and homes!) I got this copy from the recent Adarna warehouse sale and I am glad Bigsis liked it.
Here is a quick and simple conversation we had about her impression of the book. I think she was in the first three chapters at this point.
Bigsis: I like the story, Mom. Thanks for getting me a copy.
Mommy: Ah good that you like it. Why do you like it?
Bigsis: Its like reading an American Girl historical novel. Its very detailed. I love that it has a glossary of spanish words at the end part. Now I know new Spanish words.
Bigsis loves dolls and her favorite are American Girl dolls. She also likes to read the novels that feature a girl character’s story.
Me: I like how the characters are passionate in the arts, painting in particular.
Bigsis: Yes, the girl is an artist too.
Me: So, who is the woman in the frame?
Bigsis: I am not in that part yet. The girl just found the portrait in a museum.
Me: I like the illustrations at the start of every chapter. And I love the cover artwork too..
Bigsis: Yeah, so pretty…
I read a few pages in the first chapter and I can say it looks like a promising read. The story is rich in Filipino culture and historical themes. I also love that the main character is a strong-spirited girl.
This is one way we incorporate history with literature.
Woman in a Frame was written by Raissa Rivera Falgui.
A sample chapter page with pretty line art.
Selah Soul Art 