Sculpting with ARTistic Pursuits

By now you should know that we really enjoy art in our home school. Recently, we were selected to review the Sculpture Technique Model book from ARTistic Pursuits Inc.. We received the physical book which contains all of the lessons for the course. . Since the girls were toddlers, we have always incorporated some form of creating into our home. As they got older, we added art curriculum to our list of must haves because honestly I don’t know everything and curriculum can be very helpful. ARTistic Pursuits has been our choice of curriculum for the past five years. This book focuses on creating sculptures through modeling. This course is one to consider for students who would like to earn credit for their transcript in art.

For most of our art this year we have primarily been learning to draw with a few lessons that focus on painting.  The change of pace has been a good fit since working with different media tends to bring a bit of excitement and enthusiasm.  The MODEL book has the artist use three different mediums to create projects.  The sculptures are made using putty, clay, and fiber.  We have worked with clay numerous times, but putty and fiber not so much.  I like the fact that we all were introduced to new ways to create using materials that were intended for other uses such as the Durham’ s Putty which we found at our local hardware store.

Sculpture Technique Model is broken up into three units: Creating Mass with Putty, Creating Scale with Clay, and Creating Surface with Fiber. The units have three to five projects each. This allows the artist to create several unique pieces with each form of media. We primarily worked with the putty. The lessons allow the creator to be as creative as she desires. Although there are examples of projects which can be used as inspiration, it is suggested that the pieces which are created should be those which the artist has found inspiration to create. The projects allow the artist to think and enjoy the creative process. This is one thing I enjoy about this curriculum, it teaches techniques but does not require duplication. The projects are not necessarily open and go, but the techniques introduced can be used right away. Due to the nature of the materials a project may not be completed on the day it is started. To help with the pacing of the course, there is an included schedule which provides a good timeline for the projects. In the end the projects created using Sculpture Technique Model should be of good quality especially for older students or those who find themselves lost in their projects.

The girls had food on the brain when they sculpted these pieces.  One is a Reese's Peanut butter cup and the other is a waffle.

Sculpture Technique Model is a course which students can earn credit if the parent desires. The course work is written in a conversational tone which allows the course to be independent.  We did not use it as an independent course since the girls needed help with preparing some of the materials.  To assist in grading the projects fairly, each unit ends with an evaluation.  The evaluation has depth is offers a good baseline for checking understanding in the areas of: The Elements of Sculpture, Creativity, and Craftsmanship.  This evaluation allows the artist to speak about the piece of work created either verbally or written.  Since we are not at the stage of earning credit for courses, we will complete some of the projects, but repeat in the future for credit purposes.