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How We Used Creating a Masterpiece?
We added this into our weekly homeschool schedule. We did get a little later start due to sickness in our house. We all seemed to catch that nasty little flu that was going around. We did have to wait for some of the supplies to come in. While waiting for the supplies, we were lucky enough to have the materials to give the sample lesson a try. We created the Landscape in soft pastels.
We were able to finish this project in one lesson. It was a great starting point for the kids.
I was thrilled with the pictures the kids created. Michael and Therese both created a masterpiece! I was thrilled when they both complemented each other about different parts of their artwork.
Our next project was from the beginners level. The kids wanted to work on the African Sunset! This project took us two lessons. We had to wait for the watercolors to drive before we could go on.
The kids had a lot of fun creating the trees. We used straws to make them. You definitely need lots of hot air!
We all agreed Michael's painting had an eerie feel to it. He made a mistake with a blob of blue paint and it now looks like a giant raven sitting in a tree.
Since we were working on our watercolor skills, we followed the African Sunset lesson with the Floral Medley. Just like the African Sunset, this project took us two lessons.
Therese and I really enjoyed reacting quite a few of these paintings. We loved the different combinations we were able to achieve. Michael didn't enjoy the flowers as much and was not happy with his picture. He's going to get to choose the next project we work on.
What We Thought of Creating A Masterpiece?
Since we live out in the sticks and do not have "real" internet, we had problems with the videos loading. We would often get that loading swirl on the screen. This was a little frustrating at times, but it had nothing to do with the program. If you're lucky enough to have great internet, you should have no problems. The slow loading did help the kids catch up to were they needed to be though.
The kids found that Mrs. Hofer moved too fast in her step by step instructions. I'd have to agree that for new, young artist she moves a little too fast. More experienced artist would probably be fine with her pace. When you take an art class, the teacher moves at a slower pace. This is probably because he is walking around the room checking on all the student's progress.
The program says it's for students of all ages. I find this claim a little misleading. I honestly feel younger children will need a lot of assistance from parents or they may become overwhelmed. Some of the techniques are difficult to achieve. If you have a perfectionist who would want their pictures to look just example pictures, you may have a few issues arise, maybe even a few tears. I would say this program is geared more for students in middle school and up. Now if you have a younger child with an artistic ability than this program could work for you too. For the younger child with average artistic skills, this program may become extremely frustrating!
We loved the great detailed instructions given in the videos by Sharon Hofer. She was energetic and very encouraging with her comments. She really tried to let the student know that they to can create a masterpiece. I loved how the videos were broken up into sections. Students could pause the video and catch up or work at their own pace. This was helpful for both my kids since, they couldn't keep up with pace of the instructions.
There were a few lessons were the lighting was a little dim and it made it difficult to see the artwork clearly and what steps needed to be done. We fixed this by turning up the brightness on our computer. It helped a little but, different lightening, maybe angled a little differently, would make it easier to see. Michael complained more about this than Therese. I also felt that there were a few times the lighting did make it difficult to see the elements that Mrs. Hofer had added to her work of art.
I liked the detailed supply list. This made it very easy for me to get my supplies ordered and bought. You could print out the list and get to work. You do need to plan ahead. Many of supplies needed to complete these projects had to be ordered. In our small county, we weren't able to find the supplies needed to complete most of the projects. You can easily find them online, but you do have to plan ahead. There were no last minute runs into town for supplies and items found at the dollar store will not work! The cost of supplies may be a problem for some families, but this program is definitely worth it.
Your student will get a wonderful fine arts class. It's a great elective for older students. Mrs. Hofer explains steps a whole lot better than some of my previous art teachers! We would definitely recommend this to other homeschooling families.
Want to see if Creating a Masterpiece is a right fit for your homeschool?
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Thank you for your review. Your projects all turned out so lovely!
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that sometimes I went too fast in the video for the kids to keep up. I would encourage you to pause the video often, even if it is every minute. This is what I intended when I made the video.
This program does work for very young children. But, I do expect that you as a parent would help them, just like you do in any other subject.
I hope that helps as you go through more of the projects.
Sharon Hofer, Creating a Masterpiece