{"id":18322,"date":"2018-05-26T00:01:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-26T04:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=18322"},"modified":"2018-05-25T13:19:07","modified_gmt":"2018-05-25T17:19:07","slug":"the-iridescence-of-words-and-pictures-using-picture-books-to-create-artist-workshops-in-your-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2018\/05\/the-iridescence-of-words-and-pictures-using-picture-books-to-create-artist-workshops-in-your-library\/","title":{"rendered":"The Iridescence of Words and Pictures: Using Picture Books to Create Artist Workshops in Your Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"childrenOne of the greatest aspects of being a children\u2019s librarian is having the opportunity to use a host of mediums to inspire and connect children to a wide array of literature. The profession lends itself easily to the use of books, music, movement, and performance, but it is also lends itself to the rich exploration of art and images. One of my primary goals as a librarian is to ignite a child\u2019s imagination, and thereby motivate them to creatively explore both their outer and inner worlds. Personally, I\u2019ve found one of the most satisfying ways to encourage young children to flex their creative muscle, is to inspire them through the work of famous artists, in what I like to call \u2013 The Artist Workshop<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"aMy rule of thumb for creating programs is to always let a great book be the starting point for my planning. The Artist Workshop is no different. Start by selecting a children\u2019s picture book about a famous artist, like Patricia MacLachlan\u2019s The Iridescence of Birds: A Book about Henri Matisse<\/i>, Illustrated by Hadley Hooper. This particular text is very rich and child friendly, highlighting Matisse\u2019s inspiration and early childhood experiences. Next, pair the book with a Power Point or visual presentation of the artist\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\"aYou can also share short biographical films from Weston Woods, or from the internet. Allow the children to discuss the artist\u2019s work, and explain for themselves what they see. Explain the artist\u2019s technique, what makes their art unique, and how their work can be reproduced. After modeling the technique for the children, allow them to create artwork in the style of your selected artist. For our Matisse program, we created a large paper-cut mural and painted plates like he and his mother did when he was a child.<\/p>\n

\"EvanThere are lots of fantastic children\u2019s biographies on famous artists such as Keith Haring, Wassily Kandinsky, and Frida Khalo. This summer we\u2019ll be using the Pura Belpr\u00e9 honor selection Frida Khalo and her Animalitos<\/i> by Monica Brown, to explore how Frida used her family pets to create distinctive art. Don\u2019t\u2019 be afraid to explore children\u2019s illustrators as well, such as Beatrix Potter for watercolor, and Eric Carle and Ezra Jack Keats for collage. Children love emulating their favorite artists and illustrators, and your library has the perfect book to lead the way.<\/p>\n

Evan Michael Bush<\/b> is the Head Children\u2019s Librarian and Youth Services Coordinator for the Athens Clarke County Library and Athens Regional Library System in Athens, Georgia. Evan has over 19 years in elementary education and children\u2019s librarianship. He has served three years on the Georgia Children\u2019s Picture Book Award Committee, and currently serves on the ALSC School-Age Programs and Services Committee.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the greatest aspects of being a children\u2019s librarian is having the opportunity to use a host of mediums to inspire and connect children to a wide array of literature. The profession lends itself easily to the use of books, music, movement, and performance, but it is also lends itself to the rich exploration of art and images. One of my primary goals as a librarian is to ignite a child\u2019s imagination, and thereby motivate them to creatively explore both their outer and inner worlds. Personally, I\u2019ve found one of the most satisfying ways to encourage young children to flex their creative muscle, is to inspire them through the work of famous artists, in what I like to call \u2013 The Artist Workshop. My rule of thumb for creating programs is to always let a great book be the starting point for my planning. The Artist Workshop is no…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[287,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-school-age-programs-and-services-committee","category-programming-ideas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}