American Folk Art for Kids: With 21 Activities

✍ Scribed by Richard Panchyk

• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 129
• Series: For Kids series
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Drawing on the natural folk art tendencies of children, who love to collect buttons, bottle caps, shells, and Popsicle sticks to create beautiful, imperfect art, this activity guide teaches kids about the history of this organic art and offers inspiration for them to create their own masterpieces. The full breadth of American folk art is surveyed, including painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and textiles from the 17th century through today. Making bubblegum wrapper chains, rag dolls, bottle cap sculptures, decoupage boxes, and folk paintings are just a few of the activities designed to bring out the artist in every child. Along the way kids learn about the lives of Americans throughout history and their casual relationships to everyday art as they cut stencils, sew needlepoint samplers, draw calligraphy birds, and design quilts. Important folk artists such as the last surviving Shakers, the legendary Grandma Moses, and the Reverend Howard Finster are also explored in sidebars throughout the book.

✦ Table of Contents

Copyright
......Page 3
Contents
......Page 5
Acknowledgments
......Page 7
Foreword by William C. Ketchum Jr.
......Page 8
Foreword by Mr. Imagination
......Page 9
Introduction: What Is Folk Art?
......Page 11
Author’s Note
......Page 12
1 The Origins of Folk Art
......Page 13
Find Your Folk Roots
......Page 20
2 Folk Painting and Drawing
......Page 21
Paint a Folk Portrait
......Page 28
Reverse Painting on Glass
......Page 36
Make a Shadow Painting
......Page 38
Draw a Spencerian Letter
......Page 40
Calligraphy Bird
......Page 42
3 The Decorative Arts
......Page 47
Sponge-Paint a Stool
......Page 52
Make a Hex Sign
......Page 54
Make a Stencil
......Page 56
Create a Paper Cutout
......Page 61
4 Fabric Sewn and Stitched
......Page 63
Make a Cross-Stitch Sampler
......Page 71
Sew an Album Quilt Square
......Page 74
Design a Quilt
......Page 76
Make a Rag Doll
......Page 78
5 Chiseled, Carved, and Hammered
......Page 79
Make a Scrimshaw
......Page 92
Make a Checkerboard
......Page 96
6 Found Objects and Scraps
......Page 99
Decoupage a Box
......Page 110
Make a Gum-Wrapper Chain
......Page 106
Button Collage
......Page 107
Make a Bottle-Cap Figure
......Page 108
7 Public Folk Art
......Page 111
Design a Shaker Seed Packet
......Page 113
Drugstore Trade Signs
......Page 115
Pick Your Trade
......Page 118
Afterword: Folk Art Now
......Page 123
Glossary
......Page 124
Museums with Folk Art Collections
......Page 126
Selected Bibliography
......Page 128
Index
......Page 129