Monday, July 6, 2009

Summer Reading Week 2: Visual Arts

It's week 2 of summer reading...I hope you all had a safe and happy fourth of July. I made it down to the fireworks display here in Newport, did you have a chance to go? I thought they did a great job and it was lots of fun, if a little bit cold (Sadly, I did not dress properly...)

I thought this week we'd take a brief look at visual arts. This is a super broad category and includes things like painting, drawing, sculpture and photography just to name a few. It's almost impossible for me to cover everything here, especially when I usually recommend 3 - 5 books in these posts. So I've decided to include a couple of non-fiction titles and a few art mysteries I'm sure you'll enjoy. Remember though, we have many, many arts-related books on display and on our shelves in the library, so come on by for a more comprehensive look at the visual arts!


Painting by Donna McQueen (j751.4 McQ)

Part of the Arts & Crafts skills series, Painting includes tips on getting started, supplies you'll need and how to mix colors, as well as instructions for different kinds of painting: drop, splatter, dry painting, painting on fabric and much more!









Cool Rubber Stamp Art by Pam Price (j761 Pri)

Stamps are a lot of fun and they make great art! This book will show you basic techniques as well as creative techniques and gives you interesting ideas for some fun projects including a cool canvas beach bag.








Masterpiece by Elise Broach (j Broach)

After Marvin, a beetle, makes a miniature drawing as an eleventh birthday gift for James, a human with whom he shares a house, the two new friends work together to help recover a Durer drawing stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.







Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception by Wendelin Van Draanan (j Van Draanan)

Seventh-grade sleuth Sammy Keyes investigates mysterious happenings at a local art gallery.








Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (j Balliett)

When strange and seemingly unrelated events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.





And now some art-y websites:

ArtEdventures from Sanford: A Lifetime of Color Activities - games that explore art concepts and history.

The Artist's Toolkit - watch an animated demonstration & learn about visual elements like line, color and shape.

Global Children's Art Gallery - view kids artwork from around the world!

Inside Art: An Art History Game - Tour art history and get sucked into famous paintings. Good luck finding your way out!

And check out these Visual Arts links on our Summer Reading Website.

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