Books by Susan Schwake

Art Lab for Kids: Express Yourselfcontains 52 brand neworiginal art projects that will draw out each young artist as they discover their style, document their thoughts, and build confidence in their unique perspective.Each lesson asks questions and offers personal choiceswhile encouraging diverse approaches and creative thinking. One of the most important gifts we can give children is to nurture their creativity and allow them to express themselves freely. Theres no better way to express yourself than through creative art projects. This is especiallytrue for children because it gives them an outlet to explore their developing interests and strengths. The Colorful Beasts project, which incorporates discussion of endangered animals with the Blue Riderart movement, asks children to use torn colored tissue paper and glue to create an expressive representation of a favorite vulnerable animal. In I Built This City, children imagine and build their own cityscapeusing columns of newspaper text to make buildings on top of awatercolor painted background, and detailed with marker. Many projects include varying examples and executions of the activity to illustrate and reinforce theopen-ended nature of the labs, inspiring children to embrace and share their own voice. Give children the great gift of creative self-exploration withArt Lab for Kids: Express Yourself. The popular Lab for Kids series features a growing list of books that share hands-on activities and projects on a wide host of topics, including art, astronomy, clay, geology, math, and even how to create your own circusall authored by established experts in their fields. Each lab contains a complete materials list, clear step-by-step photographs of the process, as well as finished samples. The labs can be used as singular projects or as part of a yearlong curriculum of experiential learning. The activities are open-ended, designed to be explored over and over, often with different results. Geared toward being taught or guided by adults, they are enriching for a range of ages and skill levels. Gain firsthand knowledge on your favorite topic with Lab for Kids.

Art for All Seasons is a well-thought-out handbook of nature-inspired art adventures that can be explored over and over with different results each time. Perfect for parents, teachers, grandparents or anyone working with children making art! The nature-based lessons are beautifully illustrated with more than 400 full-color photographs of the process and additional inspirational images of contemporary artists¿ work. Included is information on how to set up a simple home studio, a comprehensive list of materials, how to display and save kid¿s art work and ideas surrounding making art with others. A recipe chapter shows how to make some of your own materials and how to use standard art materials. Each lesson is a great springboard of ideas for anyone wanting to be inspired by the natural world to make art. Art for All Seasons will be your perennial go-to book when making art with children.Following on the heels of her wildly successful series, Art Lab for Kids, Susan Schwake and her husband, Rainer Schwake, bring us the new Kids Art Series with this first title¿Art for All Seasons. Susan Schwake is an artist, art educator, author and curator. Her passion for teaching over the past 20 years has found her working in many diverse settings, and her own art school, which operates in conjunction with their gallery and design firm in New Hampshire: artstreamstudios.com.

Art Lab for Kidsis a refreshing source of wonderful ideas for creating fine art with children. This step-by-step book offers 52 fun and creative art projects set into weekly lessons, beginning with drawing, moving through painting and printmaking, and then building to paper collage and mixed media. Each lesson features and relates to the work and style of a contemporary artist and their unique style. The labs can be used as singular projects or to build up to a year of hands-on fine art experiences. Grouped by medium, the labs are set up loosely to build skills upon the previous ones; however, you can begin anywhere. Have fun exploring:drawing by creating a whimsical scene on a handmade crayon scratchboard.painting by using watercolors and salt to create a textured landscape.printmaking by using lemons, celery, mushrooms, and other produce to make colorful prints.paper by creating an expressive self-portrait using pieces of colored tissue paper.mixed mediaby making insects from patterned contact paper and watercolor pencils.Color photos illustrate how different people using the same lesson will yield different results, exemplifying the way the lesson brings out each artist's personal style. Art Lab for Kids is the perfect book for creative families, friends, and community groups and works as lesson plans for both experienced and new art teachers. The popular Lab for Kids series features a growing list of books that share hands-on activities and projects on a wide host of topics, including art, astronomy, clay, geology, math, and even how to create your own circusall authored by established experts in their fields. Each lab contains a complete materials list, clear step-by-step photographs of the process, as well as finished samples. The labs can be used as singular projects or as part of a yearlong curriculum of experiential learning. The activities are open-ended, designed to be explored over and over, often with different results. Geared toward being taught or guided by adults, they are enriching for a range of ages and skill levels. Gain firsthand knowledge on your favorite topic with Lab for Kids.