Visual arts lessons either begin with or incorporate into each session an introduction to different artistic movements throughout history. This includes looking at the work of painters, sculptors and installation artists who have generated new trends and initiated radical directions in the history of art as it evolved through human civilization, from prehistoric cave art up to the conceptual art of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Collage involves creating scenes by cutting and pasting pictures, patterns and designs onto a background sheet of card or fabric. A theme is chosen to set a focus to the work, and the student collects images that relate to this theme, arranging them according to a narrative or story that is revealed through the ordering of the collage.
Textile crafts can involve similar collage work, by overlaying shapes and colors of fabrics on top of one another. Crafts at its most basic can mean creating a piece of art out of ordinary, everyday objects.
Soapstone or alabaster are frequent choices of stone for sculpting, and there are a range of traditions to choose from, such as Celtic design, Chinese stone carving and Mexican stone carving. A maquette (a model made to a small scale) is made first, then its design is carved into a larger piece of stone.
Visual art lessons include tuition in a variety of painting techniques. Learn to work with acrylic paints, oil paints and watercolor paints. These classes teach you how to select the correct brush to achieve the right effect, how to hold it correctly, and how to use additional materials such as sand, alcohol and even plastic wrap to achieve different effects. By learning these techniques and trying them out, your understanding of paintings through the history of art may deepen as you come to appreciate the talent and innovation that produced these works.