Schwake Susan, Schwake Rainer. 3D Art Lab for Kids: 32 Hands-on Adventures in Sculpture and Mixed Media - Including fun projects using clay, plaster, cardboard, paper, fiber beads and more!

Beverly, MA: Quarry Books, 2013. — 144 p. — (Lab Series) — ISBN: 978-1592538157.Age Range: 9 - 12 years
Grade Level: 4 - 7An inspiring collection of ideas and projects for encouraging an artistic spirit in children! 3D Art Lab for Kids includes 36 kid-friendly fine art projects in paper, clay, textiles, sculpture, and jewelry. Each project is inspired by the work of a prominent artist and is illustrated with step-by-step full-color photographs of the process as well as finished samples and variations.Whether you use these projects independently or as a curriculum for hands-on 3D art experiences, you’ll find that the lessons in this book are open-ended so they can be explored over and over–with different results each time! Colorful 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. 3D 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. Children of all ages and experience levels can be guided by adults and will enjoy these engaging exercises.Editorial ReviewsFrom Booklist
Schwake combines 32 3-D art projects with interviews with four artists, each of whom is photographed. The first two chapters give general instructions for setting up for each project, providing an exhaustive list of materials needed. The subsequent five chapters each focus on a single medium: paper, clay, textiles, sculpture, and jewelry. The six relatively simple paper projects use mostly found bits of paper. The seven clay objects range in size and difficulty but require a kiln. The six textile projects use fabric, yarn, or jute. The eight sculptures require corrugated cardboard, papier-mâché goo, plaster, pasteboard, or joint compound. Finally, the five jewelry projects are made with paper, card stock, or various types and sizes of beads. Instructions are always detailed, both through step-by-step photographs of children making each object and the detailed text. This well-written book with myriad color illustrations is a must-have for art teachers or those who help children appreciate art and artists. Grades 4-8. --J.Review
"Schwake combines 32 3-D art projects with interviews with four artists, each of whom is photographed. The first two chapters give general instructions for setting up for each project, providing an exhaustive list of materials needed. The subsequent five chapters each focus on a single medium: paper, clay, textiles, sculpture, and jewelry. The six relatively simple paper projects use mostly found bits of paper. The seven clay objects range in size and difficulty but require a kiln. The six textile projects use fabric, yarn, or jute. The eight sculptures require corrugated cardboard, papier-mâché goo, plaster, pasteboard, or joint compound. Finally, the five jewelry projects are made with paper, card stock, or various types and sizes of beads. Instructions are always detailed, both through step-by-step photographs of children making each object and the detailed text. This well-written book with myriad color illustrations is a must-have for art teachers or those who help children appreciate art and artists."—Booklist"I love Susan's Art Lab series and reference them in the Art Studio often. They're easy to follow, full of images, and directed at open-ended exploration - exactly the kind of reference I need for my own busy home." - Meghan Burch, Art Studio Educator, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MAAbout the AuthorSusan Schwake is an artist, art educator, author, and curator. Her passion for teaching art for more than 20 years has found her working in many diverse settings, as well as her own art school, which operates inconjunction with their gallery and design firm in New Hampshire, called artstream.Susan exhibits her own artwork in galleries in the United States and Europe. To date, she has curated over 100 compelling contemporary exhibitions in her own gallery with hundreds of national and international artists' work. Susan has worked with many corporations installing original artwork from the gallery's stable of artists.In keeping with her passion for art and teaching, Susan has offered, and continues to offer, workshops and programs to parents, teachers at universities, art studios, community organization, public and private schools, and most recently online with e-courses in teacher training, painting, printmaking and mixed media.Rainer Schwake is a versatile and talented media designer holding a masters degree in graphic design. His photography has been used in hundreds of business- and arts-related design works for print and websites. He is co-owner of artstream studios (www.artstreamstudios.com) and lives with his wife, Susan, in Rochester, NH.