by Robert H. Zondag

As a home school parent you would like to provide your child the ability to create a wide variety of art projects.  However, art materials can be a large expense for any practicing artist, let alone the home school that must also bear the expense of other educational supplies. Our article today focuses on helping you understand and select art media for your student.

First, what is art medium (or in the plural, art media)? When someone refers to art media, they are talking about the art materials that are used in works of art such as paint, pastel, clay or fabric (quilter anyone?).  When you describe more than one art medium, it is referred to as media. In modern art, media has expanded to include many things, such as neon lighting, plastics, and even plain, old dirt.

As an art educator, the first step in deciding what art media to purchase is to review your budget.  Fantastic works are created from the genius of the artist, not the amount spent on the materials.  Someone may spend a fortune on art supplies to render a lifeless, unemotional painting, while another uses a piece of scratch paper and a pencil to create a masterpiece.

Once you have decided a realistic budget, decide on the number of projects you would like to have your students accomplish.  For most home schools, I recommend choosing quality over quantity.  For some, this means three; for other, this is six.  Once you determine the number of projects, this will allow you to spread the amount you would like to spend over the number of projects.

With the groundwork determined, look at choosing different mediums in which your student will work.  I would suggest both ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ media.  Wet media is just as the name suggests—watercolor paint, tempera, or acrylic.  Dry media can mean pencil, crayon, or pastel.  You may also wish to try a project in clay or fabric.

Here is an example:
$100 budget
Cost            Supplies          Lesson
$10.00        Project 1         Pencils, paper                           Learn to draw backyard animals (squirrels & birds)
$50.00        Project 2         Watercolors, paper, brushes     Watercolor Paintings—landscapes
$15.00        Project 3         Pastels; paper                           Portrait-draw from real life or a family photo
$25.00        Project 4         Clay                                           Sculptures of common items (cars, trees, the cat)

As a home school parent, you have already decided that a supportive environment is the best choice for your child.  Use this to your advantage.  Choose what you can afford and allow your child’s creativity to take it to the next level.  The important point is including art education in your child’s life and fostering left and right brain activities.  Happy teaching!