The Daily Book of Art

Yesterday, I decided to break open a book that I have had for a while. I believe this was a book that my husband bought me a few years back for Christmas and I never made it all the way through. Maybe because I'm not very good at doing the same thing every day or maybe I just have trouble reading only 1 page a day in a book. Anyhow, I have gotten off track. So, I decided to break open my book called The Daily Book of Art: 365 readings that teach, inspire and entertain. I am hoping to share some of my thoughts as I progress through these pages each evening, maybe by talking about it I will actually keep with my schedule.

My very first reading took me to the Elements of Art. These are the building blocks of art and it doesn't surprise me that they are the first thing that this book builds on. Without the Elements of Art we wouldn't have . . . well we wouldn't have art. It would be impossible. The Elements that we teach at Geisler are Line, Shape, Form, Texture, Value, Color and Space. Most students start learning about these in preschool. My daughter is currently in a preschool class and she is teaching me every day about how she learned all about mixing colors together, as well as, talking about all the different shapes and textures she experienced that day. Actually if you think about it colors, shapes, values and textures are some of the first things we learn as children and babies. Art is with us from the very beginning it is through art that we learn to see, write and eventually read. As you move around your day today or tomorrow. Think about these things, where do you see the elements of art happening in your day? How are these building blocks of art always present in your world around you? What colors do you see around you? What textures do you encounter throughout your day? What shapes are you seeing when you look around your room? What lines are being used to create the objects or designs in front of you? 

Gilbert, Colin, Dylan Gilbert, Elizabeth T. Gilbert, Gabriel Guzman,  Rebecca J. Razo, Sharon Robinson, Amy Runyen and David J. Schmidt. The Daily Book of Art. Irvine, CA: Walter Foster Publishing Inc, 2009. Print.