Ancient Greece Part I- Geometric Period

I took quite a long break, didn’t I? Sorry about that. I had a visitor for a long weekend and was busy running around D.C. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend, as well.

This post is the first in a short series about the art of Ancient Greece.

The time period from about 1000BC to about 700BC in Ancient Greece was called the Geometric Period. This is because artists often decorated items, especially vases, with geometric patterns. You’ll notice this in the picture shown below.
Many of these vases were used as headstones in cemeteries.

You’ll also notice that the animals are very stylized. The horses don’t look the way real horses do but they look enough like horses that you can tell what they are. The people also look unrealistic. They aren’t just stick figures, though. The artists of this time period had a unique style that makes their art different from art of any other Greek period.
Above is a sculpture created during the Geometric Period. Like most sculptures from the period, it is bronze. The most important parts of the horse are the largest (such as the nose) and the least important are smallest (like the torso).

Some experts believe that these small sculptures were used as offerings to the gods.

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Make Your Own Masterpiece Magnets

I love this craft project because at the end you have a collection of miniature masterpieces that you can look at and play with every day. This is a simple and fun way to bring art into your daily life (just like reading this blog!).

Supplies Needed:

Clear marbles that are flat on one side
(use the largest size you can find)
Small printouts of masterpieces
Small, round magnets
White glue
Paintbrush
Hot glue gun and sticks
Scissors

You’ll need to ask an adult for help with this one.

Search online for pictures of your favorite paintings. At the end of this post are links to some of my favorite artists. Try searching this website for images before you go elsewhere. You’ll probably find what you’re looking for. You can make the pictures smaller by copying them to a word processing program and resizing them.

Print some pictures and cut them to the size and shape of the marbles. It’s okay if some of the picture is cut off. You may even want to cut one painting into many pieces and make one magnet with each piece of the painting. Be as creative as you want!

With a paintbrush, spread a small amount of white glue over the flat side of a marble. This should be a very thin layer of glue. You want it to dry clear so the picture will show through.

Let the marble dry.

Put a small dab of hot glue onto a round magnet and press it to the back (flat side) of the marble.

Repeat for each magnet you make.

Use your masterpiece marbles to hang your own artwork from the fridge!

**Links to favorite artists**

Vincent van Gogh

Claude Monet

Edgar Degas

Jackson Pollock

Piet Mondrian

Salvador Dali

Pablo Picasso

Henri Matisse

George Seurat

Sandro Botticelli

Johannes Vermeer

Leonardo da Vinci

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Illustrate Your Own Sun Myth

The sun is extremely important. It lights our days, gives us warmth, and helps our food grow. I’m sure you can think of many other ways the sun is important, especially in the summer. To certain ancient cultures, the sun was even more important, though. The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Japanese, Aztecs, Incas, Eskimos, and more believed that the sun was a god or goddess!

Each of these ancient cultures had a different idea about how the sun came to be. Read about a few of them here. When you’ve read some of the myths, or stories, draw your own sun. Be as creative as you’d like. Maybe your sun has long rays that hug the earth. Maybe it is a bright fox, running around the world, day after day. Make up your own story about the sun to go with your picture.

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Create Your Own Egyptian Jewelry

A reader requested more Egypt projects so I thought now would be a good time to post this. The ancient Egyptians used semi-precious stones and gold to make many types of jewelry, like these bracelets. You’ll notice that blue and orange/brown were especially common colors. Today, create your own jewelry inspired by the ancient Egyptians.

Supplies Needed:

Old magazines or colored construction paper
Glue Stick
Scissors
Paintbrush
Pipe Cleaner or Yarn
Mod Podge (optional)

Choose magazine pages with a lot of blue or orange on them. If you don’t have any old magazines, use construction paper instead. Make sure to get permission before you cut any magazines. Cut thin, triangular strips of magazine or construction paper. I used some aluminum foil, too. I like the way the metal shines.

Flip a strip over so that the colorful side is down. Beginning at the wide end of the triangle, roll your strip of paper around the end of your paintbrush. (A pencil will work instead of a paintbrush.) Put a little glue on the thin end of the strip so your bead doesn’t unravel.
If you want your beads to last, brush them with a thin coat of Mod Podge. This will also give your beads a nice shine. Allow your beads to dry.

Thread your beads onto a pipe cleaner or a piece of yarn.
Enjoy your ancient Egyptian jewelry!

If you’re interested in ancient Egyptian art, check out these previous posts:

Ancient Egyptian Paintings

Ancient Egyptian Carvings

Ancient Egyptian Sculpture

Amarna Art

Fayum Portraits

Draw Like an Egyptian

Create Your Own Ancient Egyptian Mask

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Create Your Own Bodegon

When you think of still lifes you probably picture paintings of fruit bowls. You may have created one before. The bodegon, as you may remember, was a certain type of still life that artists created in Spain during the Baroque period. Today, create your own bodegon like Juan Sanchez Cotan did.

Supplies Needed:

Paper
Crayons
Black pastel
Pencil

Go into your kitchen (get permission first) and collect some fruits and vegetables. Be careful not to drop them. You'll still want to eat those veggies later! Arrange the fruits and vegetables on a clean table so that they don't touch each other. Did you notice that Cotan's veggies never touched each other?

The next step is to draw what you see. Start with pencil. When you're happy with your drawing, color in the fruits and vegetables with crayons.

Finally, fill in the background with black pastel. This will give your bodegon that dark, shadowy background. Remember that pastel can smudge and smear if you wipe at it. If you wish, use a tissue to get an even color. Be careful not to wipe your hand across the pastel, though.

Enjoy!

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