This is a very rough draft of my plans for art next year, but I thought I'd go ahead and post them just in case someone finds them useful. First, I decided to go with a proper textbook for art, to help keep myself focused more than anything. After much deliberation, I chose Scott Foresman Art 6 as our spine (preview here) because it seemed to be the most appealing option, though it's ridiculously hard to find information about any of the art textbooks online.

After receiving the books, I also decided to order an inexpensive older (2nd edition) copy of The Visual Experience because, while it's more dry and textbook-like, it includes a lot of information that the Foresman book does not and will be helpful as a supplement. I'm going to try to use these books over the course of two years, and thus have added in a lot of extra art projects (and likely, will be adding many more).

My goal is that we'll do art at least 2-3 days per week, saving Friday as an "open studio" day to experiment with new techniques and/or finish up other projects. I'm also thinking of implementing a 15-20 minute period for sketching every day. Other supplements that we'll be using are included on the blog sidebar - books on technique are here, along with my supply list.

Introduction

• The Visual Experience, Chapter 1: Seeing, Wondering, Enjoying, pp. 3-9
• The Visual Experience, Chapter 2: When Is It Art?, pp. 10-17
• The Visual Experience, Chapter 3: Describing What You See, pp. 20-25

Unit 1: The Elements of Art

• Lesson 1: Line
• Studio 1: Create a Contour Drawing (Variation: Blind Contour Drawing)
• Hi-Res Matisse Drawings
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 4: Line, pp. 26-39
• Studio 4.1: Varieties of Line
• Studio 4.2: Expressive Line Drawings
• Studio 4.3: Contour Lines
• Studio 4.4: Hatch and Crosshatch (Variation: Sketching and Hatching, Drawing and Painting, pp. 22-23)
• Studio 4.5: Lines Express Feelings
• Studio: Straight Line Design (Mondrian), Discovering Great Artists, p. 61
• Studio: One Line Designs (Klee), Discovering Great Artists, p. 62 (Variation: One-Line Drawing, Drawing and Painting, pp. 30-31) 
• Studio: Mixed Media Lines (Stella), Discovering Great Artists, p. 64
• Lesson 2: Shape
• Studio 2: Create with Shapes
• Studio: Seeing Shapes Still-Life (Cezanne), Discovering Great Artists, p. 48
• Studio: Painted Victorian Homes
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 5: Shape, pp. 40-43 
• Studio 5.1: Reversible Drawings
• Studio 5.2: Reversible Patterns
• Lesson 3: Form
• Studio 3: Create Clay Forms
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 5: Form, pp. 44-55
• Studio 5.3: Foreshortening
• Studio 5.4: Distance
• Studio 5.5: Sculpting without Seeing
• Lesson 4: Space
• Studio 4: Change Space with Shapes
• Studio: Graphite Embossing 
• Studio: Abstract Cityscape (Klee), Usborne Art Treasury, pp. 10-12
• Stusio: Painting Around the White (negative/positive space), Celebrate Your Creative Self, pp. 14-15
• Lesson 5: Space and Distance
• Studio 5: Draw with Perspective
• Studio: Simple Perspective with the Artist's Grid Canvas
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 7: Space, pp. 74-91
• Studio 7.1: Depth in Collage
• Studio 7.2: Identifying One-Point Perspective
• Studio 7.3: Applying One-Point Perspective
• Studio 7.4: Identifying Two-Point Perspective
• Studio 7.5: Applying Two-Point Perspective
• Studio 7.6: A Landscape with Aerial Perspective
• Meet the Artist: Vincent van Gogh
• Van Gogh Resources
• Van Gogh: A Brush with Genius (Amazon Instant Video)
• Studio: Van Gogh Clay Plaque
• Studio: Painting Like Van Gogh, Drawing and Painting, pp. 48-49 
• Look and Compare: An Artist's Style
• Lesson 6: Value
• Studio 6: Create a Value Drawing
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 6: Value, pp. 57-61
• Studio 6.1: Value Contrasts
• Lesson 7: Color
• Color Wheel Lesson Plan
• Studio 7: Paint with Warm and Cool Colors (Alternative: Warm/Cool Weaving Paintings)
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 6: Color, pp. 62-69
• Studio 6.2: Related Colors
• Studio 6.3: Monochromatic Colors
• Studio 6.4: Mixing Dull and Bright Colors
• Studio 6.5: Matching Colors
• Studio 6.6: Warm and Cool Colors
• Studio: Color Contrast Circles (Kandinsky), Usborne Art Treasury, pp. 52-55
• Studio: Mean Green (Interpreting the Emotion of Color)
• Mark Rothko (Color as an instrument for conveying emotions)
• Studio: One Color Painting (Picasso), Discovering Great Artists, p. 69 (Variation: Analogous Arrangements, Drawing and Painting, pp. 56-57)
• Studio: Magic Squares (Klee; mixing intermediate colors), Drawing and Painting, pp. 50-51
• Studio: Surprising Colors (Gauguin), Discovering Great Artists, p. 51 
• Palettes of the Masters: Gauguin
• Playing with Color Theory
• Studio: Story Color Collage (Matisse), Discovering Great Artists, p. 58
• Lesson 8: Color and Colorists
• Studio 8: Paint in Complementary Colors
• Studio: Color Scramble
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 6: Color, pp. 69-73
• (A fascinating look at the palettes of famous artists can be found here.)
• Lesson 9: Texture
• Studio 9: Create a Scene to Show Texture
• Studio: Texture Critters
• Studio: Watercolor Texture Casts
• Studio: Berthe Morisot: Texture Paints, Discovering Great Artists, p. 42 (We'll be doing a variation of this project, using Golden's Gel Mediums mixed with acrylics instead of tempera as suggested in the book)
• Studio: Painting on Textured Surfaces, Celebrate Your Creative Self, pp. 23-37
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 8: Texture and Movement (Texture), pp. 92-97  
• Studio 8.1: Simulated Textures
• Studio 8.2: Textures in Clay
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 8: Texture and Movement (Movement), pp. 98-107
• Studio 8.3: Suggesting Movement in Clay
• Studio 8.4: Movement in a Comic Strip
• Studio 8.5: Make a Storyboard
• Studio: Resist in Motion (Degas), Discovering Great Artists, p. 40 (See also: The Dancers and Degas)
• Portfolio Project: Paint a Colorful Landscape
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 9: Analyzing What You See, pp. 110-115

Unit 2: The Principles of Design

• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 10: Design, pp. 116-122
• Quilted Work (Ringgold), Discovering Great Artists, p. 104
• Lesson 1: Balance
• Studio 1: Draw to Show Balance
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 10: Balance, pp. 122-127
• Lesson 2: Emphasis
• Studio 2: Draw with Emphasis
• Lesson 3: Proportion
• Studio 3: Draw with Altered Proportions (Variation: All Out of Proportion, Drawing and Painting, pp. 26-27)
• Lesson 4: Pattern
• Studio 4: Show Pattern in Clothing
• Studio: Line, Pattern and Color Collage (Bearden), Drawing and Painting, pp. 28-29
• Studio: Patterned Interiors (Matisse), Drawing and Painting, pp. 54-55
• Studio: Crazy Quilt (Klimt), Dynamic Art Projects, pp. 98-99
• Meet the Artist: Henri Matisse
• Studio: Colorful Collage, Usborne Art Treasury, pp. 40-43
• Look and Compare: The Art of the Everyday
• Lesson 5: Rhythm
• Studio 5: Create Op Art
• Lesson 6: Unity
• Studio 6: Create a Unified Design
• Lesson 7: Variety
• Studio 7: Use Variety in a Drawing
• Portfolio Project: Paint a Still Life

Unit 3: Media and Methods

• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 11: Introduction to Media, pp. 130-133
• Lesson1: Drawing, pp. 108-109
• Studio 1: Create a Gesture Drawing
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 12: Two-Dimensional Media, pp. 134-136
• Studio 12.1: Contrasts in Chalk Drawing
• Lesson 2: Painting
• Studio 2: Paint a Landmark
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 12: Two-Dimensional Media, pp. 137-142
• Studio 12.2: Watercolor Washes (Variation: Oil Pastel Resist, Drawing and Painting, pp. 40-41)
• Studio 12.3: A Tempera Painting
• Studio: Paul Klee Landscape (watercolor techniques), Dynamic Art Projects, pp. 18-19
• Lesson 3: Printmaking
• Studio 3: Create a Relief Print
• Studio: Flexi-Cut Collagraph
• Studio: Papier Collé Printmaking (Georges Braque)
• Studio: Tempera Monoprint (Mary Cassatt), Discovering Great Artists, p. 44
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 12: Two-Dimensional Media, pp. 143-149
• Studio 12.4: A Linoleum Block Print
• Studio 12.5: A One-Color Screen Print
• Lesson 4: Collage
• Studio 4: Make a Hobby Collage
• Studio: Gelly Bowls (Dimensional Acrylic Collage)
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 12: Two-Dimensional Media, pp. 155-157
• Studio 12.6: A Unified Collage
• Studio: Muse of Chance Collage (Arp), Discovering Great Artists, p. 74
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 13: Three-Dimensional Forms (Jewelry), pp. 177-179
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 13: Three-Dimensional Forms (Soft Sculpture and Glass), pp. 182-185
• Studio: Soft Sculpture (Claes Oldenburg sculptures; The Visual Experience, Meet the Artist: Claes Oldenburg, p. 101)
• Studio 13.6: A Window Panel with Paper (Stained Glass)
• Lesson 5: Fiber Artworks
• Studio 5: Make a Fiber Weaving (Variation: Burlap Weaving)
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 13: Three-Dimensional Forms (Woven Fiber Forms), pp. 179-181
• Meet the Artist: M.C. Escher
• Look and Compare: Arts and Crafts
• Lesson 6: Sculpture
• Studio 6: Create a Relief Sculpture
• Studio: Wireform Figure Sculpture
• Studio: Modern Figure Sculpture in the Style of Alberto Giacometti (Variation: Foil Figures, Usborne Art Treasury, pp. 64-67)
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 13: Three-Dimensional Media (Sculpture), pp. 159-171
• Carving, pp. 160-161
• Studio 13.1: A Sculpture with Movement
• Studio: Carving Clay (Rodin), Discovering Great Artists, p. 50
• Casting, pp. 162-164
• Modeling, p. 165
• Coiling, p. 166
• Slab Building and Papier-Mache, p. 167
• Construction and Assemblage, p. 168-171
• Lesson 7: Architecture
• Studio 7: Create an Architectural Model
• Studio: Environmental House
• Studio: Box House Architect (Wright), Discovering Great Artists, p. 82
• Lesson 8: Pottery and Ceramics
• Studio 8: Make a Hand-Built Pottery Vessel
• Studio: Slab Vase (uses self-hardening clays)
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 13: Three-Dimensional Media, pp. 175-176
• Lesson 9: Still Photography
• Studio 9: Make a Photomontage
• Additional Reading: The Visual Experience, Chapter 12: Two-Dimensional Media, pp. 150-153 (Film, Video and Computer Art)
• Portfolio Project: Tessellation Design (Variation: Vasarely Was a Colorful Fellow)
• Vasarely: The official artist website; includes many examples of his work.

Part Two