100 Creative Drawing Ideas

Rating:
Summary: Excellent idea book for upper grades or college drawing!
Review: The book covers various drawing ideas that other teachers have used in their classes. Although it is a compilation book, it does give added ideas to the starving art educator who needs ideas for classes. The only gripe I would have is that I was hoping that I could use it for some of my middle school students. It is really geared towards the upper grades levels and college drawing classes. I am hoping that I will be able to adapt some of the ideas for my gifted and talented art students.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent idea book for upper grades or college drawing!
Review: The book covers various drawing ideas that other teachers have used in their classes. Although it is a compilation book, it does give added ideas to the starving art educator who needs ideas for classes. The only gripe I would have is that I was hoping that I could use it for some of my middle school students. It is really geared towards the upper grades levels and college drawing classes. I am hoping that I will be able to adapt some of the ideas for my gifted and talented art students.

Rating:
Summary: Great Reference Source for Lesson Planning
Review: The majority of the lessons compiled in 100 Creative Drawing Ideas originate from college-level instructors. Therefore, as an art educator experienced in teaching K-12 and higher education students, I must warn you: these are serious lessons aimed at specific problem solving; not meant as a beginning artist's handbook. For educators, this book is filled with ideas that can be adapted up or down, depending upon the desired target age or level. The text is well organized in terms of complexity. Consequently, it is possible to utilize these drawing exercises as preliminaries for other media. Some might find the informal paragraph style of "talking through" the activity a bit confusing. Teachers K-12 will need to adapt the lessons into a format consistent with state standards. Artists looking to expand or brush up on skills will really benefit from this text. As an artist and teacher, I think it's a great reference tool reminding us of what we've learned and what we need to teach.

Rating:
Summary: All is not as seems . . .
Review: The title is misleading. It should be something like 100 Drawing Assignments, or perhaps Prison Sentences. This book doesn't emphasize creativity--especially if you think of it as a way to freely express the art that's locked inside you (which seemed likely since it is published by Shambhala Books). It's a bunch of drawing lessons by college professors. Very few of the exercises are intended to help one overcome artist's block or to loosen up and draw what you really feel. It doesn't teach you to draw. It is simply 100 briefly described (and, unfortunately, rather boring) lessons. One example is the 24-hour drawing. You spend 24 cumulative hours on one drawing. I could never force myself to do that. I think it sounds cruel for any teacher to ask such a thing of anyone. Not all of the ideas were that bad, but they were mostly very dry (bringing to mind the old saying, "In case of flood, throw this in; it's dry enough"). If you are a college professor and want to stick to the usual fare offered in college art courses, this book might be right up your alley. If you are a different kind of teacher, there are plenty of books that don't require heavy adaptation to make them usable.