TOS Review: "See the Light"~~Dreams of Joseph Art Project

 

     They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.  The story of "Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors" is one that is familiar to many children, but a story that came to life as my children painted a vibrant scene of Joseph wearing his coat of many colors along with the dream sequence.  See The Light and their product, Dreams of Joseph gave our homeschool a unique opportunity to see a familiar Bible story in a new way.  It also helped us to learn art history along with art elements and art principles.

 

 

     The Basics

     See the Light "Art Projects" comes in the form of a DVD.  My family received the "Dreams of Joseph" project.  There are 4 lessons on the DVD: 1) Outline Key Elements in Black  2) Paint the Background  3) Paint Joseph's Robe  4) Finish Your Painting with Joseph's Dream Details.  Each lesson was approximately 25 minutes.  (This was DVD time.  We paused the DVD often as suggested by the instructor.)  The lessons start-to-finish were about an hour. 

     "Dreams of Joseph" is for ages 10+.  I would not recommend this for younger than 10.  My 12 year-old and  nearly 15 year old thoroughly enjoyed it.  (In fact, I can't wait to paint the picture myself!  I had planned to do that when my children painted, but found out they needed lots of room, and I wanted to watch/supervise/encourage/get water, etc.)  

     

 

     Materials needed to complete the Dreams of Joseph project:

*A 12"x 16" piece of white or manilla bristol board or poster board

*Craft or tempera paint-white, yellow, red, orange, blue, green, violet, black, brown

*Several waxy coated white paper plates

*Several sizes of paintbrushes (from 1/2" flat to very small round)

*Newspapers or an old tablecloth to protect the table

*A bowl of water or a sink nearby

*Papertowels

 

 A few notes from us:

I accidentally bought canvas, but it worked just fine. 

We used craft paint...only had to buy a few colors.

We found it very important to use quality brushes, especially for the smaller details.

You will also need a mom to run to the sink often to get clean water and more paper towels! (hehe!)

 

 

The Instructor

Master Artist, Pat Knepley

My kids really liked her.  They said she was like a "mom" and that they learned a lot from her. 

I liked her manner.  She was very thorough, yet easy-going. 

 

The Artist:

     The "Art Projects, Dreams of Joseph" teaches your child to paint in the style of the Russian artist, Marc Chagall.   Throughout the four lessons, pictures of his work are shown. Interesting facts about his life are also shared. The instructor, Pat Knepley, does a wonderful job incorporating his unique style into the "Dreams of Joseph" project. (For example, the use of bright colors.)  What better way to get to know an artist than to try to paint like him/her?  We had never heard of Marc Chagall before this project.  Now, we have a great appreciation for him and his work!

 

 

Our Favorite Aspects:

*My kids learned tons of technique. 

*You were expected to paint in the style of Marc Chagall and to keep in meaning with the Bible Story, but beyond that you could be creative.

*Pat Kneply opened her Bible during each lesson and read to the students. She related something from each lesson to scripture.







 

Lesson 1: Just the beginning!

     

 

 A screen shot

 

 

 Lesson 2

 

 

Lesson 3

 

 

 Lesson 4

 

 

The Final Product

In seeing my two sons' paintings side-by-side, one can see that each child can create their own unique masterpiece!

 

Cost of Product/Similar Products:

     Dreams of Joseph Art Project can be purchased for $14.99.  There are also lots of other "Art Projects" to choose from: Tiffany Window, Paper Jungle and Poppy Collage to name a few.  Go HERE to read more reviews of these and other products from "See the Light".  (A boxed set of 9 Art Project DVD's can be purchased for $99.99.)