The Art of Color
Multicultural Artist Studies
From the beginning, my husband and I wanted to ensure art was an intricate part of our homeschool.
It was only natural since my daughter is a “creative” and flourished in the arts.
It was also because I was raised by a father who was an appreciator of art, teaching me about great artists, including those of our own island of Puerto Rico.
Then I found Miss Mason and it was a match made in Heaven!
"We aim at putting the children in touch with the great artist minds of all ages. We try to unlock for their delectation the wonderful garden of Art, in which grow most lovely flowers, most wholesome fruits. We want to open their eyes and minds to appreciate the masterpieces of pictorial art, to lead them from mere fondness for a pretty picture which pleases the senses up to honest love & discriminating admiration for what is truly beautiful - a love & admiration which are the response of heart & intellect to the appeal addressed to them through the senses by all great works of art.” – The Parents' Review
Yes!!! I was sold. Give me DaVinci! Give me Monet! Give me Van Gogh!
But then I realized something. Many of the picture studies out there did not reflect “all great works of art”; just some.
Where were the many artists of color who could also inspire children everywhere?
And THAT was the inspiration for The Art of Color Study: Multicultural Artist Studies!
Backstory on The Art of Color Study
Every story has a beginning and ours started before we even met.
Both Nellie Escalante and I grew up in New York City with a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge, especially when it came to our Latino culture.
When we entered our college years, we both hit the same bump in the road. Nellie felt underrepresented in her art history courses and I felt invisible in the literature I read.
We would later discover that this desire to be represented would become our passion and inspire our life’s work as educators.
Throughout Nellie’s college career, most of her art history courses concentrated primarily on Western Art so she had to be creative in incorporating artists of color in her final projects. After she graduated, it became clear to Nellie that she needed to continue to fill in the gaps and consciously chose to work in smaller culturally specific museums like El Museo del Barrio and The Studio Museum in Harlem. Nellie is currently a member of the teaching team of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET) where her position as a Museum Educator of color informs her museum programs. She is also a published author on special-needs parenting.
As a NYC public school teacher, I did my best to provide a multicultural education for my students through the use of diverse, high quality books. When I became a mom and, later, a homeschool educator, I continued to read children’s literature with my daughter that reflected our heritage as well as other ethnicities. My work has broadened through this very website as I share of multicultural books of quality for educational and personal use, as well as our homeschooling journey. I also co-host on the Charlotte Mason for All Podcast and am an aspiring children’s author.
Years later, Nellie’s and my similar paths would converge through Instagram. Nellie posted a creative recreation of Diego Velázquez’s Portrait of Juan de Pareja, and a mutual friend, who knew I was also fascinated by Pareja’s story, connected us.
Nellie and I began wonderful conversations on art, culture and education. As we got to know each other, Nellie expressed her desire to offer diverse art history resources to school-aged children and I shared the need for a larger multicultural representation within Art Appreciation homeschooling resources.
At that point, it was clear to us that our individual experiences had brought us together for a greater purpose: The Art of Color Multicultural Artist Studies.
What Does The Art of Color Study Consist Of?
Now Home Educator and Art Educator are joining forces in creating Multicultural Art Appreciation resources. Especially designed for students, these resources bring Artists of Color to the forefront who are either unknown in the mainstream world of art or for whom very limited information is available. Using our knowledge as writers and our passion as educators of color, sprinkled with a mama’s touch, Nellie and I are carefully crafting each Artist Study, complete with an original biography & quality prints. We are working diligently to produce resources that are historically accurate, engaging for the student and honor the artist being studied.
It is our hope to create a new Artist Study every term but please be patient with us. We are mothers first, wearing a gazillion hats.
So we began this new journey together with the man who first inspired our friendship: Juan de Pareja.
And for any educators in need of more direction on how to do an artist study according to Charlotte Mason, The Art of Color Study offers a free Q&A downloadable with answers straight from Ms. Mason’s volumes when you subscribe to the website.
In addition, you’ll receive a list of activities that could either be used to alternate visual narrations between pictures or can be used as extensions when the Artist Study has been completed. Be sure to grab yours below!