Art & Music Education

In her book The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Edith Schaeffer argues that everyone has a talent or skill ready to be discovered and put to use for the glory of God. Often, that talent lies dormant, and the individual is frustrated by the empty spot in their life it should fill. Finding your talent should be a priority, though it's no drudgery—discovering what God has made you good at is a joyful and exciting process.

Similarly, Olympic gold medalist Eric Liddell never put his running before his duty to Christ; instead, he used his talent as a sprinter to glorify God. As he expresses in the brilliant film Chariots of Fire, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." God gives us talents to use in His name, and our joy in them is really our joy in Him.

Eric Liddell's talent led him to compete internationally; the "hidden art" Schaeffer describes is a little more modest, though no less glorifying to God when pursued humbly and gratefully. For Schaeffer, one's hidden art can be something as simple as arranging flowers on the kitchen table, or as elaborate as writing a story or painting a landscape. Everyone has different strengths, and each should learn to cultivate their own.

Our goal in teaching our children art and music isn't to raise a bunch of Van Goghs and Mozarts. If your child is a creative genius that's wonderful, but even if she can barely stay in the lines when coloring, her gifts are just as valuable to the Lord, and her discovery of them is just as important for her growth and personal happiness.

There are a few books in this section designed to help kids appreciate great art of the past, to learn about composers, or to identify the work of different painters and architects. However, most of what we offer is intended to help students across the whole range of ages to acquire and develop whatever skills they may have in sketching, painting, composing, instrument-playing, sculpting, acting, etc.

It's important to remember that no one will ever do anything perfectly, and first attempts are generally met with complete or near-total failure. Failure is often seen as an enemy, or simply as a hurdle to be overcome. Real failure, however, is integral to eventual success and (more importantly) to learning and character development. If a child managed to get everything right the first time, there would be no room for improvement, no reason to work hard.

Exercising one's creativity is essential. Humans were created in God's image, which means in part that we are creative beings, and whenever we're creative in ways that honor God, we're imitating Him. To the extent we can train our kids to do this, we should. Encourage them to do the best they can, because in the end they're doing it for God, and He expects nothing less.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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151 Items found Print
Active Filters: Adult, Used Books & Materials
1000 Artists' Books
by Sandra Salamony with Peter & Donna Thomas
from Quarry Books
for 9th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$15.20 (1 in stock)
101 Things I Learned in Architecture School
by Matthew Frederick
from MIT Press
for 9th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
60 Minutes to Better Painting
by Craig Nelson
from North Light Books
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
African-American Arts: Music
by written by Angela Shelf Medearis and Michael R. Medearis
from Millbrook Press
for 6th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
All About Maps
from Gingko Press
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
All Shook Up
Pivotal Moments in American History
by Glenn C. Altschuler
from Oxford University
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
American Barns and Covered Bridges
by Eric Sloane
1st edition from Wilfred Funk, Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
An Introduction to Medieval Ivory Carvings
by Paul Williamson
from Her Majesty's Stationery Office
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Annotated Mona Lisa
by Carol Strickland
from Andrews McMeel
for 11th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Arrow Pointing to Heaven
by James Bryan Smith
Revised from B&H Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Art and Artists of Russia
by Richard Hare
from Methuen
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Art of Art for Children's Books
by Diana Klemin
1st edition from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Art of the Graphic Memoir
by Tom Hart
from St. Martin's Griffin
for 9th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Art of the Renaissance
by Peter and Linda Murray
1999 reprint from Thames and Hudson
for 9th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Art Workshops for Children
by Herve Tullet
from Phaidon Press
for Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
At Play: Teaching Teenagers Theater
by Elizabeth Swados
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-Adult
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Baby Blessing
by Welleran Poltarnees
from Laughing Elephant
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Beatles vs The Rolling Stones
by Jim Derogatis and Greg Kot
from Voyageur Press
for 9th-Adult
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Beginning Painting DVD - Mini Course
for 1st-Adult
in How Great Thou Art (Location: ELE-ARTHGTA)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Berta and Elmer Hader: A Lifetime of Art
by Joy Hoerner Rich, Karen Tolley, John and Judy Waller
from Joyful Productions
for Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Best Known Gilbert & Sullivan Operas and Bab Ballads
by William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
from Halcyon House
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Blackboard Drawing
by Mildred Swannell
from Yesterday's Classics
for Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$16.11 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Book of Music
by Gill Rowley
from Bounty Books
for 8th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Botanical Line Drawing
by Peggy Dean
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-Adult
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Botanical Painting in Watercolor
by Billy Showell
from Search Press
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Brunelleschi's Dome
by Ross King
from Penguin Books
for 11th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Built to Last
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Calligraphic Ornaments
Dover Clip Art
by Kiyoshi Takahashi, designer
from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Calligraphy
First Steps Series
by Don Marsh
from North Light Books
for 6th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Carl Larsson's A Home
by Carl Larsson and Lennart Rudstrom
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Carols for Choirs 1: Fifty Christmas Carols
by Reginald Jacques and David Willcocks, edited and arranged by
from Oxford University
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Castles of the Western World
by Armin Tuulse
from Dover Publications
for 8th-Adult
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Chapels and Meeting Houses
by Kenneth Lindley
from John Baker
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Charlton Heston Presents: The Bible
by Charlton Heston, Tom Robotham
from GT Publishing
for Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Choices, Changes
by Joni Eareckson Tada
from Zondervan
Biography for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Classical Music
by Phil G. Goulding
1st edition from Fawcett Books
for 8th-Adult
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Color Choices
by Stephen Quiller
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Color Your Own Impressionist Paintings
Dover Masterworks
by Marty Noble
from Dover Publications
for 3th-Adult
in Fine Art Coloring Books (Location: COL-ART)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Complete Decorated Journal
by Gwen Diehn
from Lark Crafts
for 6th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Concepts of Piano Theory - Level 2
from ReSa Publications
Piano theory book for ages 10 and up
in Clearance: Art & Music (Location: ZCLE-ART)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Create Your Own Artist's Journal
from North Light Books
for 6th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Creative Haven Dogs - Draw and Color
by John Green
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Adult Coloring Books (Location: COL-ADULT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cry from the Earth
by John Bierhorst
from Four Winds Press
for 6th-Adult
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Dancer: Degas, Forain, and Toulouse-Lautrec
by Annette Dixon with Mary Weaver Chapin, Jill Devonyar, Richard Kendall, and Florence Valdes-Forain
from Portland Art Museum
for Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Discovering Hope in the Psalms
by Pam Farrel, Jean E. Jones, Karla Dornacher
from Harvest House
for Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Draw Horses
by Lee Hammond
from North Light Books
for 5th grade-adult
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$7.60 (1 in stock)
Draw the Titanic
by Andrew Staiano, illustrated by Jason Pederson
from Scholastic Inc.
for All ages
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Drawing Cute Birds in Colored Pencil
by Ai Akikusa
from Quarry Books
for 6th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Drawing Made Easy: Flowers & Botanicals
by Diane Cardaci
from Walter Foster
for 9th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (really old)
by Betty Edwards
2nd edition from Jeremy P. Tarcher
for 6th-Adult
in Clearance: Art & Music (Location: ZCLE-ART)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Drawing with Pen and Ink
by Arthur L. Guptill, edited and revised by Henry C. Pitz
1968 Printing, Revised Edition from Reinhold Book Corp.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$19.20 (1 in stock)
Drawing: Buildings
Learn to Draw Step by Step
by Gene Franks
from Walter Foster
for 6th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Enjoy Your Recorder
by Trapp Family
from Magnamusic Distributors
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.40 (2 in stock)
Essential Dictionary of Music
by Lindsey C. Harnsberger
2nd edition from Alfred Publishing
for 4th-Adult
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Exploring Oregon's Historic Courthouses
by Kathleen M. Wiederhold
from Oregon State University Press
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Eye of the Artist
by Jack Clifton
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Famous Pictures of Real Animals
by Lorinda Munson Bryant
from John Lane Co.
for Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Floral Borders on Layout Grids
by Stefen Bernath, designer
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Folk Arts and Crafts of New England
by Priscilla Sawyer Lord & Daniel J. Foley
Updated from Chilton Book Company
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Frederic Chopin
by Victor Seroff
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Gondoliers, or, The King of Barataria
by Gilbert & Sullivan, adapted by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Sheilah Beckett
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Gospel Figures in Art
by Stefano Zuffi, translated by Thomas Michael Hartmann
from Getty Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Gothic and Old English Alphabets
by Dan X. Solo, selected and arranged
from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Great Composers - Great Artists: Portraits
by Stewart Buettner and Reinhard Pauly
from Amadeus Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Historic Houses of Early America
by Elise Lathrop
1937 printing from Tudor Publishing Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
History Sings
by Hazel Gertrude Kinscella
from University Publishing Company
American Music History for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.40 (1 in stock)
Horse Anatomy Coloring Book
from Anatomy Academy
for 6th-Adult
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Illuminated Page
by Janet Backhouse
from University of Toronto Press
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Wordsworth's Guide to the Lakes
by William Wordsworth, Edited by Peter Bicknell
from Congdon & Weed Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
In August Company
from Morgan Library
for 9th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
In Search of Norman Rockwell's America
by Photography by Kevin Rivoli, Artwork by Norman Rockwell
from Howard Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Kate Greenaway
by Rodney K. Engen
from Harmony
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Richard McLanathan
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Life In Hand
by Hannah Hinchman
from Peregrine Smith, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Life of Picasso Volume II
Book 2 of 4
by John Richardson with Marilyn McCully
First Edition 2nd Printing from Random House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Linocut
by Sam Marshall
from Herbert Press
for 10th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$10.40 (1 in stock)
M.C. Escher Kaleidocycles
Box from Purple Pomegranate Productions
for 6th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Magic Flute - Book with 2 CDs
Black Dog Opera Library
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, text by David Foil
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 8th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Mary Cassatt
by Frank Getlein
from Abbeville Press
for Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$5.20 (1 in stock)
Mary Engelbreit's Color ME!
by Mary Engelbreit
from Harper
for 3rd-Adult
in Miscellaneous Coloring Books (Location: COL-MISC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Masters of Music: Debussy
by Percy M. Young, Illustrated by Richard Shirley Smith
from David White
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Mathew Brady
by James D. Horan
from Bonanza Books
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer & Cinerama Present How the West Was Won
from Random House
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Miracle of the Bells
by Russell Janney
from Prentice Hall
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Mission Memories
by John Steven McGroarty, illustrated by Frederick V. Carpenter
from Neuner Corporation
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.40 (1 in stock)
Mix Your Own Oil Colors
by Jeremy Galton
from Walter Foster
for 5th-Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Modern Watercolor Botanicals
by Sarah Simon
from Paige Tate & Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Monet to Moore
from Yale University Press
for Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Moon and Sixpence
Modern Library
by W. Somerset Maugham
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Mozart: A Bicentennial Tribute
by Wendy Thompson
from Chartwell Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Music Education in the Christian Home
by Mary Ann Froehlich
from Noble Publishing
for 2nd-6th grade
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$2.00 (11 in stock)
Music to Remember
by Lillian Baldwin
from Silver Burdett Press
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
My Dinner with Andre
by Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory
from Grove Press, Inc.
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Nanook of the North
by Robert Flaherty, edited from the film by Robert Kraus
First Printing from Windmill Books
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$19.20 (1 in stock)
Natural Way to Draw
by Kimon Nicolaides
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Nature Anatomy Notebook
by Julia Rothman
from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.99 $9.20 (1 in stock)
Nature Drawing
by Clare Walker Leslie
Revised from Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
for Adult
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music
by Ted Libbey
from Workman Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Oil Painting with the Masters
by Cindy Salaski
from North Light Books
Oil Painting Instruction for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Oil Pastel for the Serious Beginner
by John Elliot
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
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