Westmoreland museum uses Mt. Lebanon teacher's book on American art to involve children
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Victoria Hrach, 10, and author Katie Barnard Switzer show pages with Victoria's artwork in "Imagine American Art."
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When the staff of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art searched for a children's book on American art to sell in the gift shop, there was none available. So the little museum that could decided to create its own.
The result is "Imagine American Art," a delightful, entertaining and child-friendly publication that combines storytelling with hands-on art projects in each of three sections -- portrait, landscape and still life. It's designed for ages 6 to 12.
Reproductions of works in the museum collection illustrate each section along with artworks by children created specifically for the book.
Author Katie Barnard Switzer, who teaches art in the Mt. Lebanon School District, will be at the museum on Main Street, in Greensburg, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday to sign copies of "Imagine American Art," which will be sold at 20 percent discount off its $17.95 retail price.
Ms. Switzer, who was the museum's director of education/visitor services, said that writing the book was second nature to her. The sections are arranged in the order that visitors encounter art when walking through the museum's permanent collection galleries.
"I've lived with these paintings and I love them and I love explaining them to kids," she said. She keeps her connection with the museum as a volunteer.
After being introduced to portrait paintings such as "Mother and Two Children," a 1901 work by Mary Stevenson Cassatt, children may draw, within fancy frames, portraits of family members and friends, or their own self-portraits. Landscape works, such as the circa 1905 stained glass window designed for the Thomas Lynch house by Louis Comfort Tiffany, are followed by colorful vinyl window clings that children may cut into shapes and place on their home windows.
First Published March 17, 2011 12:00 am
