Leonardo's Art Workshop

Another's book in a new series based around Leonardo da Vinci's work. This one focuses more on the at side with a scientific element as well. As with the science book, there are fun experiments along side the lessons. An early experiment in the book had the reader creating paints and dyes from foods. Without actually counting, there do seem to be more experiments and projects in this book than the science one. I think this would be great for a middle grade child with an interest in art learn how science impacts what they already love. Seems like a good new series!

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The book opens with an introduction to Leonardo da Vinci and how he had an unconventional upbringing and insatiable curiosity. While STEAM seems like a modern concept of technology and the relationships between the areas of education, Leonardo understood this concept centuries ago.

Full of fascinating facts and surprising exceptions to the rules, this book makes a great addition to any scout leaders bag of tools or any youth organization classroom. The diversity of projects with inexpensive and readily available components is exactly what youth leaders and teachers need.
One of my favorite chapters suggests how you can create and compile your own drawing tools.
I also liked how to change the strength of a material such as paper.

From conceptual design to proportion, optical illusion and perspective, this book explains the ideas in easy to understand ways. The included projects are just a jumping off point for the many ideas which will flow as you learn and create.

This book makes learning fun and painless.
In conclusion we come full circle, learning about an older, more experienced Leonardo and more ways we can begin to think in creative ways and track our ideas.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a companion to the other book I reviewed today (Leonardo's Science Workshop), and is aimed at the arts, again through the lens of Leonardo of Vinci's accomplishments, and often referring to his own art and notebooks, of which he left many - although nowhere near as many as he wrote, it appears.

Leonardo never saw any separation between the topics of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, commonly referenced today under the acronym STEM (not STEAM, as these books term it). Leonardo always went deep into a subject if he went at all, wanting to understand not the superficial, but the integral, and this book follows his example, offering fun and delightfully messy topics like creating paints and dyes from food, as well as beautiful ones, such as working with prisms, and other aspects of using light for art, such as building a camera obscura, as well as understanding what light is.

Art of the past is explored in entertaining and practical ways such as in contour drawing, and to keep things in perspective, there's also a discussion of one-point perspective drawing. Science and art are brought together, in much the way Leonardo himself did, by exploring ideas and work by such artists as Sandro Botticelli and Paul Klee, and such scientists as Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo Fibonacci.

There's a bad error on page 95 where an eight inch diameter circle is determined to have an area of fifty square feet! I think they meant fifty inches! Also page 109 on 'Spectacular Spans' has a color key which shows valley folds blue, but image shows them green. Whether this was just in my electronic copy I do not know, but if it's in the print version it needs correcting.

If you have time (and who doesn't?!), you can make your own sundial using information in this book, or even an infinity scope which sounds a lot more dangerous than it really is! The sundial isn't just a project. You learn in reading about it, not only how it was made, but why it was made the way it was - so please, do touch that dial! This is the approach throughout the book and is an excellent learning opportunity for any young child. I commend this book as a worthy read.

#LeonardosArtWorkshop #NetGalley

This book is science and art hand in hand. The use of science to describe art and art to feel is awesome and to apply it to kids is a great thing. Kids can apply these ideas and take off in creativity.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Fascinating! I learnt a few things and enjoyed the projects to make with the children. I think some of the history and science was lost on the kids but I hope they will come back to it and enjoy the experiments and take in more information. It does go quite in depth to explain, so for example the first chapter was 'color' (annoyed me it was american spelling and really wished it had been anglophiled), this explained the wave lengths of colour and how Leornardo investigated colour. The text is detailed and uses language aimed at older children or even adults. The projects though would suit any child. My advice would be to read through first and then discuss it in a way that your child would understand whilst working on the experiment.

Lots of wonderful ideas is in this book based on the work of Leonardo da Vinci. Particularly liked the way we can make our own drawing tools, dyes and paints. Will be using some of the ideas in this book in our library programming.

Leonardo's Art Workshop is a book of projects to invent, create, and make steam projects like a genius. This book has 6 chapters: Color, Shadow and Light, Lines and Patterns, Forms and Structures, Optics and Special Effects, The Essential Leonardo. Each chapter has step by step instructions for projects related to the topic of that chapter. The color chapter has ways to make colored dyes from foods, which I thought was pretty cool (and may be something to consider for easter eggs?) I liked that in addition to showing you some of these activities it also talks about the science behind it, so you can learn a little bit and then do a hands on example. I was always much more of a hands on learner and needed to see it to believe it so these activities would have been great for me as a kid.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated. This book was released November 20, 2018 on Quarry Books.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect balance of book learning and hands on.
Amy Leidtke combines the history and science of Leonardo Da Vinci in this charming book that provides fun art related activities that kids can do. I know that I would have loved this when I was younger and I want copy of my own to share with the children in my life.
Learning and art combined together for a fun, educational experience. This is something I would absolutely do with my children!

Based on Leonardo's art there are lots of ideas represented in this book with some very interesting projects with step step by instructions.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

Kids will love doing the art projects and learning more about history at the same time. The instructions are clear and the abundant color illustrations make it easy to follow each lesson.

This is my new favorite art book for kids. It looks at the science associated with art, such as color theory and perception, and combines those lessons with corresponding art projects. This would be fun and useful for elementary aged kids, but even older kids and adults will learn something and have fun. I wish I’d had this book when I was learning physics!

Leonardo's Art Workshop is a companion book to Leonardo's Science Workshop (reviewed by me previously). I've been touting STE(A)M education for decades. Most of the time, getting young people fired up over technology and art is as simple as exposing them to the concepts and getting out of their way.
Released 20th Nov 2018 on Quarto's Quarry imprint, it's 144 pages and available in ebook and flexibind formats. Author Amy Leidtke is an educator and designer and brings that experience to bear creating and presenting numerous projects which illustrate the concepts detailed in each segment. The chapters cover visual light and color and there are some really cool projects (like a camera obscura to build and DIY). Details from Leonardo da Vinci's life and history are seamlessly woven into the book in sidebars. The photography and diagrams in the book are clear and the instructions are well written. The projects use relatively easily sourced and inexpensive materials.

This would make a superlative book for youth groups (scouts) or school STEAM module for middle grade students.

Wonderfully well presented and interesting projects.

Five stars.