PRE-ORDER NOW!

Lumen is a guide to the elements of art through time, which takes students (and art lovers of all ages) on a journey through the seven elements of art to better help them see and love beauty. Volume one, on Line, is available to pre-order now.

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What is Lumen?

  • Lumen is a seven-volume curriculum series that teaches children about the seven elements of visual art, with the goal of helping them to cultivate a love of beauty and the ability to see patterns woven throughout history. Our goal was to create an easily adaptable way of providing the riches of great art for your children, in whatever setting you teach, with however much time you have.

  • Lumen offers a unique approach to picture study in that each volume focuses on twenty-four works of art that span the cultural timeline from the ancient world to modern times. Each was chosen specifically for what they reveal about particular elements of art, thus allowing students to discover the ways the elements have evolved over time. Volume one is on the element of line.

  • While Lumen can easily be adapted for all of pre-k through 12th grade (and even for personal study for art lovers of all ages) it is primarily designed for ages 8-12. Each full-color book features discussion questions; interactive activities; artists bios; additional information on key terms and movements in art history; and beautiful re-productions of some of the world's most important works of art.

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Pre-order Volume 1

We are hard at work putting the finishing touches on this first volume. We want it to be as great as possible, so our estimated ship date is July 20, 2024. We can't wait to get it to you in plenty of time for the new school year! When you pre-order, you help us prepare for our first print run as well enable us to prepare the next volumes.

The Building blocks of visual art

The seven elements of art are line, space, color, texture, shape, value, and form. In short, they're the fundamental building blocks of visual art. They make up the language of the best works of art. The more you can speak that language, the more you can truly enjoy those works! Our goal is to help students do that. Eventually, we plan to create tools to help students learn about each.

(In case you have questions)

The Basics

What category of art education does Lumen fall under? 

Lumen could be described as art appreciation, picture study, or as an art history primer. We know that art is often one of the first things that gets cut from the school day (let alone the curriculum at-large), so we designed Lumen to be an easily adaptable way of bringing beauty into your school week.

What's included?

The complete Lumen set includes a full-sized, perfect bound, full color book, along with 24 coordinating 8.5”x11” art prints for study purposes.

Who's Lumen For?

Lumen is primarily designed for use by a teacher (or self-led individual) in a home or small classroom environment. Lumen can be adapted for students of any age, from toddlers through high school, but is designed primarily for students aged approximately 8-12.

Do I need the print set?

While the book alone is adequate if it's being used by an individual, it's designed to be accompanied by the art prints. The prints can be displayed in the home or classroom, and they allow students to see the works of art more clearly as they study and make comparisons between them. We recommend that if Lumen is used in a larger classroom or co-op setting, each family would have their own print set.

What are the seven elements of art?

Good question! They are line, space, color, texture, shape, value, and form. In short, they're the fundamental building blocks of visual art. Eventually, we plan to create tools to help students learn about each. If you'd like to learn more about the elements please click here.

Which artists are covered in volume one?

Tethered by the element of line, some of the artworks featured in this first volume include a greek amphora, a byzantine mosaic, a Celtic illuminated manuscript, Chinese calligraphy, an engraving by Albrecht Durer, a woodblock print by Hokusai, and paintings by Rosa Bonheur, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Vincent Van Gogh, Andrew Wyeth, and others.

How long does a Lumen book take to work through?

Lumen is meant to be readily adaptable to your situation but each volume focuses on 24 prmary works of art across 24 chapters. so you could adapt this to the whole school year, to a single semester, or even to an eight-week term. It's really up to you. It's always better not to rush when it comes to the riches!

Hi There!

I'm Bethany Kern. After studying for three years at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, I moved to Charlotte (married a guy) and graduated with a degree in Studio Arts from UNCC in 2010. Our family then began to- quickly! -grow. Creativity lay relatively dormant for several years while we focused on raising little ones.

But teaching art appreciation in our homeschool co-op has now ushered me back into the realm of the visual arts, and a decade’s worth of creative energy is pouring out into the development of Goldberry Arts. Thanks so much for checking out what we're up to and please feel free to drop me line below if you have any questions!