<p>Wow! Thanks for all the great information. </p>
<p>taxguy wrote, among other interesting suggestions, "Do a web search for Atelier schools and go to:<a href="http://www.artrenewal.org">http://www.artrenewal.org</a></p>
<p>Here is a list of approved Atelier schools with examples of work done at each school:<a href="http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/atelier_list.asp">http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/atelier_list.asp</a>" </p>
<p>Thank for that helpful suggestion. I hardly know brand names of art instruction resources at all, and that's what I need to learn as my son grows up. We had one private tutorial for him a year or so ago, an art teacher who gave my first son and my second son lessons in her studio. (My older son had had her as a teacher in joint classes for homeschoolers.) That teacher has now moved out of state, so we have to find another teacher. </p>
<p>MotherOfTwo wrote, "As far as how art ability develops, I was very clueless too, but now I see that it is part talent and part being taught - just like someone with musical talent won't automatically be able to play an instrument without instruction, someone with artistic talent needs lessons to be able to use their abilities." </p>
<p>This is our impression too. By the way, my wife is a piano teacher, so she appreciates analogies like this. What I see as my second son's potential now is his willingness to do a lot of drawing without anyone pushing him to do it. I figure he will continue to get better as long as he continues that habit, IF he additionally gains some new ideas from time to time on how to do art. </p>
<p>worried_mom wrote, "My son waited until the summer before his senior year in high school to decide that he didn't want to be a mechanical engineer after all but wanted to pursue a career in Industrial Design." </p>
<p>My best friend from college days--in fact my second son is named after him--is an industrial designer. It has been interesting learning from him over more than two decades how that occupation works as a career. This old friend of mine started out as a student of architecture, and then switched schools and his major subject when he learned about industrial design. He does have strong visual art ability, mostly developed in his college program, and he thinks like an engineer in many ways, which makes for an interesting combination. </p>
<p>carolyn wrote, "But, perhaps the best thing we have done for my daughter over the years is simply keep a closet stocked with all sorts of art supplies - paints, paper, drawing materials, collage materials - and encourage her to use her spare time enjoying making art for its own sake." </p>
<p>I think that is a key thing to do. Every piece of paper in our house with a blank side is drawing paper. We also get our children, especially our second son, some of the better quality art materials to supplement their endless supply of pencils and office paper. Besides building with Legos, drawing with pencil and paper is my second son's favorite activity. </p>
<p>fendergirl wrote, about her younger sister, "i know one thing she really likes to do is art, so i suggested that she take some more art classes in high school" </p>
<p>Here in Minnesota, we have a governor's school (it is literally named after the late governor who proposed founding it) with two years of specialized programs in fine arts (visual art, performing arts, and music). That school is fairly near to where I live, so we could commute there. It would also be possible for my son to do two years of a college art program at high school age as a PSEO student here. We'll have to figure out which kind of program would be a good fit for him when he gets to be that age. </p>
<p>sac wrote, about her daughter, "The most difficult time to find art classes or experiences for her was in middle and high school, when she didn't want kids classes and was too young for adult classes." </p>
<p>I suspect this is generally true of kids who strongly develop an ability from early childhood by home practice. If they are grouped with age mates, the class is too easy. To find classes at their ability level, they have to work with much older classmates. It has been that way for my oldest son in math, mostly. I think it will be that way for my second son in art. </p>
<p>sac further wrote, "So, while it is great to nurture a child's talents in this area as in others, visual arts talent doesn't necessarily lead to an easy young adulthood." </p>
<p>I do worry a bit that visual art ability is rather disparaged in modern culture. A few centuries ago, in most cultures around the world, visual art ability was highly prized. Photography seems to have ruined much of the market for visual artists, and I have heard photographers say, in turn, that digital photo editing is ruining much of the market for live photography. My son has sufficient interest in building things and science that he might fit well in industrial design as a career. Sometimes he has described his career goal as becoming an artist with pictures hanging in a museum, but sometimes he wants to be a professional soccer player. :) He still has some time to think about career paths. My wife the piano teacher notices that he has musical talent to burn, but little patience for taking lessons from his mom. I think his true-blue passion is visual art, and I believe in letting kids overdo their passions, whatever the job market is like. </p>
<p>mackinaw wrote, about a daughter who has recently graduated from an art school, "In her sophomore year, however, we suggested that she attend the precollege program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), and by the time she completed that short summer session she was determined to major in art and, moreover, attend an art school." </p>
<p>I'll have to be on the lookout for programs like that in my town. On the whole, my second son is less eager to attend outside-the-home programs than my oldest son was at about the same age. Maybe he will become more used to that sort of thing as he gets older. </p>
<p>The great majority of his drawing output has always been representational, sometimes with striking accuracy. My older son and third son do more of making colorful patterns and the like, although my second son used the Geometer's Sketchpad computer program a couple months ago to generate some interesting designs. </p>
<p>mackinaw further wrote, "For us, as the parents, the hardest part of this was figuring out the college-level options, in particular the choice between stand-alone art colleges (SAIC, RISD, MICA, etc.), genuine BFA studio programs in larger universities (CMU, BU, Syracuse, etc.), and perhaps less art-intensive art "majors" in liberal arts colleges and large universities." </p>
<p>Yep, that's a complete puzzler to me. I think it will take years of research to get some sense of what is distinctive about each kind of program, and years of observing my son as he grows up to get a sense of whether any of those programs would be a good fit for him. I was a liberal arts major at a state flagship university, and I know that there was an art department over across the river on the other side of campus, but I didn't know any art majors at the university, and hardly knew any art students at my high school. </p>
<p>"After sophomore year or so, it's not a bad idea to go to one of the National Portfolio Days (see <a href="http://www.npda.org">http://www.npda.org</a>, and also for information see <a href="http://www.aicad.org">www.aicad.org</a>). Your son or daughter can get a "free" no-pressure evaluation of some of their work, advice on how to build their portfolio, and sometimes actual encouragement." </p>
<p>Specific recommendations like that make this thread invaluable for clueless parents like me. Thanks very much. </p>
<p>momrath wrote, among interesting comments about what can go wrong in art classes, "My advice would be to try to find a summer or after school program that emphasizes process. The outcome isn't as important as the making." </p>
<p>I think that is sound advice. You also asked if we have access to programs at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. We are close enough to the city to attend programs there. We have sent our second son to one program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which he thought was okay but hasn't been eager to repeat. (He'd rather stay at home to do his art, on the whole. I'm wondering if he attended a class with a few preexisting friends if that would be more fun and inviting for him.) </p>
<p>RISDprof wrote, "Enthusiastically fostering your son's natural inclinations while making sure the intrinsic motivation is there (he'll need plenty of it at RISD, at least) are the two most important things you can do." </p>
<p>Yes, some day when my children go off to college I intend to write a homeschooling parent's statement in lieu of a counselor's school profile, and the way I will describe our "school" is that our philosophy is that we encourage our children to get a well-rounded general education while also maintaining lots of intrinsic motivation, especially in pursuing their major subject-matter passions. </p>
<p>RISDprof further wrote, "I can't speak for every institution, but RISD considers drawing from observation integral to almost all areas of study and the Foundation year is definitely centered on drawing, 2D and 3D design." </p>
<p>That's my impression too, that even "abstract" artists really can't do without being able to draw on paper (or computer screen) what they see with their eyes (or mind's eyes). I was pretty heavily influenced by Mona Brooks's and Betty Edwards's books on art instruction when my oldest son was a baby, "If a child is having trouble drawing something, have him look at it again." My second son seems spontaneously to draw most interesting objects he sees during the course of a day, and he also has certain imaginary themes (Japanese castles are one) that he revisits over and over.</p>