Catholic Art Curriculum

I am currently developing a traditional arts curriculum for Catholic schools and homeschoolers.

This curriculum is designed as an apprenticeship — the way all great artists learned their craft before the modern era.

Students will experience daily life as apprentice in the workshop of a Byzantine icon painter; as a young scribe working on illuminated manuscripts in an Irish monastery; and as an apprentice in the bustling workshops of a Renaissance painter in Quattrocento Florence.

This curriculum exposes students to authentic traditional skills and materials, instead of merely approximating the appearance of traditional art with modern acrylic paints. Thus students can expect to finish the curriculum with a solid technical foundation in the core skills of professional liturgical artists:

• Egg Tempera Painting

• Classical Drawing

• Manuscript illumination

• Calligraphy and Lettering

• Silverpoint Drawing

• Gesso panel making

• Framemaking

• Gilding

This is a “heart project” for me. My goal is to help train the next generation of Catholic artists. As part of that mission, I am looking for a small number of schools and homeschool groups to help “Beta test” the curriculum before publication.

The benefit for me is getting feedback from your students so I can fine tune the curriculum. The benefit for you is free art instruction and the chance for your students’ artwork to be featured in the textbook and accompanying instructional videos.

If you think you might be interested in participating, please contact me.