GeeGuides Bridges Home and Art Museum

When Eric and Lynne Guaglione were visiting the Louvre museum in France with their 6-year-old daughter, they brought along a Louvre art workbook that Eric, a former Disney animation artist, made for her so she would enjoy the museum as much as her parents. She loved it, but not as much as all the parents who crowded around asking where they could buy one did.

Guaglione did not publish similar art museum workbooks for children, but it was the spark of GeeGuides, an interactive art program that mixes some art history with art lessons. I've been spending some time with GeeArt16, and it's a wonderfully designed web-based art education program designed with three groups in mind: home-schooling parents and kids, traditional school art teachers and students, and families.

The animation, understandably, is nicely done, and the characters are pretty engaging. I can see kids liking the site's animated guides, Tickles, Furnace, and Ruby, without feeling they are being cooed to like small children. Kids learn about artists, including Leonardo DaVinci, Mary Cassatt, and Paul Gauguin, and about how to use some of their techniques in their own sketching and painting.

GeeGuides pairs with Corel Painter Essentials 3 to teach some digital art strategies. The home-schooling and individual family packages are priced the same, $69.95, which includes the Corel software. The company is so new it is still working out annual renewal prices that allow students to store their art portfolios online and to continue creating new digital art.

Check it out, whether you home school your kids or not. It's a great program for kids who show an interest in art and artists, and for parents who may be looking to supplement a limited art education in the schools, or to whet your children's interest in an upcoming art museum trip.

By the way, the Guagliones' daughter, now 11, is the company's chief product tester. The programs are recommended for children ages 8 and up.