Written to engage and inspire students with little or no previous experience in studio art or art history, Approaches to Art: A Journey in Art Appreciation builds the case for art's meaning and value. The book presents all the essential parts of an introductory art history course --visual elements, principles of design, style, media, and art history--in a compelling format that invites critical thinking and teaches multicultural visual literacy. Students will not only learn the parts of art, they will develop, step by step, a deeper understanding of art's power to communicate on multiple levels--universal, cultural, and personal. Each chapter includes an art history exercise, a studio exercise, and discussion questions. The assignments can easily be customized to focus on art history or studio art, as appropriate for specific courses and modalities. Approaches to Art empowers students to approach any work of art with the ability to see and appreciate far more than they could before. Developed and class-tested over a period of years, it is an ideal textbook for general education courses in introductory art history and art appreciation. Ferdinanda Florence holds an M.F.A. in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, and an M.A. in art history from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a professor of art appreciation and art history at Solano Community College in Fairfield, California. A professional artist, she is represented by the Andrea Schwartz Gallery in San Francisco.