Hello, everyone! At long last, here is another post, and an unusual one at that. I have finally taken the time to share one of my art lessons, and I hope to share a lot more over the summer. Last year as an introduction to art class, I had my lower school students (grades K-4th) do a treasure box drawing prompt that they seemed to enjoy, helped me get to know them, and I found successful. Therefore, for art teachers looking for a fun prompt, a new "about me" project, or for parents/teachers in other fields looking for a creative activity to give children, here is the lesson:
I always try to include art history, aesthetics, elements and principles of art, and techniques in every art lesson as I was taught to, with all of my lessons in a unit themed around a universal topic anyone could relate to (like gratitude, beauty or peace, for example). We applied the element of line. The famous artist I introduced was William Harnett. I had students analyze his work "Still Life--Violin and Music" and discuss it for a few minutes. I asked them if they thought the work was a photo, painting, or drawing, then discussed how his works were so realistic they looked like photos (trompe l'oeil). We discussed still life art, and how this work featured a collection of items the artist may have found interesting, enjoyed or loved. After brainstorming why he might have chosen those items and how music seemed to be important to him, I assigned their "about me" treasure box project: They were to illustrate a special box full of items that are special to them and/or that tell about them. For example, I love art so I might include art supplies in my box. I love music, so I might add my favorite music book. I also might include a journal a friend gave me that I feel is special. I started them off with a step-by-step tutorial on how they could outline the corner of their box (and make it look 3D). I told them after to decorate their box and fill it with their treasures. They used markers, pencils, and colored pencils. This lesson is aligned with the national core art standards. If viewers look closely, they should see hints as to who made the box and be able to learn about them through close observation.
Here are some lovely examples:
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