Junior Youth Art Component - Walking the Straight Path - Lesson 7  (could be used with other lessons)

Objective: Junior youth to have the opportunity to create a small furniture item for their family home or their bedroom. Junior youth will discover how artisans design surfaces of the furniture items they see daily in their environments at home and school. They will learn techniques and transfer designs. They will learn staining, stenciling, stamping and paint mixing.

History: Artisans have used various techniques throughout the ages to create designs on furniture. Raw wood is a blank canvas and can be enhanced and beautified to bring out its natural beauty. Today's array of inexpensive, quick-drying products, vast amounts of stencils, sponges, stamps and the like, assist the amateur in the creative process.

Activity: Using your own inspiration and the materials provided create a custom piece of furniture, which you can take home.

Materials:

1. inexpensive raw wood small furniture pieces (under $5 Cdn, or seek out donations) frames mirrors, shelves, assorted boxes.
2. acrylic paint and stains
3. sponges, rags & brushes
4. stencils and stamps
5. sealers ( I added the sealer to the paint beforehand, and provided sealer for those using stains)

Instructions:

Provide preamble to jy on the beauty of real wood, enhancement of its natural qualities and an introduction to the materials. Emphasize that less is more, and give demo on stenciling and staining (info comes with products)

Each jy selects one piece of furniture and is given a few minutes to study the piece for it's natural beauty, shape, & inlays. Encourage them to create their own design or use the available stencils and stamps.

Time Allotment: 45 minutes to 1 hour.