Boat-Themed Art Projects

Many people feel there is something romantic and wild about boats.

Historically both a means of transportation and a way to express the myths of a culture, boats convey complex structures and romantic idealism that touches most psyches. Use a boat-themed art project for a grade school study of historic boats or a personal expression of self.

3 Dimensional Collages

Toy boats for your collage can be as simple as a plastic mold or as complex as a model.

Gather a group of toy boats of various sizes, shapes and colors. Using a prepared canvas board painted a solid color. Hot-glue the bottom of the toy boats to the board so that they appear to be sitting on the canvas (as opposed to gluing the sides of the boat). Place boats together tightly, mixing sizes, styles and colors as you go. When you hang the canvas on the wall viewers gets an aerial view of the boats that creates an abstract design.

Picture Collage

Use colorful and diverse images of boats for your collage.

Collect photo images or illustrations of boats from different cultures and eras. Cut out words that relate to the sea and boat travel or print out an excerpt from a classic ship-related tale such as "Moby Dick" or "The Old Man and the Sea." Apply to a canvas board with decoupage medium or white glue, layering images and text as you go. Give the whole project an antique look by crumpling images before gluing down and brushing the whole project with tea water to give it a sepia tone.

If You Were a Boat...

The type of boat you create can tell the viewer about your own self-concept.

Review boats from different centuries and cultures taking note of the ornate carvings, figurehead creatures and details that make the boat memorable. With your research in mind, think about what you would look like if you were a boat. Would you be ornate or plain, strictly utilitarian or luxurious and well appointed. Would you be carrying any cargo? What would your destination be? Finally, paint the name of the boat on the bow to complete the drawing or painting project. When you paint a self-portrait like this you explore how you feel about your self and your mission in life.

Focus Point Drawings

When you slide your viewfinder across a picture you will see linear and abstract elements.

Use a viewfinder to isolate details from ornate wood boats from the Viking era. Find images of Viking ships then cut a four by four inch opening in a piece of paper. Slide the viewfinder over the picture to isolate one area to use as a drawing or painting study.

Clay Project

Carve boat motifs into functional pottery pieces to expand your experience.

Start with a cube of clay then carve away the outside layers to mimic reference materials. Larger pieces may require you to hollow out the inside of your block to make it lighter and protect it against exploding in the kiln. Artists may also choose to make smaller carvings on flat square tiles for a quicker and easier project.

References

• Viking Ship Homepage
• Online Literature Network: Moby Dick

Resources

• The Telegraph: Ship Figurehead Gallery
• British Museum: Ship's Figurehead
• Ceramic Arts Daily: Ceramic Carving Tools