Materials:
- White copier or sketchbook paper
- Pencils
- Numbered paper lunch bags with one oddly-shaped object per bag
Objective:
Students will produce contour drawings of hidden objects that they feel with their fingers, but do not look at. This exercise helps them become more aware of contour lines and the edges of shapes.
Procedure:
Have each student divide a piece of paper (by drawing or folding) into 4 equal sections. Explain that they will draw a hidden object in each section of their paper just using their sense of touch. They should not look at the object in the bag until they have finished their drawing, and it is not necessary to try to “identify” what it is.
It’s helpful to have all of the bags on a table so students can work at their own pace and exchange them as needed. There should be at least one or two more bags than students. Depending on the time allowed for the game, students will probably do 3 or 4 drawings. When they finish doing one drawing, they should choose another bag and do another drawing.
To play, they put their “non-drawing” hand in the bag and use their fingers to explore the size, shape, and texture of the object. Based solely on their sense of touch, they are to draw what is in the bag as accurately as possible.
Some of the objects I put in the paper bags included
- a guitar string winder
- oddly-shaped Lego pieces
- the plastic “foot” off of a box fan
- a flat refrigerator magnet in the shape of a house
- plastic dinosaurs and other small toys
- a small keychain
- a pen top
- miscellaneous small, “hardware” items with distinctive shapes.
This game worked really well, and it was one that I repeated early each year with beginning art students.