Nature's Art Box: From t-shirts to twig baskets, 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere

by Laura C. Martin, David Cain (Illustrator)

Take your child’s creativity outside! Laura C. Martin offers 65 art projects that kids can make with materials found right in their backyard. There’s no limit to the imaginative possibilities as children mix paints from colorful flower blossoms, dig clay for molding elf-sized furniture, and craft functional twig baskets. Cultivating a respectful engagement with nature while developing artistic skills, Nature’s Art Box is an inspiring handbook for the next generation of expressive and conscientious stewards of the earth’s resources.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Childrens, Nature, Crafts, Education

192 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 2003

Reviews

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The crafts in here ranged from really cool (natural fabric dyeing! nature chess set!) to truly stupid and even appropriative ("African design"? totem poles?!). It's worth a gander if you've got sciencey or crafty kids, but it's not the best book of its type.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has 65 projects that children can make using items from nature. It includes ideas ranging from making gnome houses to cantaloupe seed necklaces. There are projects that can be done using twigs, moss, gourds, pods, clay, sand, shells, flowers, leaves, raffia, etc. This book would be good for a private school or summer art camp setting. Some ideas could be used in the public school, also. As someone who has already taught art in the public school system and tried to bring similar ideas in, such as making gnome houses, I think in retrospect that those types of ideas that are more complex should be done with smaller groups of students. Most of the projects an art teacher could do with students, but some could be done in a regular classroom.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has some great at projects to get you started...in nature at

[elise amaryllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

has some cool project ideas. would have been great for farm camp.

[Senem çelik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really want to read this book. how can we read

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nature's Art Box feature "65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere." It is dived into seven parts based on the materials needed. The projects include chess set, mini woodland furniture, gourd buffalo rattle, zen garden, nature journal, body paint, dried-flower fairy, nature print cards and stationary, sand-cast paperweight, and many more. Necessary art skills such as making your own paste or ink are detailed and easy to follow. Projects are marked easy, medium, or challenging. The appendix lists helpful characteristics of vines, trees, flowers, and sea creatures and how to use them. The drawings and diagrams are helpful as well as decorative.

Here's an example art skill: Painting with Petals and Leaves. p130.

Introduction: Plants will give up their colors when you simply rub them across a piece of paper. But this process is full of surprises. For example, bright pink vinca petals turn blue on paper. An orange marigold turns brown. Flowers that have petals all the same color give you clearer colors (for example, all yellow instead of yellow and orange mixed.) Leaves with a shiny or leathery surface do not work as well as soft leaves. You'll also find that the kind of paper you use can make a difference. Because there is moisture in the petals, you will need to use a heavy paper to help keep you finished masterpiece from curling at the edges.

You will need: old sheet or towel, different-colored petals and leaves, heavy watercolor or white construction paper, pen or marker, plant identification book, if needed.

How to do it:
1) Cover your work area with a sheet or towel. Pick several petals of one flower. Roll them into a small ball or fold them into a rounded stick. Use your finger to push, pull, and rub them across the paper.
2) Experiment with different kinds of plants on different kinds of paper.
3) Make a chart showing each color and write the plant name next to it. Use a plant identification book if necessary.

Recommended for grades 2 - 6 with adult supervision

[Ami · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vectors wildly between "Hey, this is pretty cool! I wish I'd learned about this when I was a kid" and "Man, some of these are really shitty". Stuff on the cool side include art skills of making your own clay, both from clay soil and a salt dough clay recipe; dyeing fabric using flowers, leaves, and even a mordant (setting agent) recipe; a chess set with land (twig, bark, etc) pieces and sea (shell, driftwood, etc.) pieces; hammering flowers/leaves onto paper or fabric. I think the fairy houses, furniture, and dolls would also be fun to make if I were/had a kid. Other projects were appropriative and/or dumb: make a totem pole or an "amulet" bag or an "African" design (there's a lot of designs to choose from there, because it's an ENTIRE CONTINENT) or a project that literally involves just hot gluing moss & shit to an already-made basket. And who doesn't want a necklace made of cantaloupe seeds? Read for the "Art Skills" section and skim the rest.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that this one was directed towards kids, gives some interesting background information, and describes how to use stuff from nature in your crafts without disturbing anything (for instance, never take anything living or "attached", and for that reason it is better to buy moss from a craft store than it is to take it from nature). A lot of the crafts were "throw-away" things that won't last, and while kids might enjoy making them it wasn't what I was interested in. There were at least 20 worthwhile projects though that I thought we might do at some point. Many have possibilities for all ages with supervision, although I would say it is directed more at the 8 and up group.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to check this out again when the kids are older - there's a lot of really neat ideas (I can only imagine how much H would love the Painter Quiver) and the instructions/supply list are really clear.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Birthday present! :-)

[Emily Mellow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of cute ideas. I didn't read any of it, just skimmed the pictures. Possibly stuff we'll come back to in the future, if my kids seem more interested in crafty things.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it but I don't think the projects are the "quick and dirty" kind preferred by the folk around here. Not for HCL at this time since the craft books aren't really going out.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:
we will probably try half of the ideas in this book