The Walter Anderson (High School) Traveling Trunk focuses on one of Mississippi’s most renowned artists. This trunk, incorporating numerous art activities related to design, mapmaking, and printmaking, is designed for students in seventh through twelfth grades.
With this trunk students will have an opportunity to
- Find their own sources of artistic inspiration
- Identify and explain the basic elements of a map
- Design and create a print using authentic printmaking tools
- Write, illustrate, and bind an original storybook
- Recognize the influence of prehistoric cave paintings on the prints of Walter Anderson
A teacher’s notebook and material list is included in the trunk. This trunk is organized as a six-day unit but teachers are encouraged to organize, revise, and adapt its contents to best fit the needs of their students.
For questions about the Traveling Trunk Lending Policies and Procedures or the content of a specific trunk, contact our Outreach Programs Coordinator at 601-576-6997 or outreachprograms@mdah.ms.gov.
Trunk Weight and Dimensions
- Weight: 28 lbs.
- Dimensions: 9” (h) x 23” (w) x 30” (l)
A detailed list of the traveling trunk materials is available here.
Day One
Learn about Walter Anderson’s life
Explore the “seven motifs of creative design” and, with inspiration from nature and music, use the motifs to create drawings.
Day Two
Discover the influence of prehistoric cave paintings on Walter Anderson’s work.
Examine famous cave paintings and the people who painted them
Create your own caves and cave paintings using crumpled butcher paper, dried soil, and oil.
Day Three
Learn about mural painting using the book Walls of Light: The Murals of Walter Anderson, along with three Anderson murals.
Discuss and evaluate the three murals and identify their connections to the prehistoric cave paintings of France and the history and culture of the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi, as well as their evidence of the “seven motifs of creative design” and natural inspiration.
Day Four
Practice map-reading skills using a magnetic compass, a map of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, and Walter Anderson’s three island map.
Produce maps of your surroundings in the style of Walter Anderson.
Day Five
Discover printmaking using instructional materials and prints of Anderson’s Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Create block prints in the style of Walter Anderson using Styrofoam trays, brayers, inking plates, and ink.
Day Six
Explore bookbinding with the reading of Walter Anderson’s illustrated children’s story Robinson: The Pleasant History of an Unusual Cat.
Brainstorm and develop a story of your own, and then illustrate part of the story.
Follow step-by-step bookbinding instructions and produce a bound book.