Cartography Exploration

I have done this lesson with ages 7 through 18, and have posted examples at the close of this post.

My Art 1 students explored the art of map-making and created their own "discoveries," labeling them in the way explorers of old would. Each map includes at least 5 land features, 2 landmarks, landforms with complicated edges, a creature to show an area of danger, compass rose, and decorative border. Some went further disguising an image within the land features like dragons or horoscope symbols to enhance their connections to their artwork. 

Those who finished early were able to create a scroll to go with their map. These were all "aged" in a water bath with brown acrylic paint to give them a vintage look. 

​To begin, we looked at some examples of old maps on Google.  We broke them down into what made a map a map. We also considered that an explorer needed a patron, like royalty to pay for the journey. 

If the king or queen pays for you to go exploring, you better be prepared to return with something befitting royalty, or your head might get chopped off! So maps of this period were very decorative and beautiful. 

Many maps had unusual creatures in the water, and we hypothesized that the explorers were educated and didn't believe in monsters, but that these creatures were likely signs of danger. Perhaps a ship was damaged by a coral reef, or swift currents. Some creatures were grotesque, and others more fanciful, but we all agreed one should be included in our maps. We broke the list down on my whiteboard and these were the items we believed needed to be included in a good map:

The first three items had to be done with rulers:

1. Decorative Border
2. Longitude and Latitude
3. Decorative Compass
4. Islands with complicated edges
5. Minimum of 5 land features (hills, grasslands, mountains, etc.)
6. Minimum of 2 landmarks (volcano, waterfall, pit, etc.)
7. Water Symbol like an anchor, ship, crossed oars, etc.
8. "Monster" or fictional creature. 
9. Map Key

For those who finished early, I gave them dip pens to write a scroll in the old style in any way they felt would go well with their map:

• Diary of a sailor
• Sketches of creatures found on the island
• Message in a bottle
• Directions to a treasure

Because this is an art class and not geography, I pointed out that our work had to be connected to ourselves as artists. Art is expressive afterall. I asked them how we might be able to do that.

• It could be a map of an island we would love to live on
• It could be an island for an amazing vacation
• It could be a place to strand our enemies
• It could be drawn in such a way as to hide expressive symbols

 
We began with a 12 x 18 inch sketch using rulers to lay the first three items and get a bit of practice. When those were shared and critiqued, we went onto a final copy on a thick (90 lb) paper measuring 18 x 24 inches. We worked in pencil and later in sharpie. After erasing out all the original pencil lines, they had options to work in color (Water-thinned acrylics) or in gray scale (Water-thinned ink.)

Those who finished early worked on scrolls with dip pens. The "ageing" process is shown in the video at the end of this post. I think you'll agree that the results are fun, expressive, and easily tie to concepts of geography. This STEAM-based project was well appreciated by the students and the staff were thrilled to see what integrated work we were doing in art. I have done this project in the past with ages 7 and up.

Below you can see my elementary students doing the same project.
​We aged our maps outside though to avoid any mess.

This video will explain the process I used to age maps. I suggest using left over acrylics to create a good stain. Brown to orange tends to look best and most like parchment. 

For more free lessons and resources, please explore this blog. For books and posters (many with copyright permissions) please visit Firehouse Publications.