Here are some suggestions to tie in with your den meetings to help them earn the artist badge:

1^st week: Invite a school art director to your den meeting to talk about basic art and to answer any technical questions on the requirements that may come up. As design is basic in all art, have the boys make two designs each of straight lines, curve lines, and a composite of straight and curved lines during the activity period.

2^nd week: have the boys study the color wheel and with tempera or water color, practice combining paints and making shades and tints. Leave oil paint mixing for last, after the simpler paints have been used. Each boy could fill in his own color wheel in the Webelos Scout book or make one of his own, beginning with the primary colors, then secondary, and finally the tertiary colors. Ask the boys to make a family member profile and an original picture to be framed for his home. Bring them to the next week's den meeting.

3^rd week: Have modeling clay and material on hand for making mobiles. Have each boy prepare the clay and make a model of a head as explained in the Webelos Scout Book. If time permits, make mobiles also, or each boy could make this at home to bring to the next meeting.

4^th Week: Have a quantity of construction material on hand or have the boys bring some as suggested in the handbook. Each den member should make a construction - a simple design in space.

All seven of the requirements have been worked into the den meeting programs. If you need additional information, use the reference list in the Webelos Scout Book.

Ideas for Den Meetings
San Francisco Bay Area

• Use acrylic paints, oil paints and water colors so the boys can experiment with each and see the difference.
• Collect things of various textures and create a collage
• Make soap carvings
• Visit a graphic design class
• Visit a print shop where graphics are created and printed
• Ask a computer design specialist to demonstrate the techniques used in computer drawing
• Use Sculpey to mold an object. Available at craft stores. Sculpey is soft and pliable. The object made can be baked, glazed or painted. It can be carved, sanded or drilled. Use it over wire, aluminum foil or Styrofoam

Five Dots

Give each player a piece of paper and pencil. Each player is to place five dots on his paper where ever he pleases. Players exchange papers. Each player then tries to fit a drawing of a person with the head at one of the dots, the hands at two of the dots, and the feet at the other two dots.

Fast Artist

Form teams for a relay drawing contest. Provide each team with a piece of chalk. The object of the game is for the entire team to draw a house, each player drawing no more than two straight lines. Have a player from each team run forward about 20 feet, draw his two lines, then return and hand the chalk to the next player in line.

Paint the Fence

This is an outdoor relay game. Mark a section of fence or exterior wall for each team. Place a bucket of water and a 2" paint brush for each team next to the fence.

At the signal, the first member of the relay team runs to his section of fence, dips the brush in the water and paints as much of the fence as he can with ONE brush of water. He puts the brush in the water and runs back to tag the second player. The second player runs to the fence and paints as much as he can with his ONE brush full of water. Continue until the entire section of fence is "painted".

Materials Needed: 1 light colored tee shirt, boxed dyes of various colors, elastic bands or string, small bowl

Gather a section of the tee shirt and tie it with an elastic band or with strong string. Make a very tight knot, Fig A. Tie a second know halfway down from the first, Fig B. Repeat this procedure, gathering the knotting material in various places all over the shirt. In some gathers, but not all tie a third knot halfway down from the second knot, Fig C. Pour yellow or another light color of boxed dye into a small bowl. Mix with a small amount of water. Dip the entire shirt into the dye. Ring out. Pour light green, or another medium gathers into the dye, this time only as far as the middle knot, add blue, or another dark color of boxed dye to a small bowl. Mix with a small amount of water. Where gathers make three knots, dip into dye, dyeing the last section only. Let the tee shirt dry without removing any of the knots. When dry, remove the elastic bands or tied string.

Pack Meeting
Denver Area Council

Demonstrate a color wheel. Using poster paint, start with the 3 primary colors of red, yellow and blue, mix a little blue with the red to make violet and gradually mix in more blue to make blue violet. Then do the same with yellow and red, and red and blue.

Display silhouettes of each Webelos Scout that they have done at the den meeting.

Den Activities
Denver Area Council

1. Let the boys study a color wheel and practice-combining paints making shades and tints with tempera or watercolor. Ask the boys to make a profile of a family member and an original picture at home.

2. Design is basic in all art. Have the boys make two designs each, one with a straight line and a curved line, and a composite of both types of lines.

3. Have each boy make a pencil sketch of a bottle, dish or other still object.

4. Hold an "Art Can be Fun" night for the Webelos den families.

5. Have modeling clay and material on hand for making models.

6. Start simple sculptures to be finished at home. (See Webelos Scout book).

7. Invite an art teacher to your den meeting.

8. Have each boy prepare a color scheme for his own room.

9. Do sand castings, sand paintings or sand sculptures.

Life-sized Webelos Scout
Denver Area Council

You will need: Butcher Paper, Cardboard, Foam board, or Campaign signs (PVC Board)

Cut pieces of butcher paper the size of each of your Webelos Scouts. Have them take turns tracing each other on their pieces of paper. They should lay on their backs with their arms slightly away from their sides and their legs slightly apart. Be sure to trace around the hair and between fingers so it will show the "real" Scout. Now, using these "Scout" patterns as Guides, trace them onto the cardboard. Cut the foam or cardboard "Scouts" out. Have each Scout sketch their own features and clothes (Webelos uniform, of course!). Now let your Webelos paint these "Scouts" to look like themselves. To make your "Scouts" stand, simply cut a long piece of foam or cardboard, 2-3 inches wide. Fold this piece 3-4 inches from the end and glue the short end to the back of the cutout figure. These "Webelos Scouts" make great decorations for the pack meetings, Blue and Gold dinner, etc.

Materials found in Baloo's Bugle may be used by Scouters for Scouting activities provided that USSSP, Baloo's Bugle and the original contributors are cited as the source of the material.