CHAPTER NINE
Sculpture

By the time students are ready to create a three-dimensional (3D) form, most already have had experience in drawing and painting. As they quickly learn when working with 3D materials, sometimes the material dictates the end result. Students should always make a drawing of a 3D project before producing the final sculpture.

To give all students a chance to explore all media, some teachers alternate 2D and 3D projects. The 3D experience is especially important in the upper elementary and middle schools. And when the work is done, get it out for people to see—the tops of shelves in a library is always a good spot. You also can suspend 3D work from strings or hooks attached to ceiling grids in your art studio. It greatly enlivens the environment and makes it an exciting place to be.

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PROJECT 9.1
As You Like It (Box Sculpture and Found Objects)

Grades–3–8

Curriculum connections–language arts

Time needed–3–5 class periods

Elements and principles of art–form, repetition, texture, contrast, emphasis

Vocabulary–assemblage, score

Materials and equipment–boxes (not too large), small saws, scissors, glue guns, Elmer's Paper Mâché Art Paste, fabric, tempera paint, markers, plastic, bubble wrap

Background Information

These student sculptures were created in the TAB/choice-based art studios of art teachers Julie Glossenger and Darcey Kent (who teach in separate schools in the Rockwood School District, St. Louis County, Missouri). Students have the option to select any material they wish to use. But first they must make a drawing and a plan for finishing their sculpture. One can recognize work that is done in a TAB art studio because, after completing the artwork, students are expected to write about their experience (note samples of student reflections in the preceding figures).

Preparation

Students will be cutting holes into the boxes, and reshaping and combining some of them. They may bring boxes from home or select from accumulated classroom supplies. They should be thinking about the shapes of their objects and things that are of real interest to them. Students who are in choice-based art classes understand that any WOW project requires a plan and a design.

Process

1. Students should consider what they intend to make, find materials they plan to use, and have it approved by the teacher. Suggest they collect the materials they need and make a working plan about how they will begin.
2. Although choice-based art encourages the student to select materials and solve problems, just as professional artists would, the teacher should be available to assist when needed.
3. Sometimes a “shoulder-to-shoulder” talk with another student who is working in the same studio center can also be of assistance.
4. When the project is complete, the student is expected to write about the experience, answering these questions.
   • What inspired you to make this object?
   • What materials did you use?

Figure 9.1a Unicorn, Kale Kennedy, Owen Keaton, Sam Dimmic, Grade 5, Fairway Elementary School, Rockwood School District, St. Louis County, Missouri. Art teacher Darcey Kemp. Three students worked together to construct this large sculpture. The title Unicorn refers to its horn. I checked with the teacher but was unable to get the artists’ statement on this collaborative effort.

Figure 9.1b Cardboard Truck, Landon Niven, Grade 2, Chesterfield Elementary School, Rockwood School District, St. Louis County, Missouri. Art teacher Julie Glossenger. “I made a army truck. The material I used carbord, tape, markers. Why I made it because my dad has a gray truck and I kinda want to go to the army. I leard you can make a cool thing only using a few materials.”

Figure 9.1c Tents, Ridhima Kumar, Grade 3, Chesterfield Elementary School, Rockwood School District, St. Louis County, Missouri. Art teacher Julie Glossenger. “I made a structure of tents. I use fabric, thread, a needle, popsicle sticks, hot glue, wire, bottle caps, cotton stuffing and gems. I made it because I really like a artwork that my friend made so I wanted to make something similar. I learned that artwork takes a very long time to make, and you need to be patient while making artwork.”

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PROJECT 9.2
Geometric Units

Grades–4-8

Curriculum connection–math

Time needed –4 class periods

Elements and principles of art –form, contrast, emphasis

Vocabulary –units, scoring, geometric, unique, tab

Materials –cardstock or tag board in bright colors; rulers; scissors; white glue, tacky glue, or a glue gun; straight pins; plastic bags to store each student's units

Background Information

This is a true interdisciplinary lesson, yet it challenges the students to go beyond simply making 3D geometric forms. They must use their imaginations to transform geometric units into sculpture by attaching a grouping of identical units into a single sculpture.

Preparation

Demonstrate how to measure, score, and glue the sides of the geometric forms. Although colored tag board is recommended, colored file folders have the same general weight, and are easily cut and painted later. As you introduce this project, challenge students to do something unique. Even though all students will make several geometric units, encourage them to look around their homes for something that can be added to make the finished sculpture appear unique. Glue guns could be used to fasten the units together. The sculptures could be freestanding or hang from the ceiling.

It will take a while for students to complete the five units (minimum) needed for the sculpture. Suggest that, as they work, they consider some of the things that could be added to the sculpture that might make it quirky, such as a tiny doll, a miniature car, plastic fruit, playing cards, straws, cotton swabs, workbench items such as washers or screws, oversized dice, and even baby teeth.

Process

Although these are geometric forms, the entire sculpture can be made interesting by using colored tag board or by adding patterned cut-outs on only a few forms. Although each geometric 3D form is actually an individual sculpture, they will be more interesting to look at when several of these forms are combined to create one sculpture

Figure 9.2

1. If students will be working with colored tag board, they may use a single color or variations in their units. It is recommended that they simplify the structure by using only one form such as a cube, a pyramid, or a cylinder. See the handout titled “Geometric Units.”
2. Instruct students to do their drawing on the underside of the cardboard, so that pencil marks will be hidden inside the form. Remind them to draw a tab on each side for gluing. If they forget and cut off a tab, they can cut a piece of cardboard to glue on the inside of the two surfaces.
3. To make tabs fold inward easily, pull the point of a pair of scissors along a ruler held in place on the inside of the fold. This is called scoring and will make the cardboard fold inward easily. Have the students glue each unit together as they are cut out, then store them in a plastic bag until they have at least five.
4. When the units are completed, ask students to consider the different ways they can be glued together that will make them interesting. They may have to use pins to hold two pieces together until the glue dries. Remind them that they might bring small “found objects” from home that can be combined within the body of the sculpture to make it one-of-a-kind.

Adaptations for Younger Students

Glued toothpick geometric shapes. Have students glue toothpicks flat to one 6” × 8” piece of tag board to make a square, rectangle, triangle, or polygon. Show them how they can combine shapes to make pine trees (triangles and rectangles), a house (squares and triangles), or fish (diamonds). These are effective when colored with marker or with marker lines drawn on the tag board on either side of the toothpicks.

Geometric shapes. Have the students use construction paper to cut out flat geometric shapes in various colors, then make a collage of them on a 9” × 12” piece of black paper. Challenge students to cut out one thing from wrapping paper or a card to hide somewhere within the geometric shapes to make it unique.

Alternative Project

Group Sculpture of Geometric Shapes

If time is a problem, this would be an ideal group project. Each group of students could make a specific geometric figure (such as square boxes) to combine in a group sculpture, or they could unify different geometric forms by using one color only.

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PROJECT 9.3
Bas-Relief

Grades–4–8

Time needed–5–6 class periods

Elements and principles–form, variety, pattern

Vocabulary–phase, period, background, tab, layers, evolve

Materials–two 22” × 28” pieces of two-ply white poster board per student, patterned paper, glue, markers, stapler

Figure 9.3 The Prophet, 1990, Frank Stella, 1936, American, bas-relief, mixed media on aluminum, 161 ½” × 109 ¾" × 68”, Artists Rights Society New York, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald K. Greenberg, the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, and the R. C. Kemper Charitable Trust, photo by E.G. Schempf, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri.

Background Information

Artist Frank Stella's work has evolved from painting to sculpture and is instantly recognizable. At a younger age, his specialty was large all-black paintings. After that phase, he painted traditional square canvases, and sometimes shaped, rounded canvases, often using multicolored stripes. These paintings were often very colorful, and very controlled—not one drop of paint that wasn't perfectly, neatly, applied. His later work is so wild, and so different from the controlled stripes he did when he was young, that it is difficult to believe it is the same artist. Now he transforms pieces of metal and scraps that are cut or bent to fit on a flat background that will hang on a wall and stick out so far from the wall that you feel like you need to keep your distance to keep from getting injured. These huge part-sculpture, part-paintings, termed bas-reliefs (French for low-reliefs), are created with the help of assistants.

His latest bas-relief sculptures could serve as inspiration for students to interpret, on a smaller scale. Students are given two rectangles of poster board, one of which they may cut into unusual curved or geometric shapes—(call this board one). This poster board should be painted with graffiti-like marker designs and controlled scribbles before they are cut up and attached to a background—(call the background board two).

Preparation

Introduce students to graffiti by asking if they have ever seen train boxcars go by, or walls that have names and decorations painted on them with spray paint by people who just like to see their names used in public places. These controlled scribbles (often initials) are considered unsightly by many people and as vandalism by others. In this case, you are asking students to make a bas-relief sculpture by decorating board one with graffiti and cutting it up to glue onto board two, the background. The background will be tacked to a wall as a base, and the rest of the tag board will be covered with graffiti-like designs before it is cut into pieces and glued. It may be necessary to staple some shapes in place to hold them.

Although sometimes it is best not to bring in your experiment as a sample of what students should do, you still should try to do this on a small scale before introducing it to the class. You can make a slideshow for them to see how Frank Stella's work has evolved through the years. Challenge students to think “outside the box” when creating their sculpture. Be sure to discuss how to show a social conscience with words chosen for the project and to use only appropriate graffiti for display in a school.

This would be an appropriate project in which to develop a rubric that gives credit for unusual ideas.

Process

1. Begin this process by asking students to think about board one as a wall on which to write graffiti, but to remember that later they will cut the “wall” into large pieces to glue onto a smaller background (board two). They could begin with a big, long, curved marker stroke that goes almost all the way from one edge or corner of the page to the other. The sculpture can be vertical or horizontal, and the background may be trimmed with scissors before it is ready to hang.
2. A second line could be made about 3” or more from the first line, to give (after it is cut) one large curved strip of paper to glue onto board one (the part that will go next to a wall to support the bas-relief). The remainder of the poster board will also be decorated with both straight and curved shapes, keeping some pieces large and some to fit in or attach later. The gluing will be done after board one has been completely decorated and cut into large and small pieces. Students may glue patterned paper onto some of the cut-outs, or make their own patterns (spirals, checkerboard, or written verse).
3. Before gluing, show the students how to make a 1” tab at each end of the piece they will glue down. A tab is a 1” end of each piece that will be glued to the background. They will not glue these pieces flat onto the background but will cause them to be curved above the surface, making several layers. The background portion of the poster board may be any shape, and if more pieces are needed for the front, extra pieces might be cut from the edges of board two.
4. Suggest to students that, if they find they do not have enough “cut” and decorated tag board material to fill in the background, they might choose to add something else for texture such as pieces of cloth, yarn, or cut pieces of plastic. Students certainly can cut holes in solid pieces of decorated tag board or use a hole punch and resultant circles to decorate the sides of one piece.

Adaptations for Younger Students

On a 10” × 12” piece of paper, students can design a park with cut out playground equipment such as a slide and or other play equipment.

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PROJECT 9.4
Tiny Maquette for a Gigantic Sculpture

Grades–2–4

Time needed–1–2 class periods

Elements and principles–form, texture, balance, variety

Vocabulary–maquette, monumental sculpture, wedge, bronze, air raids, abstract, realistic, matte, pedestal

Materials–colored modeling oil clay (¼–½ lb); small, self-sealing plastic bag; pencil

Background Information

Henry Moore (1898–1986) was considered the most important British sculptor of the twentieth century. During World War II, he was paid by the British government to do drawings of London residents as they were lying down or sleeping on underground subway platforms during air raids. Many of his sculptures also have “figures” that are lying down. He particularly specialized in mother-and-child figures or family groups. His other sculptures are based on simple forms such as stones or bones. He would join two pieces together with plaster, in preparation for them to be enlarged and cast in bronze. After he had completed his maquettes (small sculptures), he had assistants help him with the work of using these models for greatly enlarged sculptures. Museums all over the world feature artwork by Henry Moore. His sculptures often have holes that encourage the viewer to look through them. Sometimes the sculptures are quite smooth, but other times he deliberately leaves rough areas or scratched textures into the surface.

Figure 9.4 Horse's Head, Henry Moore, 1898–1986, English, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.

Preparation

This project can be done with colored, oil-based modeling clay; self-hardening clay; or kiln-fired clay. The process discussed here is relevant to oil-based modeling clay. Students could soften oil clay in their hands (a process of about 10 minutes) while you tell them about Moore or show pictures of some of his work. If they are using clay that will be fired, it must be wedged to get out air bubbles, then covered in plastic when it is not being worked on, or it will dry out too quickly. If using ordinary clay, refer to Chapter 8 for specific information.

Process

1. Ask students to think about whether to create something realistic (such as a human figure or a sleeping kitten), or an abstract form that might be something found in nature (such as an animal bone, rock, or shell). If they want something totally unrealistic, suggest they do a drawing first.
2. It is almost impossible to paint modeling clay, which is oily, so students should consider how to finish the surface. Their sculpture might feature an edge that is quite sharp (a plane), or a center of interest such as a hole that goes all the way through the form. Sculpture often has a combination of very smooth areas that contrast with a textured area.
3. After it is ready to display, suggest they look at it from all sides to see if the form is interesting from every direction. Ask students to place their sculpture on a base such as a small pedestal (square of wood) or something like a coaster made of cork or wood (available from art vendors) or a piece of cloth.
4. Students can take the time to write an artist's statement that responds to one or more of these questions:
   • What were your materials?
   • What were you thinking of when you made this particular shape?
   • What was your inspiration?

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PROJECT 9.5
Patriotic Masks

Grades–2–5

Curriculum content–science, social studies

Time needed –4 class periods

Elements and principles of art–form, emphasis, texture, pattern, color

Vocabulary–abstract, realistic, casting, plaster, planes, chemical reaction, patriotism

Materials–child-size plastic mask form with flange, plaster gauze, yarn, cardboard, scissors, masking tape, acrylic or tempera paint, brushes, Elmer's Art Paste, gallon jugs, paper flags or copy paper Internet printouts of flags from various countries (as needed)

Background Information

Masks continue to be used in many cultures around the world in reenactments or ceremonies, or, in some countries, to celebrate a holiday, such as Halloween or Mardi Gras. Masks are favorite projects with students and teachers alike (although perhaps for different reasons), because they are usually slightly messy and give a satisfying result.

Figure 9.5 Flag images USA, Canada, Mexico, and United Kingdom. Many variations available on the Internet.

This assignment is to use the colors of a flag, or a national symbol, to paint onto the finished mask. If they wish, they may use the American flag and its red, white, and blue colors. Most students know the flag of the country from which their ancestors come and are free to research the flag of that country, using its design and color to paint their own mask. Many flags have beautiful stripes and a symbol such as a star or sun.

Preparation

Child-size plastic mask forms with a ¾” flange around the outside are available from art suppliers and are reused year after year by art teachers. Many teachers prefer to use these forms, with students cutting plaster gauze into pieces that are dipped in warm water and applied to the form. Another option is to use papier-mâché, covering the mask with small pieces of torn paper dipped in Elmer's Art Paste. Before adding the gauze or paper, students have the option to embellish the face-form by attaching cardboard or plastic shapes with tape to the edges. For example, if a student wants to make a Statue of Liberty, or another national symbol, sturdy cardboard cone shapes could be taped on the edge of the plastic form. To add stability to an addition such as this, it should have gauze applied underneath and on the front of the cardboard to strengthen it.

To provide purpose to a mask project and for the masks to be compatible when displayed together, you and the class should discuss a theme based on patriotism. Even though this project is most likely to be made in the USA, all countries proudly display their national flag, and students should be encouraged to use the colors and design of any flag that is meaningful to them. When these perfectly white (or brown) masks have dried, students should use acrylic paint to reproduce some aspect of the flag they have selected.

The patriotic flag theme can relate to the flag of any country. This process takes several class periods for best results, and students should be considering from the beginning how they will decorate their masks. Tell them that this mask project is for them to make a mask that will just be a plain face when it is removed from the form. Each mask will be different from others made in the class by how they choose to finish it.

Process

1. Have students put a piece of tape on the underside of the plastic form with their name. Discuss with students that this project is to make patriotic masks. In the USA, with people's ancestors having come from various parts of the world, patriotism might be about the USA or your student's relative's country.
2. The mask itself could be finished in some way—by adding hair made of yarn or thin twisted strips of gauze, with a cardboard top added. These additions need to be planned in advance, as cardboard will not stick to the mask once the wet paper or plaster gauze is added.
3. Students should apply enough pieces of plaster gauze to the mask to completely cover it. They then add another two coats of plaster gauze, making sure to evenly apply three layers (especially important at the outer edges) to give it strength. The masks take several days to dry.
4. When students are ready to paint, have them remove the plastic form from the inside. They will have had enough time to consider how to paint or add pictures to it. Some will decide to use only tempera to paint at least part of the area. They can divide the face into halves or fourths, putting a different pattern or color from the flag on several portions. They may even find small flags or words that can be glued onto the face.

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Students can write about the flag they chose as inspiration for the design they made on their mask, and why they chose it. Some students may not know the history of that flag, nor the symbolism that is on it.

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PROJECT 9.6
Measure and Make It Huge!

Grades–4–8

Curriculum connection–math

Time needed–4 class periods

Elements and principles of art–texture, form and balance

Vocabulary–dimension, model, scale

Materials and equipment–copy paper, pencil, ruler, yardstick, corrugated cardboard, masking tape, newspaper or kraft paper or paper grocery bags, heavy-duty scissors, Elmer's Paper Mâché Art Paste, gallon milk jugs, funnel

Figure 9.6a Badminton Shuttlecocks (two of four), 1992, Claes Oldenburg, 1929, American, and Coosje van Bruggen 1942–2009, Dutch-born American, aluminum and fiber-reinforced plastic, polyurethane enamel, 18’ × 15”, weight 5500 lb, purchase: acquired through the generosity of the Sosland Family, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.

Background Information

Swedish-born American Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929) is an artist whose imagination knows no bounds. He worked with his wife Coosje van Bruggen (1942–2009) to transform ordinary objects into sculptural artworks. In their early work as a Pop artists, they created sewn and stuffed soft sculpture—such as a hamburger, a soft drum set, or an oversized toilet. Their recent sculptures of painted weather-proof materials such as metal or heavy plastic are on museum grounds or buildings throughout the world, and often bring a smile to the viewer. Oldenburg's inspiration was to make gigantic interpretations of ordinary things we find around us, such as the gigantic Spoonbridge and Cherry fountain in the middle of a pond at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in Minnesota. The Nelson Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, owns a set of four 18'-high badminton shuttlecocks scattered around the grounds. An upside-down ice cream cone sits on top of a building in Cologne, Germany. Other huge, unlikely subjects include typewriter erasers, a huge clothespin, tools, a three-way household plug, and cowboy hats.

Preparation

Save all the cardboard boxes that come at the beginning of the year. Ask students to help you break them down into flat pieces to store until needed. Students will appreciate seeing screen shots of images of Oldenburg and van Bruggen's artwork through the years. They will see that, in making huge papier mâché models, they are limited only by their imaginations. Challenge them to find an ordinary item around the house (or in the art room) and make it six times larger than its actual size. If it is a functional item such as a toothbrush or a box of dental floss, or a tool such as pliers, suggest that extra credit might be given if some portion of the sculpture can move.

Ask students to find or imagine that they are capable of enlarging almost anything to a ridiculously large scale. Actually, you don't have as much room to work as Oldenburg and van Bruggen, but your expectation is that they will use a ruler to measure the exact dimensions of the item they plan to enlarge, and make it exactly six times larger.

Have large amounts of cardboard on hand for students to use as a base. Mix Elmer's Paper Mâché Art Paste in a gallon jug for each class. This paste can be mixed in advance and keeps for months without refrigeration. If you have a wide-mouthed container for each table, students can share paste as they work on their sculpture.

Process

1. Challenge students to write a list of at least 10 ordinary things that they see or use almost every day. It may be something they play with, or something they have seen on a workbench or kitchen counter. When their list is made, ask them to draw one or two of these that they could envision as an interesting piece of sculpture. It might have moving parts (extra points if something moves), or simply be fun to look at. Because they are going to enlarge their model for the sculpture to six times its actual size, they should bring their actual inspiration to school the next class day to measure so that their drawing and the enlarged finished sculpture will be absolutely accurate.
2. With a model in their hands, they must use a ruler to measure it in every dimension, recording these measurements on paper. These measurements should be multiplied by six to make their finished artwork huge.
3. Students may not find pieces of cardboard that are large enough, and perhaps will have to securely join two pieces with masking tape, making them stronger by covering the pieces with torn paper dipped in wallpaper paste to lend strength. They can cut the cardboard with big scissors or use a cutting knife under your direction.
4. Suggest to students that they tear scrap paper in advance. Demonstrate how to cover something with paper that is first dipped in paste, and excess paste removed by pulling the paper between the fingers. When the base is completed and sturdy, students may cover the outsides with torn newspaper pieces (approximately 5” × 5”), torn kraft paper, or torn brown grocery bags. The sculpture will need to dry for several days before painting with acrylic or tempera paint.
5. Ask students to use large brushes to paint this item as realistically as they can. They may wish to write about this experience.

Figure 9.6b Giant Scissors, Lara Kunz Bennett, these giant scissors were created by Lara Kunz Bennett when she was in the eighth grade at Shawnee Mission Middle School, and have had a place of honor in her parents' home ever since. They are 72” long, six times larger than the scissors that she measured as her model.

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PROJECT 9.7
Oaxacan Folk Art Animals

Grades–4–8

Time needed–4–6 class periods

Elements and principles of art–emphasis, form, variety, movement, pattern, balance

Vocabulary –papier mâché, Oaxaca, Mexico, haphazard

Materials–masking tape, kraft paper or brown paper grocery bags, tempera paint, large and small brushes, polymer medium, paper towels, aluminum foil (approximately 1 yard per student)

Figure 9.7a Centipede, 2007, Vicente Vasquez, 5” × 20”, courtesy of the Salt of the Earth Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri, private collection.

Figure 9.7b Flamingo, 2007, Vicente Vasquez, courtesy of the Salt of the Earth Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri, private collection.

Figure 9.7c Rooster, 2007, Vicente Vasquez, courtesy of the Salt of the Earth Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri, private collection.

Background Information

Oaxaca (pronounced Wah-HAH-kah) is a state in Mexico that has become famous for its carved and painted folk art figures and masks. The ancient traditions have become popular again in the last few years as Oaxacan painted wood carvings have been recognized as unique. Subjects vary, and include peasants, mermaids, angels, animal-musicians, reptiles, and nativity scenes. The subjects are usually charming and humorous, because of their colors and patterns, and owing to the “attitude” with which they look at the World.

Preparation

Try this project yourself before you begin to teach it to the students. If you can demonstrate how to form the legs, head, and torso, it will be easier to persuade students how—with simple changes—they can give “movement” to their creatures. Many great Oaxacan images are available on the Internet for you to show the students before beginning the project. The book Oaxacan Woodcarving, The Magic in the Trees by Shepard Barbash has wonderful illustrations.

Because students are making a piece of folk art, it will be relatively small and delicate. These directions are for creating a domestic animal such as a dog, burro, cat, or pig. Have them decide on the kind of animal they will make and think about an “attitude.” Instead of having the animal just standing, they could make it with the legs spread apart for balance and the head down to the ground as if it were grazing. Or the head, neck, and torso could be tilted or twisted to one side (still making sure it remains balanced).

Figure 9.7d Drawings for Oaxaca papier mâché animals.

Process

1. Students should make a drawing of their animal before beginning to construct it.
2. Suggest students roll a paper towel into a tube shape for the torso and cover the paper towel with the smaller piece of aluminum foil (to give strength to the legs). For the head and body, use a piece that is approximately 15” × 12”. Fold under at one end for the head and a longish neck. Insert a ball in the end of the foil to resemble the head. Place the foil-covered legs underneath, then fold the piece under to enclose the legs and be taped at the neck.
3. Show students how to loosely add one more piece of foil around the middle to thicken the torso of the figure. This will give a sculpture about 5” × 7” in size. Use string, hair, or foil to form a tail and tape it onto the torso. Mexican Oaxacan carvers sometimes added braided tails or manes of hair (if you have a source for real horsehair, it is a nice addition). Demonstrate how to form ears and other details from foil or cardboard. Before students begin to cover the foil with papier mâché, ask them to make sure the animal will stand by itself.
4. Show students how to tear the brown paper into small pieces (approximately 1½”). They must have a generous pile of paper torn before they begin dipping each piece of paper into the paste, removing excess paste between their fingers, and applying it smoothly. They should cover the form completely with two or three layers of this paper to give it strength (especially the legs). Allow it to dry a few days. The animal will be painted with a base coat of tempera or acrylic on which they will paint repetitive designs and combinations of designs—such as stripes, flowers with petals, or small white dots (applied with a toothpick or the flat end of a brush). The form of the animal tells us what it is, so realistic colors aren't necessary.

Adaptations for Younger Students

Papier mâché snakes. Marla Mayer of Highcroft Ridge Elementary School in St. Louis County, Missouri, had her first graders make papier mâché snakes simply by twisting and taping newspaper for the bodies. These were then covered with brown paper. Some were coiled and ready to strike, while others simply had interesting slithering bodies. The patterns were painted with acrylic paint and dots added with a long-handled swab.

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PROJECT 9.8
Everyone Is an Architect

Grades–5–8

Time needed –4–6 class periods

Elements and principles of art–form, texture, line, pattern, balance, variety

Vocabulary –structure, adobe, enhance, dormers, stone, brick, shingles, shutters, exterior pattern, plot of land

Materials –tag board, rulers, alphabet noodles, gravel, scissors, sandpaper, brushes, toothpicks, tempera paint, craft sticks, corrugated cardboard, gesso

Background Information

Your students will need the same information that architects must have as they design their buildings. They need to decide what the purpose of the building is, how large it will be, and what the materials are. The models they make will all start with approximately the same-size basic tag board box, but their building's purpose will determine how it will be built. Ask students what the exterior of the building material is in the area where they live. It might be aluminum or vinyl siding, but it could also be brick, stone, adobe, or shingles. Show students some “typical” architectural styles from other countries, such as half-timbered houses in England or thatched-roof homes in Denmark. Discuss other structures one might find in a town—such as a hardware store, restaurant, or church.

Preparation

This project will take several periods. It is useful to have photocopies of various structures available for students to see. Create an architectural file of small black-and-white photocopies of buildings. Mount them on index cards or construction paper and laminate them to keep them from year to year. Discuss scale with the students in order to have buildings of approximately the same size. Make a plain sample tagboard box and roof to show students where they will begin. Discuss with the students that this project is to design and construct a building. Limit the footprints of the buildings to allow room to display them. They should consider what and where their building is going to be. If it is to be in the country, it might look entirely different than if it were in a city. The climate (wind, snow, scarce water), trees, and location (urban or country) all help to determine how the building will be made. Because this is the exterior only, consider how it will look from the outside. How many windows are there? Doors? Will there be a front porch, dormer windows in the second story, shingles on the roof? Talk to them about how they could enhance their building before painting by adding shingles cut from tag board, windows with small panes, and porches. The roof might be the most interesting part of the building. The buildings should be on a very small area of land, which may be landscaped with twigs.

Process

1. Students should do a rough drawing of ideas, and then, when they have decided whether this is a house or business, suggest they carefully measure and cut the tag board that will be used for the basic house. The two ends may be taller and come to a point to support a peaked roof. They can put two two-story box-houses side by side or make a one-story ranch house with a front porch going all the way across.
2. The roof will be a simple peaked roof, with a chimney attached to the top or going up one side of the house. They may choose to finish the roof with individually cut pieces (shingles) of tag board. To apply shingles horizontally, they would begin at the bottom, carefully overlapping and working toward the peak. To make them resemble European-style shingles, they might be cut round on the bottom.
3. Show students how to use a ruler to measure, carefully spacing and drawing windows and doors. Windows can be emphasized by outlining with tag board strips. The exterior can be finished in a variety of ways. Long strips of tag board can be overlapped to look like siding (start at the bottom and work up), or a surface of small shingles, such as those used for the roof, can be used for the exterior in the same manner.

Curriculum Connections

Language Arts

Design a Dream Home

Challenge your students to think about what they would like their dream home to be like. What are their favorite colors? What is their favorite room in a house? Where might the house be located? How big a family would they hope to accommodate? This dream home could be a modern home or an old building in the country. Writing in advance of actually designing the home may help them to make it personal. Or, when the process is finished, have them write about changes they made as they went along, and how different it looks from their original idea.

Figure 9.8 Tag board house models, 2006. Fifth, sixth, and seventh grade, art teacher Jan Cutlan, Parkway Northeast Middle School, St. Louis County, Missouri. Tag board, ranging in size from a minimum of 4” × 6” with variations.

Social Studies

Historic Village

Students can construct similar houses to produce historical, cultural, or regional architecture, such as the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century row houses of many American cities, a town of the Old West, an American-Indian village, a prehistoric village, an African village, a small German town, an English town such as Stratford-upon-Avon, or a Greek Acropolis. Cereal boxes are approximately the shape of stores in a small town, and could be covered or painted first with gesso and decorated to look like the center of a small town.

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PROJECT 9.9
Scrap-Wood Assemblage

Grades–4–8

Curriculum connection–social studies

Time needed –3–5 class periods

Elements and principles of art –pattern, repetition, variety, color, rhythm, emphasis, balance, form

Vocabulary–assemblage

Materials –scrap wood (all sizes and shapes), nails or screws (to put pieces into a base for stability), sandpaper, white glue, masking tape, hand saws, drill

Background Information

Scrap-wood assemblage has great potential for imaginative sculpture. Students accept that things don't have to be perfect and colors don't have to be real. Although these can simply be abstract assemblages, middle school students react better to having a general theme such as living creatures (people or animals), houses, or cars. A theme will help unify the display and narrow the focus to have an overall idea before beginning. Many of the sculptures are better when they are painted in the Oaxacan manner (lots of pattern, unrealistic colors), but sometimes students prefer not to use the overall pattern.

Preparation

Get scrap wood! Get it from shop classes or from parents or neighborhood friends who have home workshops, buy scraps by the box from a lumberyard, obtain leftovers from a factory, or go to recycle shops. If you want it, you will find it! Encourage shop teachers in your district to ask older students to cut scrap wood into smaller, interesting shapes. The less cutting you and the students do, the easier this will be.

Figure 9.9 Saint Louis Cardinal Fan, David Packard, created in Grade 5, wood assemblage, painted, approximately 12” × 5” × 2½”. Reed School, Ladue School District, St. Louis County, Missouri. Art teacher Linda Packard.

You may need to use electric drills for screw holes or electric keyhole saws but limit the use of electrical tools to yourself or another adult. Depending on the size of the pieces, some may have to be nailed together rather than glued, but avoid this when possible.

Process

Students should be especially encouraged to use their imaginations in this project. If they can imagine it, chances are they can build it. They need to remember that it must balance and stand by itself or be attached to a base.

1. Let students fish through various scraps of wood until they find pieces that “look like something” to them. If it is necessary to cut it or change its shape slightly, they can use a saw under the supervision of the teacher. Once they have an idea, have them make a small working sketch.
2. Show them how to apply glue to two pieces, holding them tightly together (sometimes tape will work, or they can prop the glued pieces against something until the glue sets). Sometimes they may have to assemble the sculpture in sections, then glue the sections together to make the entire sculpture.
3. They should test the piece for stability. If it does not stand by itself, they may need to attach it to a base. This may involve drilling a hole in the bottom of the base and in the bottom of the sculpture, then putting a screw through both pieces. (The screw should be recessed into the base to avoid making the piece wobble.)
4. When the students are satisfied that their sculpture is balanced, it can be finished with acrylic paint. This is where to encourage them to really use their imaginations. In general, a viewer will know what the sculpture is by its form. If it looks like an elephant, it doesn't have to be painted gray. Instead, if they wish, designs such as dots, stripes, zigzags, or a combination of patterns can be painted.

Adaptation for Younger Students

Leprechaun Playgrounds

Younger students could build with precut wood scraps to create a playground for a leprechaun. Remind students that leprechauns are tiny and love to play. Collect shoeboxes in advance and have students paint the entire box and lid with one bright color to use as a base for the playground. Cut a three-sided trapdoor in the lid of each shoebox with an X-ACTO knife. Explain that their job is to build a playground out of the precut wood scraps, which would lure the leprechaun to fall into the trapdoor. Therefore, the “best part” (or emphasis) of the playground needs to be built close to the trap. Paint the wood pieces in bright colors to have the look of a playground. Be sure to have the boxes out on display for St. Patrick's Day. You (the teacher–leprechaun) could slip little pieces of torn green felt or gold glitter on each to show evidence that the leprechauns visited their playgrounds!

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