Places to PLAY!

During our first semester this school year, Kindergarten through Second Grade excitedly explored the possibilities of paper sculpture as they constructed these whimsical structures, inspired by playgrounds, theme parks, and other fun places to play!

We began this unit by discussing the difference between 2-dimensional (2D) art and 3-dimensional (3D) art.  Due to space limitations, we did not have the opportunity to do much of anything sculptural last year, so this was a very exciting topic for my students!  We talked about all different kinds of sculptures (and the materials used to make them) and looked for examples in the classroom.

In the weeks before to this unit, students had been exploring line in different ways through drawing and painting (click here to see an example of some of the ways we have done this in the past.)  Students were introduced to some starting-point ideas for how to manipulate the flat paper strips to transform them into three-dimensional lines - zigzags, wavy lines, spirals and more!  We referenced the art of origami, and how paper has a physical memory that helps it hold it's shape when you fold or bend it. 

  To attach the lines to their card-stock base paper, students used paintbrushes and cups of glue to paint the glue onto any surface that touched another.  The students shared glue cups and brushes in pairs, which worked out perfectly.  Whenever a new line was glued, we practiced counting slowly from 1-5 Mississippi while holding the ends of each line to help it secure in place.  We worked on these for two class periods so that the students could add details or build on dry secure lines from the day before.

 I originally did this unit with Kinder and First Grade only.  The other students were so excited when they saw them drying in the art room that I decided to try it with Second Grade as well.  For their unit, I added a few specific challenges - overlapping lines, repetition of a particular element, and the use of smaller line segments.

I enjoyed listening to students explain different parts of their sculpture - "this is the long, curly water slide" or "this is the triple loop roller coaster!"  There were also segments that represented cars, people, signs, lights, and more.  I love how naturally young minds understand and utilize abstract symbolism.

A few students chose to make their sculptures symmetrical.  Those compositions stood out in particular - that challenge could be another level of concept/skill to add for an older grade level!

The best part for many students  - they got take their dried sculptures home on the third day.  They were ecstatic!  What a fun, imaginative introduction to sculpture!

Hand Monster Collages

 This is a unit 2nd-5th grade students worked on at the beginning of last school year after we moved from the old art room to the pod area "studio" spaces.  We had worked on these hand monster drawings collaboratively as a warm-up the week before our move, so this was a nice transition into a more complex individual art challenge.

 

The first step was for students to select a color family to use to create their collage.  The color families the students could chose from were a review of those they had learned in previous years; the older the grade level, the more choices there were given.  Color pallets included: primary (red, yellow, blue), secondary (purple, green, orange), warm (red, orange, yellow), cool (blue, purple, green), neutral (brown, black, grey, white), gray scale, earth tones (browns and greens), complimentary (students chose one pair, such as orange and blue), or analogous (all shades of one color, such as blue.) 

After selecting their color family, students traced their hands and cut the shapes from construction paper to create all the parts of their monster.  Heads, legs, bodies, tails, wings and more - all made from different positions of fingers and hands!   Students tried all sorts of hand gestures, bent and stretched fingers, traced wrists and fingertips and more to get the shapes they wanted.  Such fascinating problem-solving!  One student creatively decided to trace his hand not with a straight line, but with a zig-zag line which gave it a spiky texture.  What a great idea!

Once the collage was complete, students used crayons to add texture, pattern, and small body parts or other details on their monster.  We discussed ideas for elements like pattern and texture by looking at examples of different animal body coverings (scales, fur, spikes, etc.) to think about how their animal might look and feel.  Students chose a second color family for drawing their details.  For example, a student might have chosen primary colors for their collage, then drawn on top of it with neutral colors.  It was so interesting to watch students decide which color families to use for each step so that they could have the colors they wanted available.  We kept track of their choices by making a detailed list on the back of their paper.  Some students took it to another level by asking to chose a third color family to include in their background around the monster!  Very complex thinking.

The students thoroughly enjoyed this unit and often had fun coming back to this idea in their free-time.  I love the simple challenge of having to use your hands to create a shape - this concept could be applied to a drawing, collage, or sculpture of any subject!