Left to right: Silver spray paint unites
an assortment of bottle caps; A helix
of crayons by Olivia; Alaina used
wooden skewers for her sculpture
Photos by Katie Maurer Netti.
Getting Started
To prepare for this extensive lesson,
three major things were done early
on:
1. A letter was sent home to parents
a week before asking for help
in procuring a large quantity of
unique and inexpensive materials.
Most students brought in their
own materials, but for those who
did not, a supply of odd materials
was available.
2. An inspirational digital presentation of artwork created with
unusual items was created by my
student teacher. Students enjoyed
trying to guess what the sculptures were made from.
3. A brainstorming exercise was created asking students to work in
groups to create a paper sculpture
using only one type of shape. How
could they manipulate paper triangles (or circles, etc.) to create
a more interesting form? (Cut,
tear, fold, roll, etc.) What were
different ways to connect things
together? (Tape, glue, stitch,
staple, etc.) What elements and
principles were emphasized in
the sculpture? (Texture, balance,
space, etc.) This exercise would
prove helpful in getting students
to seek alternative solutions for
their final project.
Using Multiples
For the actual project, students were
asked to create a sculpture that demonstrated the use of an “extreme”
material in a unique way. Since, in
most cases, only one major material
was used, the repeated use of that
material multiple times needed to
result in a form where positive and
negative space were equally as interesting. Both relief and in-the-round
sculpture were allowed. Materials
could be manipulated as desired and
students could choose which of the
elements or principles they wanted
to emphasize in their work.
Problem Solving
As ideas were developed, it became
clear there would be a multitude of
problems to solve given the variety
of materials procured. It was important for my student teacher and I
to work together, since not every
problem could be solved by students
alone.
The boy who needed holes drilled
in his metal lids was supervised
in the technology room. The girl
wanting to make a crayon sculpture
needed help using a glue gun. Lots
of guidance and individual feedback
was needed, and at times it was
challenging for two teachers to help
twenty-eight students with as many
different concerns.
Developing effective abstract
ideas was a challenge for some who
