Found Object Sculpture

Robert Bradford

Yesterday, we started a new project.  I began by presenting a powerpoint.  We discussed how artists began to push the boundaries of what was considered art at the time of the early 20th Century.  The 1918 Armory Show changed everything.  Marcel Duchamp rocked the art world by presenting The Fountain, which as a urinal at the Alfred Stegleiz's gallery, 291.  I wanted the students to start thinking about pushing boundaries of their own.  I moved on to talk about artists like Andy Warhol and Natalie Viecili who use themes of consumerism in their work.  They elevate common objects such as Campbell's Tomato Soup cans and McDonald's french fry containers as art.  What message are they sending?

Art often reflects what is going on in contemporary culture.  These artists were challenging ideas about art and also making a commentary of American consumerism.  We also talked about artists using found objects in their work.  I also showed them a slide of HA Schult's work, Trash People which is a travelling installation consisting of figures composed of trash.  I asked the students if they had ever been to see the dancing rabbit sculptures in Dublin.  Most had seen it and could describe the many objects they saw enmeshed in the cast iron.

Then we moved on to talk about Robert Bradford, a British artist who created sculptures created from small plastic objects and toys.  We looked at his sculptures in detail to see how the different parts made up the whole composition.  Color, texture, and object choice are intentional in his work.

Then, we started on the wire base or armature of our sculptures:

We'll continue working on the bases for these sculptures next week.  Additionally, you should have received an email from Mrs. Luker asking for small plastic items to be brought in for these sculptures.  See you next week!

Weeks 13 & 14- Painting our Animal Sculptures

Sorry I haven't put up a blog post lately.  During the past 2 classes, we painted our animal sculptures.  

Mrs. Luker told me that she's gotten lots of compliments on the kids' sculptures.  I'm not surprised... they look amazing!  Look for these sculptures after spring break in the glass display cases at the front of the school.  

Speaking of Mrs. Luker, this is the last class that these fourth graders will have with her, as she will be off for maternity leave after spring break.  Mrs. Luker... thank you so much for your time and talent in art enrichment class!  We wish you all the best for the upcoming birth of your child!  :)

After spring break, we will start a couple of painting projects.  One involves painting with acrylics on canvas and layering shapes with contact paper.  The other, is a postcard contest sponsored by the Plain City Business Association.  Details to follow soon!

Week 13- Painting our Animal Sculptures

This week we began painting our animal sculptures with acrylic paint.  Acrylic paint is opaque, which really covers the newsprint well.

Some of the kids decided not to paint their animal exactly how it looks in nature. I thought this was a fun idea. One student thought it would be fun to put a tie dye pattern on her penguin. Another student decided that spots would be neat on a dog. I like the idea of playing with these sculptures and making them even more interesting to look at. We've been stuck in our houses all winter with gray skies outside. Why not have some fun with color?

For this blog update, I decided to directly upload the photos to the blog instead of using flickr as my picture hosting site.  I've heard that teachers at the school haven't been able to view the pictures on the blog, because flickr is blocked.  Hopefully, you'll all be able to see the photos now.  :)

We'll continue painting our sculptures next week and finish up this project. See you next week!

Week 11- Beginning the Paper Mâché Process

Today we started the messy, sticky, gooey process of laying the wet newspaper on our armatures. I mixed up several bins of flour and water and the kids tore the paper into strips. I demonstrated how to lay the paper on in layers, overlapping each piece with the next strip. You start with the largest part of your animal and work your way out to the legs or limbs. Here's some photos of the kids work:











Here they all are drying on the ramp in the art room...



Special thanks to April Kieffer for coming in to help this week. We really appreciated it!

If any parents would like to come next week to help, we'd love to have the extra hands. :)

And, please send in newspaper with your child if you can. See you next week!

Week 10- Creating the Armature for our Animal Sculptures

This week, kids brought in supples like plastic pop bottles and cardboard and starting putting together the armature or framework for their paper mâché animal sculptures...



We secured the parts with lots and lots of masking tape...



Some kids used cardboard to make the underlying shape of their animal...





Next week, the kids that still need to fine tune their armatures can do so. If you forgot to bring something for your sculpture, please remember to bring it next week! Kids who are ready to start sculpting with wet newspaper will get the opportunity to begin that on Tuesday. See you then!

Week 9- Beginning our Animal Sculptures

This week, the kids chose an animal they'd like to sculpt out of paper mâché. To start, we drew our animal to get familiar with it's shape and body parts.





We also talked about gathering supplies for the armature of the animal by asking ourselves questions like these: What sort of shape is the body? Would a 2 liter bottle serve as a good base for it, or something else? Is it flat like a turtle? Perhaps a plastic lid would work. Some kids are collecting things like paper towel tubes for legs. Cardboard works well for ears and wings. Wire can be used for thin parts like antlers. And of course, everyone will need newspaper.



Here's an example of a 1st grader's animal project, an okapi, done with paper mâché. The body is a two liter bottle, the legs are paper towel tubes, the head is a small Gatorade bottle, and the ears are cardboard.



Hopefully this gives you an idea of what we are about to undertake. It should be lots of fun!