Trends Modern Art

Hello, fellow lovers of modern art. Long time no see.

Where have you been?  
Me? Where have I been?

Touché.

I've been around, brewing up some crazy art projects. Hopefully, I'll get to share them with you soon! A while ago, I posted this really cool Claes Oldenburg project we did creating papier mache sculptures of letters in the alphabet. Here are a few of the images from the project.

My far, this was the most time consuming aspect of this project. Constructing the letters out of cardboard, styrofoam cups, paper and tape. Making sure everyone's letter was just so. It was fun but you need several hands for this if your students are in the younger grade bracket.

The start of the papier mache process. It usually starts off so nice and civilized.

My husband and son, trying to show the students the proper way to apply their papier mache strips onto their sculpted letters so they don't end up with a starchy mess.

I love the fact that every time I introduce a new project, I hold my breath for any glitches. I've had plenty of moments where the tape didn't stick right, a print didn't even come out, or the you could barely see the paint or the students finished their piece in under fifteen minutes. LOL Even though I make samples and try techniques out at home, stuff happens.  In this case, I was really hoping the cardboard base would stand up to the papier mache liquid, especially with the students and their overzealous papier mache techniques, slopping it on and whatnot.

A little soggy, but nothing a few hours in the sun couldn't dry out.

All of the letters turned out so cool!

Some could even used as weapons. :)

Once they were dry, I thought it would be easier if I took them all home and painted a coat of primer on them myself. Until it was almost midnight and my hands were covered with white primer and I still had a huge pile to finish. Why do I always get myself into this mess? Story of my life!

So creative and so fun! And the hard work is always worth it in the end.

If you want a step-by-step instructions on how to complete this project, you can check out my Pablo Picasso papier mache project for papier mache basics. Or, you can go to Art Projects For Kids for another 3-D Papier Mache Letter. Have fun!

One of my students did an oral report on Claes Oldenburg, and part of his presentation was this large-scale sculpture of a cell phone.

It wasn't something we did in class, but it was so cool and amazing I thought I should share it with my readers!

They used the simple papier mache instructions from our last project and applied them to this creation, an old school cell phone. I wish I could show you how large the phone actually is--all of my students couldn't keep their hands off of it. This would be a really fun rainy day project to start with your kids. All you'd need is a hair dryer to make the papier mache dry faster, but the possibilities are endless.

If anyone ever creates something amazing and fabulous from the lesson plans on this blog, please feel free to share them with me. I'd love to see how you let your creativity flow!

The artwork above was created by a third grader.

This is a project that the students seem to go crazy for. Beware, it's also the messiest. The technique of Papier-mâché has been around for a very long time. Although the process seemed very intimidating for me at first, there are only a few components needed to get an awesome result. Once you get the hang of it, it's very simple and fun!

I shared my love of Pablo Picasso with the students today. Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso was a child prodigy and he could paint pain-stakingly beautiful portraits and charcoal drawings as a young child. His father was an art teacher, so he was exposed to art at a very early age. I think this is what freed Picasso to go further in his art, to explore different ideas and techniques. When you can draw and paint like a master at the age of eight years old, what else is there to do? Murals, abstract art, bronze sculpture, found object sculpture, Cubism, African-inspired art, etc. And this is exactly what he explored during his 92 years of life.

• Supplies you will need to mix Papier-mâché: inexpensive bottle of liquid starch, water, newspaper, cardboard pieces, masking tape, scissors, egg crate pieces, old paint trays.
• Mix liquid starch and water in a 50/50 ratio. Pour into old paint trays.
• Encourage students to rip newspaper into strips.
• Explain to students how they can build their sculptures by using cut cardboard pieces and egg crates pieces. They sculpture can be secured with masking tape. This will all be secured with the Papier-mâché mix.
• Once they've built their sculpture, they can start the Papier-mâché process.
• Dip a newspaper strip into liquid starch mix. Make sure you squeegee off excess liquid. Start laying wet strips onto your sculpture in a smooth, flat fashion.
• Keep laying down the wet newspaper strips until the entire sculpture is covered. Working around noses and eyes can be a little tricky, but teach your students how they can form their sculpture with their hands by shaping the wet newspaper.
• This project is usually done over a two class sessions. During the first session, the sculpture/Papier-mâché phase has to be completed.
• Since I can't store my supplies in the classroom, this means I have to take some 20-something partially wet masks. Yay me.
• When I have them at home and they are completely dry, I paint a layer of white primer on top. This will create a uniform surface for the students to paint designs on. It will also keep their paint true to the original color so they won't have to use several coats of paint. If you are in class, you can have your students primer their own masks.
• During our next class session, we paint, glue feathers, beads, raffia, twigs and whatever else the students want on their masks. It's amazing how different they all come out.
• Students painted with Craft Smart paint instead of tempera paint because there are so many more vibrant colors to choose from. You can find it at any Michael's Art & Craft for .99 a bottle.
• Once they are all completed, have students lay out their masks so the class can look at each work of art. My students always love this part of class!
  

An African-inspired mask created by a high school student.

This mask was created by son, who was in the first grade at the time. I helped with the raffia.

The Cubism-inspired mask at top left was created by a junior in high school. It's my favorite.