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11.28.2012

5th Grade - Sphere Sculptures (Decorative Paper)

Pinterest strikes again!  I saw these:
http://myplumpudding.blogspot.com/2009/04/cereal-box-globes-for-earth-day.html


I wasn't exactly sure how these were going to get woven into my curriculum this year - but I was sure they would fit somewhere.  I decided these would fit with 3D, values, hues, personal choices, recycling/upcycling - and so much more!

So, the students haven't actually made these yet - today I had them decorate cardboard that has about the same thickness as cereal boxes.  The wonderful ladies in the lunch room collect the cardboard for me from boxes of fruit!  I have HUGE stacks of the stuff and I always get excited when I have a way to use large quantities of it.  I love that it is easy to cut, but yet holds up pretty well to copious amounts of tempra paint.



Today, I had students decorate the cardboard in an Eric Carle type style.  They started with a base color, chose another color to add a design, then add another color and yet another design - then students could leave it or use a decorative comb to add designs by scraping paint around in a pattern.  I told students that I would pick the colors for their tables - but not to worry they will get to pick papers from ALL the tables when it comes time to make their spheres.  I explained that I pick their colors because it gives us more usable colors - if I just let them go, we would get a BUNCH of brown and blue.  I generally give each table their table color in paint - so blue table got blue paint, red table got red paint (keeps down the arguing and whining).  Each table got a variety of tints/shades of their color to make these stand out, for example green table got:  green, bright green (green + yellow), mixed green (yellow + blue), and a thing of white (ends up being light green).

At first students were being very careful and clean about this process - which I some what appreciated, but we needed papers that were free, open, full of motion and color - students needed to be a little more - organized chaos.  I told many of them they were being too nice and needed to give a little more 'umpf' to it.  Soon it was a controlled whirl wind!  Paint, cardboard, brushes, students were everywhere - in a good way.  I was busy filling paint as it ran out while keeping the cardboard stack well supplied.  It was awesome.

I had MANY students today exclaim, "This is the best day of art EVER!"  There is something beautiful, freeing even of letting loose - not 'making' anything in particular.  We weren't making dogs, cats, perspective drawings -- students got to just create.  It was BEAUTIFUL.

It is going to take me some time to cut all these papers for students to make their spheres - but they will be amazing - I am SUPER excited.



















6 comments:

Mrs. C said...

Ah! The pure joy of creating simply for the sake of creation! :)

Ms Novak said...

Right? Isn't it beautiful when it all falls into place?

Marilena Linardatou said...

What a fan project.
I love these colorful paper spheres.
Very creative.

Jessica Balsley - The Art of Education said...

This totally takes me back to the CFA and Kate's class. Thanks for the reminder of my "Roots" of Art Ed and Thanks for also being a part of it.

Ms Novak said...

Jessica - I ALWAYS think of Kate and the CFA when we do decorated papers. Luther and more so the CFA have a special place in my heart - what great roots we were given to be able to grow as we have and will. Thank you for being there with me and still now. You are changing Art Ed one post, class, PD at a time.

J.ham said...

These are simply beautiful. The colors are so so vibrant!