Masks from Paper Mache

Students in grades 7-8 made masks as their last project of the year.  The 8th graders chose whether they wanted to use clay or paper/tape for their armature.  The 7th graders all used paper, cardboard and tape to construct their armature.  All students were encouraged to select a reference photo to sculpt from.

After looking at images of a variety of masks from around the world, the students chose to create an animal (spirit animal or realistic), or a person for their inspiration. 

Students had access to sculpture materials in bins, which they could use to help form their armature.  This student utilized cardboard tubes for her eyes.

This student used plastic caps as part of her armature for the eyes. 

 After the artists used clay or cardboard to create the shapes they needed for their animal or human mask, they then learned how to apply paper mache, and added 3 layers of colored thin paper+glue to their mask.  For you teachers or crafters our there, I bought "Art Paste" from Blick art supply because it is non-toxic but also more permanent than flour and water.  The paper we used was the same kind as that used for bulletin boards in schools (on a roll). I had the students keep track of how many layers they had applied by making each layer a different color of paper.

This mask began with molding clay into the shapes the artist wanted, before adding paper mache.

 Next, I went over the basics of color mixing, having students create secondary colors, as well as tints and shades from the primary colors.  They then painted their masks as they saw fit, mixing most of their colors from primary colors and white.
Below are some of the great masks that resulted. 

Before we painted them, we pulled out and in some cases ripped with gusto the paper and/or clay armatures from underneath the paper mache.  All that was left was three strong layers of paper mache which had taken the shape of the armature.

 

3-Day Portrait Sculpture Challenge

Students in grades 7-8 learned about busts and portraits as an introduction to sculpture and clay.
The first day they learned how to create the generalized proportions of the human face. 
Next, they each received a photograph of a famous person, and embraced the challenge of recreating that famous face to the best of their ability in clay. 

Students had to observe the famous faces closely, and notice all of the small things that makes each face unique.

Both myself and many of the students were impressed by the clay portraits they made in only 3 class periods.  Many of the students had never sculpted with clay before.

Two "Rosa Parks" by one 7th and one 8th grader

Pablo Picasso- amazing job by Jerry.

The finished Autobiographical Comic Strips

I thought I would post some images of some of the completed comic strips created by the 6-8th grade students.  Many of the students worked very hard on these, and they did a fabulous job telling their true story using pictures and words in tandem.  

Throughout this project, the students learned about thumbnail sketches, planning out a work of art, comic book conventions such as including panels and gutters, zooming in to the action, communicating through facial expressions, and varying your line weight. Students also learned how to use lines to create value.  Finally, I hope they learned that even if they can't draw perfectly or realistically, they can still use simple images to communicate a whole lot of (true) story and (hilarious) information to a viewer. 

Autobiographical Comic Strips

Students in the 5th- 8th grades have been working on autobiographical comic strips over the past month or so.  We began by looking at the work of artist Heather McAdams. 

Based on the project Heather McAdams created for Spiral Workshop at UIC, Coonley students answered questions and selected a true story based on themes such as an animal encounter they exprienced, something they were afraid of, a moment of triumph, etc.

Next students learned about the word thumbnail sketch and panel, and they began laying out their story into panels (frames) and narration.    Some students wrote before drawing, and others drew the pictures first. Students continued to refine their ideas based on feedback from their peers and teacher, as they worked hard to communicate their story in pictures and words. 

Next, the students moved on to laying out their final panels on illustration board, leaving neat "gutters" (spaces) in between each panel.  They worked to make their drawings more detailed than the thumbnail sketches, and added backgrounds and more facial expressions to tell their story.  We talked about zooming in and out, and getting down to what is essential about each moment.   

Next up, students will learn to ink up their panels, using permanent marker, and building off of the skills they acquired when they practiced contour line drawing.  They will also learn how to shade (create different values) using only lines, and will apply that skill to some panels in their comic.

Next, students completed this worksheet to practice using lines to create value.  The more lines you gather together and the closer the lines are to each other, the darker the value (shade) appears to be. 

Contour Line Drawing

In preparation for an autobiographical comic strip project, 5th-8th graders at Coonley spent two weeks learning about and practicing the technique of contour line drawing. 

First we discussed the difference between a contour line drawing and an outline.  
Contour line drawings include lines that are both inside and outside of the forms we see.
We also discussed what it means to draw from observation. 
Next I demonstrated how to create a successful blind contour line drawing from observation.  When you create a blind contour line drawing, you DO NOT look at your paper.  Instead, you use a continuous line that takes you from one object to the next. You move your hand very slowly and record every detail and edge that you see.  You need to look closely in order to create a drawing that actually looks like what you are observing.

Blind Contour Line Drawing

Each table of students set up their own still life objects, and they practiced blind contour line drawing.  It was so hard to not look down at what we are drawing, and students struggled to move slowly and observe carefully.  It was also hard to try not caring about what our drawing looked like, since blind contour is not about the finished product, but rather about the act of looking closely at what you are seeing.  We did several timed blind contours in a row which was good practice for everyone.

Next, I demonstrated creating a contour line drawing of the still life objects. Students could now look at their paper periodically while drawing, in order to make sure their objects were placed on the page in a way that made sense.  I reminded the students nearly every second to look up almost all the time in order to draw what they are seeing, and not what they think they see (which are symbols of objects in our mind).  The more slowly students drew, and the less the more they observed their objects, the more realistic their drawings came out. 

Contour Line Drawing By Jenny

Some of the students are still struggling to create a successful drawing from observation, but here are some examples of students who were able to slow down and record what they see.

Collaging Sketchbook Covers

5th through 8th graders received sketchbooks at the beginning of the year that are theirs to use in art class. These sketchbooks are theirs to keep, and I encourage all of my students to take their books home and draw, write, collage and collect anything in them that they would like to. 
The students are responsible for bringing them back to class each week, and they get points for doing so towards their grade. 
It is my hope that this group of older students will become accustomed to working in their sketchbooks independently, and it will be a positive habit that they continue as adults.

The art room at Coonley is loosely organized into "studios", which are specific spaces in the art room where you can find the supplies needed to create that particular art form. I wanted the students to explore the collage studio, and learn what materials were available to them. 


We first discussed the word collage as a group, and I shared the meaning of the word in French, which is "to glue or to paste". We then looked at examples of collages by the artist Romare Bearden. Then students came up with a working definition of collage, and we briefly discussed why artists might choose to work in collage as their favorite medium. I taught everyone how to glue using brush-on Elmer's glue so that no glue drips would end up on the table.

Students gathered materials to use in a cover collage, and stored them in their sketchbook.

Next, the 5th-8th grades worked for two-three class periods on first collecting material that they wanted to use as their sketchbook cover, followed by collaging it onto their book so that their sketchbook was more unique and personal to who they are as an individual. 

Many students feel more comfortable drawing than collaging. This student, Jerry, chose to mediate that by creating a drawing of a familiar subject and then cutting it up and pasting it together again.

I will gather some more pictures of the collaged sketchbook covers soon.   The students only complaint that I heard was that we need more magazines that are  hip and filled with Justin Biber!