can you tell what it is yet?

 Today I've been cutting up some huge tri-wall boxes (really thick corrugated card). The white strip is a 1 metre ruler - just to give you an idea of their size! They come flat. Apparently we can get hold of as many as we want! The only problem is they weigh around 15kg just as they are and are too large to store down the cellar!

 

 

The next pic shows a trial fitting together of some of the parts - trapeziums in this case. Can you guess what the finished construction will be? Clue - It will stand over 3 metres tall and the aim is to get all the children in school to help paint it all various shades of green.

 



 

 UPDATE - have finally managed to list the two recent footy paintings in my Folksy shop. Ended up having to retake the photos. Please click on the button on the right to go to the shop.



abstract journey

 

Last week I had the privilege of working with a real, bona-fide artist - Brian Sayers. A select group of sixth form students and staff were treated to 3 days of expert tuition centred around our interpretations of one of the largest collections of still life bits and bobs I have ever come across. Centred in the room it resembled the barricade from Les Mis. There were musical instruments, skulls, old frames, ribbons & scarves, dried corn stalks & husks ,chairs, cardboard boxes, artists mannequins, bottles, glasses, tea cups, maps etc. I think the prop department had been well and truly raided. Initially we were encouraged to draw anything from the artfully arranged pile. Then, through careful guidance, we were directed to cut, chop, and paste our drawings into altered assemblages and add paint, inks and pastels. This was way out of my comfort zone. I was at first very reluctant to cut anything but, having seen the gusto with which my fellow 'artists' attacked the task, I felt inspired to give it a go. They were busily and happily working to A1 size whilst mine eventually came out to A4! This is my final piece;

 

 

A lot of other stuff happened to get to this stage - I initially went for the tea cups and did a variety of studies from different viewpoints, this led on to studies of wine bottles and glasses as a direct contrast, which led me on to a representation of the sights and sounds of a smoky jazz café. Which all led eventually to the piece as pictured. In my mind it was supposed to represent the journey we all take from birth to death (from one box to another) - but that it should be taken with as much fun and enjoyment as possible along the way!
I thoroughly enjoyed having the time, space and freedom to explore lots of different ideas - something that rarely happens during the school day. Brian proved a very knowledgeable and humorous practitioner and I'll certainly be taking some ideas and concepts back into the classroom. Time, methinks, to start amassing an eclectic collection of pieces ready for when I move into my new art room in a few weeks(?) time.

papier mache

FS2 read one of Oliver Jeffers' stories about the boy and his friend the penguin today - 'Up and Down'. We decided to try and re-create one of the illustrations - in semi-relief. We papier mached  a cannon (of the human cannonball variety) and a ring master. Boxes as supports pasted over with one layer of newspaper and a coloured layer of tissue.

 

greek sculpture

Over the last 3 weeks the children have been undertaking a mini-project - to create Ancient Greek sculptures from 'scrap'. This is one of the results!

A stunning recreation of Aphrodite (Venus) rising from the sea. She stands around 40cm tall and has been made from card boxes, tubes and thread. The child who made her was insistent that her modesty should be protected - hence the strategically placed arms!

character box

Came up with a 'character box' (there must be a better name!) today - probably not an original idea, but not a clue as to where I might have seen it. If it is original -yay!, if not, then I would be very happy to give credit where it's due if anyone has the relevant info.

I'm thinking of using it in class where the figure, with an appropriately altered design, could be historical (Roman soldier, Victorian child etc), fictional or famous. I envisage the children writing facts/info on the enclosed booklet and maybe also putting small objects in the tray ie. button, coin. I could've used matchboxes but didn't have any to hand. Anyway, just thought I'd share.

It would also work for stories - it'd be especially good for nursery rhymes, with the main character (Humpty Dumpty, Jack/Jill etc) on the front and the text inside the box. For emerging readers the narrative could be told as a picture sequence.

gymnastic sculpture

Managed to get thus far with our large papier mache sculptures in art club. Maybe another layer will do it and then we can paint! This shows one figure doing a 'crab', supported by another seated.

In y3 today we looked at paintings by William Powell Frith. Over the next 3 weeks or so we are aiming to create pictures in a similar vein. Started off by sketching crowds of stylised people using overlaps. This pic shows a before and then an after (instruction & input) sketch.

automata

In y3 we have been having a go at constructing paper automata. It ties in with our Victorian topic and bridges the gap between Art and Design Technology. We are using a simple cam mechanism.

armatures

Managed to start putting the armatures for our ambitious papier mache sculptures together today. Have decided that the 'gymnasts' will be stereotypical Victorian - striped costumes, handlebar 'tasches etc. Possibly with the obligatory set of dumbells!

dino done!

Managed to complete the dinosaur today, the last day of term. It will have to wait until January to move to its new 'museum' home elsewhere in school.

We like the fact that you can still see the underlying cardboard and unpainted bits of papier mache - a sort of impressionistic dinosaur sculpture!

boxosaurus (2)

Almost complete - just facial details to be painted on. Today we 'textured' the body using cardboard rolls to print a scale effect.

boxosaurus

Today we began to construct a big dinosaur out of cardboard boxes. Pairs of children were detailed to make specific body parts, ie. body, head, leg etc. The whole was then assembled using tape and cable ties. We had time at the end to begin to papier mache it.