Plaster Masks

Fox Inspired Mask

I love all things sculpture!  I love the different "hands on" approaches the students have to take and the variation that we get as a result!  This lesson is no different.  I usually try to teach this lesson around Mardi Gras and we talk about masquerade masks and how they can all be so different and lively.  We focus on shape variation as well as decorative detailing. 

For the actual creation of the masks, I allow the students to make a choice.  They can 1)use a face mold to build their mask (using plaster strips and water) on top of or 2) drape their face-or a volunteer friend's face-with a strip of saran wrap so as not to cover the nose (we have to breath) and they can build their mask on their friend's actual face or draw out a plan and have their friend build it on their face for them.  Either way, each student has to create a mask.  It is just up to them how messy they want to get and how much they trust their friends with plaster!  Option two requires students to work a little faster since both friends need time to build a mask, but so far that hasn't been a problem.  The next time I see the kiddos (this is a 2 class period project), their masks have dried and hardened and are ready to be painted and adorned.  I let the students paint and decorate their masks however they would like.  I help the students hot glue the feathers on but otherwise, it is all up to them.  I never seem to remember to take enough photos but here are a few that I can brag about (and give you the general idea from)

Origami Nation

It's the Origami Nation Sensation!

After the origami butterflies (lesson here) my 4th and 5th graders were hooked!  They practically demanded more origami.  And I was not about to get in the way of their new found passion (or favorite past time for some).  So this is how it went down...

4th Grade:

Origami jumping frogs.  'Nuff said. Insert crowd going wild (i.e. 4th graders jumping up and down cheering once they heard the word "origami." To be honest, after I said that I'm not sure they even heard the words "jumping frogs" above all the cheers).  The butterflies were a little bit tricky at times for the 4th graders, so jumping frogs were right up their alley.  Easy and adorable.  Again, I used a YouTube tutorial which I paused between each step, demonstrated it myself and then helped the kiddos when needed.  Once we had our frogs made (we used 4"x6" florescent notecards for ours), we drew on faces and any other details we wanted.  Then it was time to play games with our frogs!  I made paper lily pads for each table of kids.  The object of the game was to get their frog to jump and land on on the flower in as few jumps as possible.  I also made a bull's eye bullfrog's eye game where the kids tried to land their frog as close to the center as possible to beat out their friends.  A few kids were so taken with the origami frogs that they just kept making more!  I only offered 2 notecards per student due to my supply, but that didn't stop them from using 8x11 cardstock froggies!

This is the YouTube tutorial I used

Our Frog Videos:

Students playing the bull's eye and lilypad games

Some students made froggy families

5th Grade:

 

It's official!  Fifth grade is NOT too old for puppet making!  My fifth graders had a ball making these origami faces!  We were inspired by the origami double pyramid with this one.  I even found a YouTube tutorial on how to transform the double pyramid into an origami talking puppet!  From that point, I let the students decide how they wanted to design their puppet.  I showed them how they could be held two different ways as a talking puppet and encouraged them to be creative with their facial expressions, features and accessories.  Some of the kids even made it so you could hold their puppet either way and still see a face!  I was quite impressed with their ingenuity and the variety of ideas I had in the classroom!  The results reminded me a lot of the Muppets, so naturally, I recorded my kids with their puppets to the Muppets' song "Manamana!"  I'd share that video but a few I want to maintain the privacy of my kiddos.    Enough about me and the lesson...let's get to more photos!

 This student decided to design her origami and keep it as a phone stand.

Videos we used and were inspired by:

Origami Steps/ Tutorial

Muppets-Manamana

Complimentary Color Printmaking

I wanted my 5th graders to experience printmaking and I found an excellent lesson to be inspired by, here on another blog: Thomas Elementary Art.  While I must admit, he had greater success with his 4th graders on this lesson, I was still pretty pleased with our results, plus I gave them some free/experimental printmaking time at the end.

After I introduced my kiddos with the concept of printmaking, complimentary colors and I showed them some examples we started with our animal sketches on paper.  I provided them with plenty of books for them to use as guides when drawing their animals and encouraged them to draw largely and focus just on the head.  We sketched our animals and with a dull pencil (sharp ones will rip through the paper) traced them on top of a sheet of foam (same size as paper we sketched on).  Once they were traced, we removed the paper and pressed harder into the foam so that our animal stood out.  Now it looks like a stamp!


We used the back of our stamps to get solid color printed onto our paper for background colors.  I was running low on printing ink, so we printed with acrylic paint but we still used brayers/rollers.  I pointed out that we would need to press evenly on the foam to maximize how much paint transferred from the "stamp" to the paper and I reminded them that one of our prints would be done in complimentary colors and the other was a free choice.  The acrylic paint dries so quickly and we were transferring most of the paint onto our background papers, so there wasn't an issue with using two different background colors on our foam.

Cut Foam Printing Option (after use--obviously)

The next class period, I gave my students options.  They could cut out their animal from the foam and use the brayers, use a paintbrush to add color to their animal and/or background of the stamp or roll the brayer across their entire stamp for various printmaking effects.  I reminded them again that one of their prints had to be completed in complimentary colors and the other was free choice and I set them to work!

If they finished early, I allowed them a smaller piece of foam to make a free choice print, or they could continue printing with their animal stamp onto colored paper.  It was fun to see them take what they had learned about the stamps-- the ones who struggled were even making comments like, "this time I am going to press harder" or "I'm going to draw this bigger so that you can see all of the details."  I love hearing them talk about what they learned, especially when I know they struggled or were unhappy with their results.  It shows that they aren't hung up on the product, but the process of getting there!

Photos of the finished work (with some close ups):

Turtle!

Duck

Lion

Woodpecker (print pictured with foam piece)

Hummingbird

Dove

Owl (print pictured with foam piece)

Hummingbird--this student experimented a lot with her print and I LOVE how her foam ended up; her foam stamp is the bottom piece!

Elephant, Cat and Badger (prints pictured with foam pieces)

Cat

Monkey

Elephant

Dove, Baby Monkey Drinking a Bottle, Turtle and Mouse (print pictured with foam piece)

Close up of the baby monkey drinking a bottle

Fish with Bubbles

Lizard Print with Cut Stamp

Butterfly

Deer (print pictured with foam piece)

FREE CHOICE PRINTS!

Prints and Foam Stamp

The prints of this one didn't come out very well, but the foam stamp is beautiful on its own!

Turtles, Easter Bunny and Palm Tree prints

This guy makes me giggle

This student cut up her free choice foam and made a series of stamps to create an outdoor scene

Domo

Fun with Line and Pattern!

Pinch Pot Characters

Clay Characters!

For my fifth grade clay project, I taught a similar lesson to my pinch pot monsters with my fourth graders (lesson details found here), but I left it more open ended to their creativity.  I still reminded them of how to make a pinch pot and how to use "scratch and attach" when they were adding details to their character, but I let them choose what they wanted to make and how they wanted to create it...as long as it stemmed from a pinch pot.  They turned out AMAZING!  Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos (except a  few of them all waiting to be taken home by their owners on a metal cart) so I can't brag as much as I'd like.  But they did a great job, and I think the kiddos really appreciated that they could create their own thing and it didn't have to be one object/animal or another.    Sorry there aren't more photos and that these ones are a little on the blurry side...I still think it gives a good idea of the variety I had in my room.  And they still make me smile!

Pop Ups

I have very talented students who participate in many activities, one of which is band.  There was a band field trip which left me with very small 5th grade classes one day and so I introduced the remaining students to one of my favorite things ever...pop up cards!  Who wants a plain old greeting card when you can have a handmade one that pops out at you!

Anyway, the students didn't have to just make cards, they could make whatever they wanted.  I showed them a few simple techniques to get various types of pop ups and let their imaginations (and hands) go wild!  These are a few of the finished ones they made

This one portrays the inside of a boutique with a shopper

Crazy Bird!

Party Animals

Frog

City Scene