Building Plants with Katie

As we continued to work as a class with the theme of “Green,” Kaity asked the children to express their ideas of nature through their drawings and written words. The students took only a few minutes to do this and then were asked to identify the shapes that they could see in their drawings of nature. Once the students made the connection between the shapes in nature and the shapes that they could replicate in their own art, they had the option of beginning to transform their drawings into something more three-dimensional with pipe cleaners.

Henry Moore & Barbar Hepworth

Afterwards, we began as a class, to explore the abstract sculptures of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. The students were first shown images of nature, then shortly after, images of the sculptures that were inspired by nature, were revealed. One student yelled out, “Of course!” He immediately recognized the connection between reality and abstraction. It was a great moment. The kids were then asked to make their own abstract sculptures using green Crayola Model Magic. The sculptures were to be inspired by leaves and flowers Kaity had selected for them. The students seemed to have fun picking out the shapes they recognized in their plants and imitating them in their sculptures. They then were given help as they anchored their sculpture to a prepped wire and flowerpot, so that their newly created abstract plants could stand straight up!

The students seemed to have fun picking out the shapes they recognized in their plants and imitating them in their sculptures. They then were given help as they anchored their sculpture to a prepped wire and flowerpot, so that their newly created abstract plants could stand straight up! Afterwards the kids enjoyed adding a relevant setting to their sculptures. They were to add dirt, made of shredded brown paper, and then given a choice of different types of bugs that they could press into their clay pieces.

We were all very happy with the final pieces that were produced. The kids really took the project to an unexpected level, some by creating impressions in the clay with the leaves or flowers they had chosen, and others by adding bits of their natural form directly to their sculptures! It was a wonderful experience for all and the students’ pride in what they had made was evident in their eagerness to share their processes and new sculptures with the class!