Recently, Shelly Farrar’s art class has started making their own paper mache creations. The basics of this project, including building and sculpting, are scheduled to be finished before spring break. The final details, finishing touches, and painting will continue after the break.
Paper mache is a fun project, and many students may have already done it on their own at home. Paper mache was brought into the classroom to give students an opportunity to express themselves individually with their own unique creations. According to Farrar, this project should also give students a chance to experiment with three-dimensional work and should engage them with hands-on activities.
The first step of working with paper mache is to build an armature, a framework used as a base to mold the material around. To make the armature, students were allowed to use anything constructive they could find, including crumpled up newspapers and even cardboard. After their base is done, students would have to rip their newspaper, or any material they’re using, into thin strips of paper. That paper is then dipped into a flour-type glue, which will be used to stick the paper strips onto the armature to create their sculptures.
Currently, most of the students have already finished or are working on the base of their design. Some students have chosen to keep it simple, while others had more ambiguous ideas. Seventh grade art student Cooper Edwards is enjoying his experience with paper mache so far. Edwards decided to create a spaceship for his project, as he was allowed to make whatever he wanted and that was the first thing to come to mind. There were some struggles in the beginning, but Edwards put them aside. “The base was kind of hard, but I’m not worried too much about it because it’s still fun to me.”
