Ahh … paper! Tried & true tips for art teachers

Arts & Activities, Oct, 2006 by Geri Greenman

It's such an elemental, incredible surface for artists young and old. Paper comes in so many different colors, textures and weights. A great gift for us to use as we may, but that's just it ... we can use paper in so many ways that we often fall back into the usual comfortable mode of drawing or painting on it.

Following are some fun ways of using paper as the essence of an art assignment--a sort of paper-on-paper idea. These ideas are appropriate for junior high and high school, although Tip #2 can be used with elementary-level students as well.

TIP #1

ELEGANT CURLS Take a fairly good weight of paper and tear it into strips, so that the edges of your strips will be "soft." Now, curl the strips using a broom handle, dowel, small-diameter mailing tube or the edge of a desk. This will result in elegant curls.

These curls can be arranged and glued down onto a heavier board so that your class can draw still life from this paper. A spotlight will accentuate the subtle values of the curled paper, giving your students an opportunity to achieve dramatic results. They can observe how the light affects the size and shape of the shadows, and how the paper's innate transparency illuminates the curls. As an extra homage to paper, use the same type for making both the curls and the drawing. [See "Curl of My Dreams," Nov. 2001 issue.]

TIP #2

SLIVERS OF COLOR Have you ever noticed that when you help students trim watercolors or other colorful artwork, you end up with wonderful strips of paper on the floor near the paper cutter? These pieces of paper, along with a separate nonobjective watercolor by the students, can become fine art when cut (or torn) into strips of varying widths. The students can then reassemble the strips into a whole by weaving them together in a pleasing "new" composition. Or, they can use the nonobjective watercolor as the base of the new composition by cutting vertical slits so the thin strips can be woven through horizontally. Rather than throwing all those wonderful slivers of color out with the garbage, they can be used to create a dynamic piece of art. [See "Vivid Rhythms," April 1993 issue.]

TIP #3

DA PLANE! Students can fold 8 1/2" x 11" inexpensive paper into airplanes, then arrange them on the white mat board. Secure the desired arrangement by gluing the airplanes to the board. Use a spotlight to show off the planes, angles and lovely shadows, and voila, you have dynamite results. [See "Planes & Angles," Sept. 2005 issue.]

TIP #4

CREATIVE COLLAGE Collect pieces of newspaper and magazine photos of textures, and apply India ink to the surface of some papers, or make rubbings on newsprint or printer paper--whatever strikes your fancy. Now have your students create a collage of papers. Collage is a wonderful venue for creativity. Your lesson can require that it actually look like a person (see Romare Bearden's work), or it can evolve completely from their own imagination, depending on the way they arrange the different textures and types of paper.

TIP #5

WHITE ON WHITE Gather various types and thicknesses of paper, like tag board, heavier watercolor paper, poster board and whatever's available from your cabinets. Don't worry if it's lapped or torn, it's still perfect for use in this project!

Have the students create shapes with one kind of paper; they can crease it or indent lines or shapes on the paper using a bone folder or craft stick. On other textures of paper, they can use a thumbtack to pierce into the surfaces puncturing some of the underside of paper gives it a different look than if the punctures are from the top.

Finish mark-making without using color or any other medium, then have your students create a collage with these altered papers. Each will catch the light differently because of the "interruptions" in their surfaces. Your students will appreciate the subtleties of white on white. We don't need to cover paper with color to make it beautiful.

TIP #6

LET'S TWIST Your students can create their own Mobius strip (named after German mathematician August F. Mobius). These strips are actually a one-sided surface that is constructed from a long rectangular piece of paper by holding one side fixed while the opposite side of the strip is rotated 180 degrees, then attached to the opposite end. It's a great way to "twist" a pattern and please your math teachers, too!

TIP #7

LOVELY LAYERS Have your students create a design that will become three-dimensional using white tag board. These designs can be biomorphic (though rounded shapes are very difficult to cut out) or geometric compositions. The students have to plan for each "layer" of their design while keeping perhaps 1/4-inch borders between shapes. When each descending layer is cut out (of the same size paper as the top layer), the 1/4-inch borders will allow students to place thin, foam-core "spacers" between each layer. The spacers will then be hidden under the borders of the top layers of their design. Use art knives and a piece of old mat board under each layer while cutting out the designs to protect the desks. [See "Three-Dimensional Paper Design," Oct. 1990 issue.]