Good grief, it's a gourd

Arts & Activities, May, 2004 by Karen Skophammer

Throughout history, sculptures have been created for various reasons and in various mediums. Memorial sculptures are made to honor a famous or important person or event. Religious sculptures and sculptures honoring the dead are commonplace in 4[I almost every country.

What about creating a sculpture just for the fun of it? What about creating a sculpture that is inspired by the shape handed to you--in the form of a gourd? I did just that: handed each of my third-grade students a gourd and told them to use its natural shape to create what, ever he or she would like to.

How did this come about? The following is the scenario that took place in my classroom one spring. A friend of mine had dried some gourds for me; 300 to be exact. How would I go about creating a fun sculptural unit of study for my third-graders, using these gourds?

First, I showed the students slides I had taken of the Vietnam Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., asking them, "What was each artist trying to accomplish with each of these sculptures? In what styles are these sculptures done?"

The students liked both of the sculptures, and decided the Lincoln Memorial was realistic, while the Vietnam Memorial was more freeform/abstract in nature. Both were planned to honor people.

Next, we looked at photographs of Mount Rushmore and discussed how large these sculptures were and how difficult and time-consuming it was for American sculptor, Gutzon Gorglum, to complete. We also took a look at Man with a Guitar, by Jacques Lipchitz. I didn't give them the title of the sculpture until they'd seen the slide. I wanted them to guess what it was.

After studying slides of sculptures and discussing where else we could find sculpture, I handed each student a gourd, which I had bleached ahead of time to gel rid of any mold or debris that might still be clinging to them. The students were asked to turn their gourds around and study them to see what their shape suggested to them.

When each student had an idea in mind, he or she was ready to begin the sculpture-making. I demonstrated how to put paper towels dipped in wheat paste over the entire gourd. They were to smooth the strips down as much as they could. We applied two layers of strips and then allowed them to dry. This gave the gourds a more even finish and "sealed" them without the students being around any chemicals.

The following art period, when the gourds were dry, I let the students choose from myriad paint colors, and odds and ends such as felt, pompons and cotton. In pencil, the students lightly sketched the details on the gourds, such as faces and outfits. They then painted the gourds.

Next came the addition of such things as hands, hats and hair, using the assorted materials available. The students were so creative. 1 was amazed at the amount of problem-solving and abstract thinking that went on during this project. As you can see, this experience was a winner!

MATERIALS

* Dried, clean gourds

* Wheat paste

* Newspaper strips

* Acrylic or tempera paints

* Feathers, beads, fabric scraps and other assorted decorating materials

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will ...

* define sculpture and papier-mache.

* visualize what shape their gourd can take on and be creative in transforming the gourd into sculpture.

* name at least two famous sculptors.

* describe the difference between realistic and abstract sculpture.

* successfully create a sculpture that can be displayed.

ADDITIONAL IDEAS

* Students bring in pictures of, or actual sculptural objects.

* Talk about a person or event in the community that would be worthy of a commemorative sculpture.

Collect photographs of one particular type of sculpture such as bronze, wood, clay, etc.

* Have students look at and label sculpture photos with "Modern," "Greek," "Abstract," etc.

Karen Skophammer teaches art for the Manson Northwest Webster Schools in Barnum and Manson, Iowa.