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Monstrous mache
Arts & Activities, May, 2007 by Stephanie Stamm
Junior- and senior-high art students enjoy unusual themes, and I knew making monsters like the ones in the book, The Simple Screamer: A Guide to the Art of Papier and Cloth Mache, would interest them.
The ninth-graders enrolled in my regular two-dimensional-art class viewed illustrations from the book They'd never seen anything quite like the monsters Reeder made using simple supplies, and were anxious to try this themselves.
Each student or group (students could work in pairs or alone) brought 10 wire hangers and a bedsheet to class. Armatures were then made using one hanger for each arm and leg, and two for each body. The remaining wire hangers were cut with pliers into finger-, toe- and tongue-sized sections.
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To flesh out the armatures, crumpled newspaper was attached to the wire with masking tape, creating heads, hands, feet, fingers, toes and tongues. Students also made oven-bake-clay eyes and teeth, which were put aside for later.
It was time to put the first layer of papier-mache on all the monsters' body parts using newspaper strips and a flour-and-water mixture. The heads were cut in half with craft/hobby knives and hollowed out.
The teeth were taped in place and papier-mache was applied over the tape. The two halves of the heads were papier-mache together in an open position in order to show off the teeth and tongues, if desired.
Arms, legs and heads were taped to the bodies and covered in cloth-mache made from strips of cotton bedsheets soaked in watered-down white glue. Getting the extremeties to stay where they were supposed to be was the most difficult process for the students; it took several layers of cloth-mache applied in various directions to achieve proper adhesion. For more complex poses, plaster of Paris strips helped quite a bit. Hands, feet, fingers and toes were also cloth-mached in place for the final construction touches.
Once dry, the "bare" monsters were painted with latex house paint, donated by parents. Details were added with acrylics, and the personalities of these monsters were revealed. Some students even made props for their monsters.
The end result was a fun display in the school lobby, where our monsters received rave reviews.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Junior- and senior-high students will ...
* learn and utilize problem-solving and sequencing skills.
* understand and apply media and techniques involved in creating papier-and cloth-mache sculpture.
* create a three-dimensional art form.
* increase understanding of spatial concepts.
* utilize knowledge of structures and functions.
* apply common media in a creative application of design and structure.
* realize the importance of good craftsmanship.
MATERIALS
* BOOK: The Simple Screamer: A Guide to the Art of Papier and Cloth Mache, Dan Reeder (Gibbs Smith, 1983; www.gibbs-smith.com).
* Acrylic paints
* Newspaper
* Plaster of Paris strips
* Flour (5 lbs. per day for 40 students)
* Masking tape (1/2-, 1- and 2-inch)
* Wire clothes hangers (10 per monster)
* Old cotton bedsheet (one per monster)
* White glue (7 to 10 gallons)
* Large plastic bowls for glue and flour/water mixtures
* Paintbrushes in an array of sizes
* Water-based latex house paint
* Plastic tubs (for mixing and storing paint)
* Plastic sheets (for drying monsters)
* Sturdy pliers (at least five pairs)
* Oven-baked clay classroom pack
* Scissors and craft or hobby knives
Stephanie Stamm teaches art at Boyertown Junior High School West in Boyertown, Pa.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Publishers' Development Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
