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Characters of mythical proportions
Arts & Activities, May, 2007 by Kathy S. Nee
We elective teachers are being asked more and more to incorporate other disciplines into our curriculum to reinforce other subject matter. Fortunately for art teachers, art lends itself exceptionally well to cross-curricular learning. Usually we need only to tweak our assignments to better address our new curriculum.
One of my favorite cross-curricular projects I do with my sixth-grade students is a two-week art-history mythological character. Our new social-studies teacher recently began teaching the students a unit about ancient Greek and Roman culture, mythology, and gods and goddesses.
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My unit begins with a teacher-led discussion of the Greek and Roman civilization. Then, like today, people were seeking out ways to explain what happened to them and why. The Greeks and Romans used mythology to explain their world events: floods, tornados, storms, famine, relationships. The mythological characters, such as Poseidon and Neptune (controlling the seas), Eros/Cupid (love), Hercules (strength), and Athena and Hera (wisdom), all possessed special abilities that allowed them to carry out their appointed tasks.
I ask students to make a list of things they would like to control or be better at, like the special abilities and powers of the mythological gods and goddesses. From this list, students sketch at least three school-appropriate characters of their own design that possess special abilities or supernatural powers. Each character must have some sort of prop to help the viewer understand its ability. Students then select their best designs to make into their character sculptures.
Following my demonstration, students make an 8-inch armature from wire, with the help of pliers. They bend the arms and legs into the best position to define the character's ability. A folded piece of tape across the feet, with the student's name written on it, serves as identification. When the armature is complete, students paint a wooden base (plaque) and I add nails where the feet will be attached (nail from the bottom through the top).
Using newspaper and tape, they build up muscle, the head and body parts as needed. Students are asked to cover all wire, tape and newspaper with yarn to represent skin, avoiding the feet, since this section of metal will be needed to secure the character's legs on the wooden bases. They can then use fabric to make articles of clothing and tie, hot-glue or sew them into place.
When the character is essentially finished, students securely tape the feet to the base and cover the feet with appropriate materials. I encourage students to do as much as possible before attaching the character to the base because it is easier to manipulate unattached. Students then use pipe cleaners, beads, feathers, foam shapes and more to further embellish their characters and make their props.
Each character must then be given a unique name. To generate ideas, students write their real name or their character's ability on a piece of paper, then rewrite it backwards. Can their new names be pronounced or do they need to add vowels? Example: Laurie = Eirual; art = Tra; soccer = Reccos. They are then written neatly on the base.
I began teaching this project about 10 years ago and it has become a favorite of the students. They get so involved they don't even realize they are using creative thinking and problem-solving skills. My colleagues often comment to me how they love seeing these sculptures in the showcases. Several students have even been approached by adults to inquire if they could purchase their characters.
An additional or follow-up idea to the project is to have students explain their character's special ability and how this idea is conveyed to the viewer. Students could also write their character's biography, or compare and contrast today's superheros with Greek and Roman mythology and/or with their character.
You can modify this project and change the theme to reflect different ideas, such as historical figures careers, hobbies and animals. As a cross-curricular unit, this lesson incorporates math (measuring), history and social studies (cultures), language arts (writing/ communication) and science (tools, mechanics, friction).
My evaluation asks the following: Did the student clearly express an idea or activity through the sculpture? Did the student manipulate materials successfully?
MATERIALS
* Newsprint and pencils (for sketches)
* Rulers
* Armature wire or coat hanger (8-inch arms, 18-inch body)
* Pliers (share and/or bring from home)
* Wooden bases (plaques or scrap wood)
* Acrylic paint and paintbrushes
* Hammer and nails
* Scissors and tape
* Newspaper
* Yarn, cloth and embellishments
* Hot-glue gun
* Markers and gel pens
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Middle-school students will ...
* select materials, techniques and processes to effectively communicate an idea.
* use subjects, themes and symbols in art that communicate their intended meaning.
* make connections between past and current cultures.
