Dale Chihuly Abstract Sculpture

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Dale Chihuly Abstract Sculpture

6th Grade

 

This was soooooo much fun! But a huge warning! This is A LOT OF WORK FOR YOURSELF!!! Is it worth it? Yes! Okay so I did this project with 6th graders. I love Dale Chihuly and kids are so interested in his works especial young kids         

 

Material:

• 16 oz Water Bottles
• Aluminum Foil
• Multi Color Tissue paper
• Water down glue
• Paint brushes
• Carpet roll
• Wooden stand                                                                                                

 

 

First thing we did was talk about the artist Dale Chihuly. I showed them a great video on the artist and how he works. Now this was a great conversation we had which can be art aestics. Do you believe he should sign his name to his work when he has other people make his stuff and put it together? When we watched this video they were fascinated on how glass blowing happened but they were surprised that he had all these people make the pieces and the artist stood there and just guided them. Very interesting what they said, a good conversation for older students!

After we talked about the artist we also went over abstract art and abstract shapes. How the artist uses many different abstract shapes in his pieces.

Now for plastic bottles, that is the base of their artwork and trying to find over 100 plastic bottles was a pain! During lunch I stood by the recycle can and had to collect the bottles that way. I just have to tell you...bad idea! I got so sticky and it smelled BAD!!! A helpful hint, if you want to do this please plan for it! Tell the students to start saving their plastic bottles and have THEM wash out the bottles at home. I can still smell the stink of the juice bottles...ugh. I would say plan this project about a week out...let the kids bring in enough bottles.

Once you have the bottles, I had each student make 3 abstract shapes. First I gave them tin foil, now I did this during my prep time, about 9-10 sheets of tin foil. They may need more. Now I used A LOT of tin foil so I recommend go to BJ's or Costco's and buy a large tin foil. It saves you money and aggravation when you run out with those small ones. Now the kids had to rape the bottles first with tin foil. DO NO COVER THE LID! When they had the bottle rap then they could start building the abstract shape on top. This started to get difficult for some. HELPFUL HINT: Demonstrate this to them as well, but when building on the bottle please tell them not to squeeze the tin foil tight because it will become fragile and with break. Light pinch with your hands. Some might need tap to keep it together but don’t worry when they get the tissue paper on it will stick.

 

 

 

Now just getting the shapes of the bottles took one class. Once they get their shapes then we started to put the tissue paper on. This is where it gets messy! They will have to learn their hands will be sticky and it will become difficult to keep the tissue paper on when their hands stick to it so they can use plastic spoons or forks. This will help. Not I told them to start at the top and work their way down to the lid. SENSORY ISSUES: If you have student who doesn’t like the feel of the glue or tissue paper they can actually use paint. It actually looks nice!

 

Now for drying... This is why you have to get your stand and carpet roll together first. I built a stand and then put a carpet roll over top of the stand. I drilled holes in the roll and stuck in wooden dowels. When the students are done with their piece and it is still wet they put it on the dowel to dry. When students are finishing up I have them start painting the stands. They had fun working together on that.

Once the stand is done and the pieces are done I put the bottles on the dowels and BAM! I put them in the hallway of the school and man...look at how cool the abstract shapes make with the shadows on the floor! Soo cool!

 

I suggest that you put it in a place where kids hands don’t get to it.