The 5th graders showed off their amazing wire sculptures at the art show last week. We had about 70 – the biggest group to date. I want you to see some of the best examples, and how we displayed them.
Mariel (middle horse) and Natalie (dog) were able to sign their names in wire.
Connor was able to sign his name in wire.
Fish, pig and camel. Early finishers made name art.
How to Display Wire Sculpture:
Our silver-colored sculptures look best against a solid, dark background. We hung blue vinyl table covering (from a roll) across a wall. We attached twine in front of the covering, and hung the sculptures using paper clips (opened to form an ‘S’ hook).
Completed wire sculpture display.
Great job fifth graders!!!
Kudos to the parent volunteers who helped out in the art room every week. We really appreciate your efforts.
Thanks to our fabulous art show chair and her husband for designing and installing this display. That was a lot of hard work!
This week the fifth graders continued work on their spectacular sport trophies. The wire and foil figures are now posed and wrapped with plaster wrap. Almost all have been stapled to wooden bases. Our fifth graders have experience working with plaster (see this post and this post) so almost all finished wrapping the figures during our 40 minute class.
Volleyball
Don’t you love the poses and accessories?
Skier with popsicle stick skis and bamboo skewer poles.
Here’s a ‘wrap up’ (get it?) of all the steps so far:
wire armature made from two pieces of 18 inch pre-cut floral wire
Alexander Calder was an amazing, original, sculptor with a great sense of humor. Our 5th graders had a lot of fun making Calder-inspired wire portraits.
5th grade students made 3D wire portraits in the manner of Alexander Calder. Allow three 40-minute sessions.
Materials
Basic wire sculpture supplies. All wires and decorations can be cut with kindergarten scissors.
pre-cut floral wire, (AKA ‘stem wire’) in bright aluminum, 26-gauge for wiring on embellishments (I call this fine and flexible wire ‘sewing wire’ because it is fine enough to pass through a sequin)
soft colored wires, such as Twisteez, pipe cleaners, or electrical wire (be sure it is easy to cut)
embellishments: stainless steel pot scrubbers (can cut into smaller pieces, for beard), pony beads, sequins or buttons (for eyes and earrings)
scissors
copy paper or other thin paper
Sharpie marker
optional: gallon-size Ziploc storage bag if more than one session is required.
Draw a front view of the face. Make a simple contour and touch all four sides of the paper.
Turn paper over: the black lines from the first side should be visible!
Now draw a simple profile of a face, including nose and lips. The profile should touch the top, bottom and one side of the paper.
Put sketch in labeled storage bag.
Sketch: front
Flip sketch over. Draw profile view (note front view is barely visible)
Day two:
Pass out bags, markers, and two 4 ft. lengths of 14-gauge Sculpture Wire per student. Students should turn sketch to the front view. Bend one wire around oval sketch. Overlap ends and wrap to secure.
Trace front view with wire
Flip the sketch to the reverse. Place end of second wire at top of profile and bend wire to follow sketch. Overlap ends and wrap to secure. You may have excess wire – do not cut this off yet.
Trace profile in wire.
Put sketch + wires in labeled storage bag.
Day three:
Remove wire portrait pieces from bag and insert the front view through the profile. Secure at joints at top and bottom of face using pre-cut wire and any excess wire. Give students a short piece of wire for ‘glasses’. Add ‘C’ shaped wire ears if desired (or bend out ears from face wires).
Insert the profile into the front view and secure. Add a short wire for eyes.
Side view of assembled wire portrait. Ready to embellish with pipe cleaners, beads, pot scrubbers and sequins.
Colored wire (or pipe cleaners) make fun hair and eyes.
Display:
Suspend from ceiling with string or fishing line, or link faces together with paper clip ‘S’ hooks for a giant mobile.
Calder-inspired wire portraits hang in chains at school art show.
Most of the 5th graders at our schools have at least one trophy – for soccer, baseball, basketball, dance, etc. Each year the fifth graders create their own sport trophy sculptures using wire, foil and plaster wrap.
2012 is an Olympic year. We begin by looking at photos of Olympic athletes in all sorts of sports. We talked about dynamic poses – athletes in motion – and how much more interesting they are than static poses.
Great job fifth graders!!!
