Monday, January 2, 2017

In the Art Room: Candy Heart Sculptures!

Hello, Cutie Pies and Love Bugs, won't you Be Mine on this Candy Heart Sculpture adventure? I'm so excited (and maybe a pinch sugar'ed up from one too many candy hearts) about this project I've got planned for my fourth graders. I've been kicking this idea around for sometime...but there were some issues I thought the kids might struggle with. After finding solutions that will make their sculpture making adventure a little easier, I put it all together in this here video.
To make your own Candy Heart Sculpture, you'll need the following: 

* Tag or poster board, one 2" X 24" and two 8" squares
* Scissors
* Stapler
* Tape
* Rigid Wrap Plaster Cloth from Activa Products 
Approximately 24" of wrap per student. The wrap comes in a width of 6" so I cut it in half for this project. My plan is to have the kids do the cutting when they finish their armature.
* Tempra paint
 I played around with a couple dimensions with the heart and decided that the 2" edge would be the best. It's the most accurate appearing ratio and it requires a lot less plaster wrap. Having the kids create those tabs of tape and fill in the gaps with excess tape will really help when they are creating their armature.
 I also played with several ideas for putting the wording on the heart. I first toyed with the idea of just letting them write on their hearts but my students do not have the best of handwriting, not even gonna candy coat it for ya (pun intended). Giving them a guide like the sheet which will ultimately become their carbon copy paper seemed like the best solution. 
I will definitely keep y'all posted on how my fourth graders do. While their projects dry, they'll be working on another sweet project that I'll be certain to share with you soon. Check ya later, Love Bugs!
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16 comments:

  1. What a fun project! Could talk about Jim Dine or Claes Oldenburg for inspiration too. I always enjoy your ideas and your videos are so helpful :)

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  2. Def, those two are great references...in fact, I'm using Dine for a different project...stay tuned for that video this week :)

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  3. I really enjoyed watching this. Your voice is very soothing.....when I was little (in the dark ages) we had 2 ladies on TV who had shows for children- Pixanne (I think she was en elf) had a show named for her and, of course, there was Miss Frances on Romper Room. Watching you took me back to these sweet,lovely ladies. I mean this as the highest compliment to your skill as a presenter. You could have your own TV show!

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  4. Excellent process video! I want my art ed students to watch this so they start to understand how to do detailed plans that lead to success for their young artists! Thanks!!

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  5. I am so doing this!! I think I am going to try it with my 3rd graders and allow that to lead to ceramic candy with 4th graders.

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  6. Anonymous1/04/2017

    Love this project! I know the kids will have so much fun too. What a great idea to have them make a template for their lettering!-M3

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  7. This is fabulous! I'm definitely going to try this with my art club!!

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  8. Anonymous1/07/2017

    Question for you! What do you do with the plaster water when the kids are done? I am in Wisconsin, and can't really dump it somewhere outside!

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    1. great question! I'm thinking of pouring all the water into a bucket, let it settle and pour the water off the top outside. Allow the plaster at the bottom to dry out and then dump into the trash.

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  9. Hi Cassie
    This one is so fun! A couple of questions for how it played out in your class.....Was it hard for the kids to handle "squeegee"ing the plaster strips between their fingers? Did they need smaller strips?
    And how did you mark them with names while plastering? I covered my name up and then thought this could be scarey with 126 orphaned hearts staring at me!
    AND.. About how many sessions did they need to finish?(mine have 50 min/week---thinking 3?)
    Thank you!!!

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  10. Hi Cassie! How many rolls of the Activa 8 x 80 plaster did you need per class? My class sizes are 25 students. The link you have is for 8 x 180, but you said it comes in a 6" width, which you cut in half. Did you mean 8" width? If so, I'm thinking I need 2 rolls. Is my math right? Clearly a reason I'm an art teacher and not math! Lol! I love all of your Valentine's Day projects!

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  11. Anonymous1/18/2017

    Hi Cassie--
    I also have some questions--did you find that kids only needed 25" (is that 25" of 6" strips or 3" strips?). When I did it with a 4th grader to test it out, it seemed like we used at the very least 40"...? I also wondered about names on wet plaster? I have 3 classes of 20 kids. Thanks Cassie--I love this project!

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  12. Hi Guys, Today we started with the plaster strips. I wrote their name on a small slip of paper and laid it on top of their heart. They will keep the name tag at least until we get to the final painting step then they can paint their name on the back. Also, what a mess! I have 5 classes of 30-32 kids. I poured water into plastic trays but I think I will use styro foam bowls for the other classes so I can just throw away the bowl full of sloppy plaster water. They washed their hands in a bucket and then washed their hands in the sink and I will pour the water out of the bucket tomorrow outside.

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  13. Hi-love your lesson with constructing these!! Thanks so much for sharing:) I changed it up some due to our schedule. Although we started these the second week of Jan.-we were headed towards a March completion (students get limited time for the arts). I have students using neon squares to make heart mosaics and they are looking even more Pop Art this way.

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  14. How did you go about cutting all your plaster strips? I've been making a hot mess with my scissors and then my paper cutter, but wearing mask, apron, and gloves. Is there an easier way that I'm missing?

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