Well, we're back at it! Winter break is now a fond memory and I'm trying my hardest to wake up my art teacherin' brain. If you follow me here, then you might have seen some of the art supply-themed sculpture projects my kiddos are creating. Here's a peak in case you've missed:
We've been chatting about the artist Lucy Sparrow and her hand stitched convenience store (take a look, amazing!). With her in mind, we are creating our own art supply store with each class creating a sculpture of an art supply! Fourth graders created these glue bottles in ONE CLASS which blew my mind. They rocked it out. Here's how they are made:
So simple!
Second and third grade are creating these crayons. We did these a couple of years ago...but I'm doing the lesson a little differently this year. I'll be sharing the details in a blog post super soon.
Second grade is also in charge of the collage department. They created these glue sticks and scissors (below) and are now coming up with names for their glue and scissors.
They'll be attaching those large price tag thingies you can find at the office store. Here are the sketches of their ideas:
My second graders are the funniest kids ever, by the way.
My fourth graders were creating these pencils and my first graders saw them and FLIPPED OUT. "When are we making THOOOOOOSE?!" So...I had the firsties make some too. And guess what? They look just as good as the fourth graders! They are so proud of them. Here's the lesson.
But now....back to the glue bottles.
Here are the supplies we used: * Packing pockets. I'm not real sure what they are called...but if you send out a school-wide email, you'll get some. I now have a huge stash! * Rigid Wrap. Full disclosure: I work with Activa Products to create lessons. That being said, I LOVE their Rigid Wrap mostly because I am not a fan of papier mache. This stuff works so much better, dries super fast and doesn't require as many layers to create a hard surface. It's my jam. * Model Magic. Y'all know I'm not a huge fan of Crayola's Model Magic...but for this project, it worked perfectly! And you'll only need a pinch to get the job done. * White yarn. For the spilled glue. * Glue! Yep, you'll need glue to make the spilled glue. I know, sounds crazy. Just hang with me.
Now, one tip I fail to mention in the video is this: the Model Magic, as it dries, does this drooping thing. Meaning that orange tip might start to slowly change it's shape. Knowing that, I had my kids grab a paper towel, squish it flat and place it underneath the tip of the glue bottle as it dried.
The kids loved getting super messy. They even finished in enough time that they could have used clay to add coils of words but...maybe next time.
I do want them to add a label. My second graders have had so much fun dreaming up the names of their art supplies I have a feeling that fourth grade will too.
I'll be sure to keep y'all posted on the progress of our art supply sculptures.
Until then, close those glue bottles and stop spilling glue all over the place, ya filthy animals!
In last week's episode of Art Teacherin' 101, I shared with y'all what art supplies I order each year. I briefly mentioned glue bottles and my distaste for them (in fact, I do believe my words where "glue bottles were created by the devil meant to be stabbed to death by small children"). I commented that I long ago stopped using glue bottles which received a handful of questions as to how my students use glue instead. So, in this episode, I thought I'd share my solution with you!
For what we call glue cups, I use little resealable cups available at the grocery store. After a couple of weeks, the glue near the top begins to dry which can easily be pealed away and the container once again looks like new (not to mention, it's ultra satisfying pealing away that dried glue, I have kids ask to do it!). For brushes, we use those plastic bristle junk brushes that you can purchase by the millions. As for the container, I just happened to get lucky with these but really any plate, tray, whatever would work. Cover the glue at the end of the day, soak those brushes at night and never have to fiddle with those pesky bottles again! PRAISE BE.
Of course, that doesn't mean that this won't happen in your art room. But it will prevent these bad boys...
From becoming a weapon of mass glue bottle distraction. ETHEL, DON'T DO IT! RUN, ELMER, RUUUUUUN!
And hopefully this solution will mean that you and your students can return to using glue for the true reason it was intended...
Love to hear your solutions for getting out of that sticky mess that glue can be!
