Thursday, September 29, 2011

Paint Party Friday: Papier Mache

 Linda and I are the decorators for an October banquet.  
In preparation for the upcoming banquet my classroom has become the crafting center.  

We are creating a tree! 
This is the beginning.  
I will post additional pictures as we progress.  
The photo here is of the main trunk.  Branches will drop down from the ceiling as if the tree grew through.  Only one branch has been constructed so far (not pictured).  So far, I have done this with one small roll of chicken wire.  I need another for the branches.


The assignment for a few of my advanced students has been to assist me in the making of a papier mache tree. We started by measuring out the chicken wire and creating an armature of sorts from it.  (In retrospect I would now start with wooden slats or something more substantial and attach the chicken wire to that so it would be sturdier. As it is, we have had to make wire hangers along the edge of the tree to catch nails to secure to the wall.  This will have to be moved on a trailer and set up on location.)

 Next we taped full sheets of dry newspaper over the chicken wire to completely cover it before beginning to paste anything.
The paste is flour and a little salt mixed with water about as thick of pancake batter.  
The paste is applied directly onto the tree, layering dry newspaper, paste, dry newspaper, paste, etc.  Smoothing as you go.  We did several layers and then allowed it to dry overnight before adding more. When enough layers are applied to make a hard surface when dry it is ready for the next step which will be to apply colored paper an /or paint the surface.  

More next week.

Oh, the painting in the photo is the work of one of my Art IV students.  It is his first attempt at watercolor and the white part is the bridge that has not been painted yet.  It is going to be beautiful.   

There are so many different projects going on in this room it is hard to photograph the room without catching other projects in progress.  What an exciting time to be a teacher!

Happy Paint Party Friday!


View the completion of this tree! 
Here!

We now change it seasonally. 
Right now, we have added willow leaves and hanging moss and that is my favorite look so far. I will have to update the photos.
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20 comments:

  1. My 17 year old, had one of these in his classroom in first grade. the teacher used it as a Vocabulary tree. lol A lot of work for sure. Good luck.

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  2. Awesome tree, Darla. It looks like a daunting project but I think it will be fantastic. The student's painting is great. I love his prospective on the bridge. Faye

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  3. Love the tree and thanks for the process ~ Student's w/c is excellent ~hanks, namaste, Carol (A Creative Journey) Happy PPF ^_^

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  4. How fun...look forward to watching this come to life! POP ART MINIS

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  5. How fun! Can't wait to see it finished. Happy PPF! :-)

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  6. Happy PPF and thank you for sharing your work so far. Look forward to see its completion. x

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  7. How fun is that! I'll be back to see how it turns out!

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  8. Looking fantastic!
    Isn't it wonderful to have passionate and hard working students!

    Happy PPF!!
    Mary
    Mary C. Nasser Art Blog

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  9. It's great to see an involved art teacher! Nice work on the tree ~ I'm sure it'll look awesome with branches 'growing' out of the ceiling! Beautiful watercolor also... nice perspective, and the colors in the sky are lovely :)

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  10. very interested to see what you do next on the tree...great start
    - KAT -

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  11. How fun to create a tree! Can't wait to see the finished work! Happy Paint Party Friday! ~Robin Panzer Art Studio 33

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  12. Papier mache is such wonderful messy fun. Your students must be having a ball in class.

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  13. Oooh how wonderful. I am so looking forward to the finished product and what a great way of recycling. Looks great!

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  14. This is looking so cool! I love stuff like this and I'll bet your having a blast. Post more pics as you get them. Happy PPF! oh and your students painting is looking great, especially for a first watercolor!

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  15. Wow its HUGE! What a fun project! Your student's work looks great! Deb

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  16. Can't wait to see this GIANT project come to life! Keep sharing with us and Happy PPF!

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  17. Wow, what a project! It's going to be fantastic!

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  18. I can't wait to see the finished project! I made a tree in my classroom a couple years ago - but, only out of butcher paper. This will look so awesome! Happy PPF!

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  19. I would love to find a space in my house to do this... It would be a great place to curl up with a book! It definitely looks like a fun classroom to be a part of!

    xo
    Kristin

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