Books: deconstructed and altered and holy moley- these are amazing

ALTERED BOOKS
5th grade

Some kids prefer creating in the hall so they can spread out and focus.

OK peeps, I have done this altered book project with fifth graders for a few years now, and I was kicking around the idea of not doing it this year...but...WOW I am so glad we did.

The kids really blew us away. These sculptures are beautiful and meaningful. And finished in three class periods. What??

This school year has seen a few changes in our Art program:  1:X pilot program and a more student-led direction. This allowed me to step back and let the kids decide how they wanted to create their altered book.


I started off the same:  the kids and I talked about how the world is changing rapidly, especially with technology. We talked about the benefits and downsides to tech and non-tech. These kids are so insightful and globally aware. It was exciting to talk with them.

Close up ^.^

So. Which do you prefer: a traditional book or a device? 

I like both.

 I have a copy of "The Hobbit" from eighth grade that was literally falling apart until I begged my librarian to repair it. That book is precious to me (haha see what I did there?)

Hello, friend. 

 I also have both Nook and Kindle apps on my iPad. I love them as I can have an entire series in my hand for those boring waits at Dr. offices. Or middle school pick up. Or anytime I don't want to lug fifty pounds of books around.

This was a great, I mean great conversation to have with the kids. To hear their pros and cons was awesome. They talked about the affect on natural resources to the carbon footprint from a device to backpack weight to the breakage from dropping a device. They talked about how much they like to turn a paper page to liking the ability to highlight and define words on a device.

Then the conversation turned to conservation. What happens to damaged or outdated library books?



Did you know that public school library books cannot be donated or sold? That they have to be recycled?

Just ONE box of "discard" books, with some old piano books from my kids' closet.  Those are fun to work with!

That really irritated the kids. I think this gen is, among many other things, servant based. They don't like the idea of beloved books being tossed. They do not like garbage polluting the world. So we talked about up-cycling (wiki:Upcycling).

This year, my only direction was to allow this sculpture express how they FEEL about CHANGE:

• How do you feel about the huge change of tech vs. non tech? Book vs. device?
• OR, how do you feel about leaving elementary school and going to a new school?
• OR, how do you feel about changing this particular book?
• OR, how do you feel about changes in the environment?
• OR, ?

I left it wide open. And they stepped up.

I put a bunch of supplies out for them:

Craft scissors, rubber cement, tissue paper and cellophane, scrap papers, ribbon and beads, yarn, hole punchers, wooden sticks, cardboard tubes. Anything that has been collected and sitting around, I grabbed and left them to create. 

This project took 3 class periods, beginning to end. Including assessment in their digital portfolio. I was really impressed by the books they chose and how they altered them.

Final assessment with iPads

The kids were so excited and focused. Even kids who struggled at first got their groove on. These Altered Books are sensitive and well-thought out artistic creations of kids stepping into their teenage years. I am so proud of them:

3D pop ups

mobile!

A duck pond!

Fire was a common theme...

Creature Feature

Another 3D pop up

Life in the Donald Art room during a 3 day week. With a lunar eclipse. And a holiday.

WHOOO Hoooooo what a fast, noisy week! Only three days with the kids,but we got so many wonderful things started. 

First up: 5th grade, Altered Books. 

This is a popular lesson! We compared traditional books vs e-books, tech vs non-tech. Holy cow. What an amazing discussion between the pros and cons of  this type of technology. These kids are so insightful. They were also excited to "upcycle" their discarded library book. Our librarian, Kathy Hoffman, came in and talked to the kids about how she goes about "weeding" books (and that school library books are bought with tax dollars, so they cannot be sold or donated) This is a great sculpture project and really allows the students to explore their creative problem solving. 

Yes. RosaLynn loves this picture. She ok'ed it.

Fold it, roll it, curl it, rip it, glue it, BOP IT!

   

  This is only the second time we have worked on these, so they are just at the beginning stages. I love when they start adding their own personality to these sculptures!

 

 

OK. This is something I have not done in about fifteen years. I am teaching these guys how to cut with a blade. Artists use blades all the time, and I can't remember a time in school when I didn't have a lino or exacto blade. Times are different, but these kids really wanted to carve out the center of their book. They have really risen to this challenge! (Oh. And I stood with them the entire time.)

Wait. Collin did get an injury: a paper cut. 

Loving the penguins pop-up!

 

^.^

3rd Grade: Digital Selfies
 I have continued my fascination between the stylistic differences between "Self Portraits" and "Selfies" with our third grade (see: last post)

The kids were able to explain a "self portrait" and then I had them act it out. Yearbook smiles and Mona Lisa poses. Again.
Then we explored "selfies" and their personalities popped out. It is so cool!

The kids have wanted to learn photography tips and tricks, so I decided to focus on pose and position (composition), background and the use of edits and filters (no more than two filters!). We spent some time looking at Andy Warhol's self portraits and talking about what he was trying to share through his art.

They loved talking about his hair ^.^

I showed them how to best take pictures using their iPads, using Snapseed or a similar editing app. The kids need to create two distinct selfies demonstrating the answer to this question: Who Am I? They are third graders, so I am curious how they will do:

This makes my heart happy. I think this might be the best picture ever.

Photographic editing features and filters have transformed photography. Use them wisely!

And then, 4th grade: Medieval Rose Windows (radial symmetry)

This is a perfect example of how Art Ed has changed over the years. We used to make these really big--the size of paper plates. But we really cannot work that big anymore for a variety of reasons: budget cuts, assessments and plain old time. One way to deal with this is to change the scale. It's ok. Same project, just smaller. The kids LOVED making the miniature Rose windows. They felt productive and efficient. And who doesn't like that?

Our previous weaving project took many weeks, so it is good to balance with shorter lessons.

Sketch on manila, tape on left over laminating film, fill in with Sharpie. 

Happy Easter and have a great weekend!

a week in the art room: April 1-5

 1st grade, Eric Carle Collages of Texas Wildflowers: painting papers

 2nd: Chinese Celebration Banners

3rd Grade: Gyotaku (Japanese Fish Prints)

5th: Altered Book Sculptures

 ...with class discussion. FASCINATING btw!

4th grade: ceramic dragons

Deconstructed Books: 5th Grade

Ok, this has been a HIT! Every kid was successful and everyone really enjoys looking at them.

Our librarian pulled over a hundred books to be destroyed due to damage. I grabbed them. Altered books are all over the Internet! Great way to introduce contemporary art.

I was able to find a lesson plan on Dick Blick's website (awesome plans btw!) that helped me with a good starting point.

• I gave the kids 2 1/2 class periods to do this. They have a tendency to stretch their projects ooooooouuut. Since they were so excited to do this, the time limit was appropriate.
• I purchased and borrowed hole punchers, rubber cement and "fancy" scissors.  
• We started off with this being a lesson on form and symmetry, but I was very open to student choice.
• If you want to try this: have the kids open the book to the middle. They can fold, cut, curl, rip, etc. Then do the same thing on the other side. From there, see where it takes you. I encouraged symmetry to kids who had some struggles. Other kids cut out illustrations and attached them in great ways.
• After a few tries, they took OFF. Kids wanted to add watercolor, yarn, sharpie details...and they were all excited.
•  This has been one of my most favorite projects this year. I am so proud of how creative and innovative the kids were.

Here is the sign I posted so everyone understood EXACTLY where the books came from!

Once the kids knew that these were going to become thrash, it was easier to cut into a beloved book.