Birds of a Feather- Sculpture

      Objectives:
                                         
·             Learn the basics of sculpture through vocabulary and process

·             Identify real birds identify physical attributes

·             Create a real looking or fantasy bird

·             Demonstrate skill and craftsmanship in using materials

 
Materials:  Bird References (I collect books and wildlife magazines), Nests if you have them, Newsprint, Pencils, Art Paste, Newspapers, Masking tape (A LOT of Masking tape!)  Cardboard, Paint, Feathers, Buttons, Glitter, Googly Eyes,


Class One: 

- Warm up activity: Watch Pixar’s “For the Birds”

- Discuss warm up activity

- Introduce Project:  Show Botanical Drawings (Shows artist like Deur and Audubon) and Bird Sculpture.  I like to make a powerpoint of both realistic and fantasy birds (Dr. Seuss)

- Sketch and Brainstorm: Each student will draw four realistic birds using bird references.  They will pick one to use as a basis for their sculpture

Class Two:

Do Now- Draw a nest and imagine the bird who built it

-       Armature Demo- I make the armature out of crumpled newspaper and scrap cardboard...it is light and FREE!  Make sure you tape it very well with a decent quality masking tape...I've used the cheap stuff before and the armatures end up falling apart before the students get the the art paste part!   (I rip a bunch of little bits of tape and place around the table so I don't have to put my bird down to rip tape.  This works well for creating armatures and you should encourage the students to do this.  Also your students can share rolls of tape that way without waiting too much)

-       Students will make their armature out of Newspaper, Tape, and Cardboard

Class Three:

Paper Mache Demo- I like art paste...it is cheap and doesn't smell bad.  I have the students rip a bunch of different sized strips so they don't have to rip the newspaper once their hands get sticky from the art paste.

Student will Paper mache their bird with art paste and strips of newspaper.

Class Four:

-       Color Theory- Color wheel discussion and demo
-       Students will paint a color wheel
-       Prime Bird with Gesso

Class Five:

Color Wheel Review Sheet

Students will paint their bird

Class Six:

Students will embellish their bird with feathers, buttons, sequins, glitter…etc.

Interdisciplinary:

Science

            Evolution

            Primary scientific documents (anatomical images of birds)          

 Vocabulary:  paper mache, additive sculpture, subtractive sculpture, botanical drawing, realism

 NJCCCS and Progress Indicators: 1.1.8.D.2, 1.2.8.A.1, 1.3.8.D.11.3.8.D.6