Mixed Media Bas Relief Sculpture

For an inexpensive art project that makes a big impact, I gave my students cardboard and let them get busy. They didn't plan anything out ahead of time, just chose a color of acrylic paint and started painting. 

The project itself is part of our mult-media art unit and this was our third week using cardboard. This assignment is specifically to create a bas relief sculpture. There needs to be layers to create a tactile image, of shapes, textures, colors, and pattern.

There was plenty of extra cardboard for students to cut shapes, many of which were wet with a paintbrush of water so that the top layer of cardboard be peeled away to reveal the corregated middle. I even had really thick cardboard that had an almost honeycomb center.

Stencils and spray paint were used on the bottom structure to activate the background and break up the space. Some students used masking tape to create stripes or plaid from the spray paint. There was no need to worry about the fact that a lot of it would be covered up, because the same types of stencils could be used on top layers and intentionally shifted to make for interesting use of space. Some students also used little wooden shapes or popsicle sticks to make the piece even more tactile. Because my students are blind, this is an important element to every art piece.

Some students used thin or thick cardboard cut into strips of various size that were then stood on edge, like quilled paper.

Collaged wall paper added another tool to add a focal point or a background pattern depending on how it was used. Everyone was so proud at the end of the week for figuring out how to make their relief sculpture one step at a time, by playing with values, colors, shapes, and just seeing what worked and what didn't. There's a life lesson in there somewhere.

 

Stripped Cardboard Mixed Media Art Project

Once they finished making cardboard mono-prints on paper (see my last blog post for instructions), my students didn't toss their cardboard "printing plate," they used it to create a new tactile finished piece of art!

The back ink that had been rolled on from printing gave it a nice dark undercoat. Students choose from a wide range of media to layer. Some collaged torn strips of scrapbook paper and others collaged carefully cut parts of wall paper. to keep those shapes from standing out too much, some used whisps of spray paint, or pastel (oil or chalk),  to unify the parts of the image. For more contrast, a stencil and spray paint could be used to create more contrast and help their focal point pop out a little. Some students used paint pens. Other patterned stencils were used to activate the background or add another layer of color. 

The piece of art that was made from the printing matrix is facing the opposite direction as the print. This is an important lesson for future print projects: left is right and right is left. If you are using words, you would have to write them backwards using mirror writing, like Leonardo daVinci did in his notebook. There are so many little fun things to discuss and learn in multi-media projects like this one. I just love how they turned out, and the fact that they're tactile is a double win for my students who are blind.