Final Projects: From Pop Up Books to Puppets

For a final project, my art students had to write a proposal of something they wanted to make. They had to list the concept, size, number of pieces (if it was body of work), make a materials list, etc. One student said he wanted to make a pop-up book. I loved this idea, since we hadn't done anything like it in class. He's totally blind and pop-up books are a good way to make flat images tactile. When I pressed him for a theme, he suggested rooms of a house. 

Each page spread was made with a single piece of paper, creating wall paper from collage or rubber stamps, and tiny pieces of fabric served as a rug, bathmat, towel, and shower curtain. Furniture was made from card stock or construction paper. The back of each page spread was glued together and the front and back of the book was made from mat board to to look like the exterior of a home.No words were required-not even a title, for this concept book. 

Other students made mosaics, wooden sculptures, string art gems, fashion plates, anime, or hand puppets. It's so important to learn how to come up with your own ideas for projects and learn how to develop it and see it through to the end. I loved seeing how individual critiques were used by students to flesh out their concept and end up with some really fun products and pieces of art.

Field Trip: The Center of Puppetry Arts

Today we had our spring student exhibition, in which we showed off the Jim Henson inspired hand puppets.  This month we also made a trip to the Center for Puppetry Arts, where we were in Jim Henson heaven as we saw exhibits about The Muppets, Sesame Street, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth.  There were also puppets from all around the world, some historic, some contemporary. Do the movies "War Horse" and "The Corpse Bride" ring a bell? Julie Taymor's masks from"The Lion King" were there too, which kicked off our mask making project, (see the previous post). Plus, we saw "The Wizard of Oz" performed with marionettes in a room full of toddlers, and so it was well worth the trip.  If you are ever in Atlanta, try to stop by The Center for Puppetry Arts!