Creative Crushed Can Creations

Julia Apr 22, 2015 31 Comments

This year’s recycled art project involved smashing soda cans, reusing cardboard boxes and transforming the combined pieces into a unique work of art. Students explored the contemporary work of French artist Didier Triglia, before coming up with their own original designs based on his style and techniques.

Lots of sketchbook work and planning helped students to envision how they might transform the irregular 3-dimensional form of a crushed soda can into something new. Next came their favorite part of smashing the cans! After my first period made a noisy racket, I got smart and required that students do the smashing part outside.

Some students chose to reveal parts of the original can label within their design, while others covered up all the aluminum with acrylic paint. Do you see where the can is in each composition?

The background of each artwork includes heavy pattern, outlines and borders. Many students also incorporated extra can tabs, bottle caps and other recycled material.

An article titled 11 Artists Doing Amazing Things With Recycled Materials by Jill Harness complemented this lesson by exposing students to other styles, materials, and ideas.

Finally, we looked at portraiture from one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century- Pablo Picasso. Students readily identified stylistic comparisons between Didier Triglia’s “can heads” and Picasso’s stylized and abstract faces.

Linocut Prints

Julia Apr 10, 2015 17 Comments

Old discarded dictionary pages served as the inspiration for these linoleum block prints. Students searched through torn out pages for words, definitions, and images to influence and inform their designs. Students also studied the works of printing masters, Albrecht Durer and Katsushika Hokusai as models of skill and innovation.

The process involved drawing, transferring, and carving a linoleum block before printing several copies of the image. Students printed water based ink on a variety of media including the original dictionary page that inspired their image. Other media included thick white drawing paper, colored papers, and greeting cards.

After the first printing session with only black ink, students experimented with different ink colors set up in stations around the classroom. With any time left over, they also added liquid watercolor paint to enhance some of their finished prints.

Part of the fun was trading images once enough copies were made. Many students were willing to share their prints, and took home a “variety pack” of greeting cards to use for special occasions.

Finally, we created origami envelopes sized to fit the printed greeting cards. Each student donated two greeting cards with envelopes to sell as a fundraiser at our Elective Family Night! Thank you to all who purchased our handmade cards in support of our Art program!