Tag Archives: secondary art project

Sculpture, Uncategorized

Giant papier mache heads – the finished products

2 Comments

My students had so much fun constructing giant papier mache heads. I posted earlier this year about the construction process for this project, but I wanted to follow up with this post on the final painted products.

This was such a great project to teach a variety of concepts such as facial proportion when sculpting, color theory when mixing paint, and trompe l’oeil painting techniques when applying implied texture to things like hair. Plus, the students really loved working on this project and seeing their people come to life.

Giant papier mache heads

Painting Giant Papier Mache Heads

We started the painting process by applying a skin tone to the majority of the head, extending partially into the hair line. We mixed the skin tone using primary colors of yellow, blue, and red. The students made an orange from the yellow and red and then added a small amount of blue to tone down the color. They then added the color gradually to white until it took on the skin value they needed.

We painted white over the eyeballs and then added eye color and detail with Sharpie marker. The hair was painted with mixed acrylic, and students added subtle streaks of lighter and darker colored paint to imply texture.

It was really exciting to see how each student had to use problem-solving skills to represent the unique features of their chosen people. Some students added extra parts such as nose rings and glasses, others had to come up with unique skin tones and face painting (as you can see in the Bowie head below), and others even created dread locks from yarn.

Painting a ziggy stardust papier mache head
A student puts the finishing touches on her David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust) papier mache head.
Student painting a papier mache head.
A second round of skin tone going on after the first was deemed too pinkish. Students mix all of their paint from primaries and white.

If you are a teacher wanting to try this in your art class, make sure you have enough space, tons of cardboard, newspaper, and tape. Also have something for the students to work on during the down times while projects are drying. We worked on artist book prompts simultaneously so students were always creating and never felt like they just had to sit and wait for the next step.

In the end, this project turned out to be so much fun and the students really took ownership of their heads. It was a slightly goofy project but the students really did learn valuable lessons and had a good time in the process. What could be better than that?

Students wearing their finished paper mache giant heads
The finished heads were all wearable, but students needed to cut a small slit in the mouth in order to see.
Finished pappier mache heads.
Students showing off their finished papier mache heads.
2D Art

Handmade Artist Books with Watercolor Pages

I’m so excited to share one of my all-time favorite art class projects: handmade artist books. I love using handmade artist books in my classes because they provide a way to practice techniques and address new concepts in my class throughout the year. They also are works of art in their own right, and I find that students take greater ownership of artist book assignments than they do with sketch book assignments. All in all, handmade artist books provide a great way to frame each of our art projects and to get greater engagement out of my students, and what teacher wouldn’t want that?

(Disclosure: This post uses affiliate links. See terms & conditions for more details.)

From the standpoint of a busy teacher who preps for five different classes, artist books also allow me to start the year with a little more wiggle room in terms of planning time. We start our books off by creating watercolor washes on all of the pages and that usually takes up three to four class periods right at the start of the semester. This allows me to have more time to prep and plan for our larger projects while students are painting. Students also enjoy this time as it allows them to ease into the year with a fun and low-pressure art activity.

In terms of teacher prep time for this project, it’s quite minimal. I cut the railroad board to size and then I show the students how to fold and rip 18 inch x 24 inch pieces of watercolor paper so that they get 10 sheets of 9 inch x 12 inch paper (they have to split their last large sheet with another student). I then show them how to create a watercolor wash on their paper and let them loose. The more challenging part comes when students need to prep their covers and complete their binding. Luckily for you, I’ve created a tutorial video that will walk them and you through this process, which I’ve included at the end of this post.

You do need some specific supplies to create these books but you can change up some of the materials to save money. For instance, instead of railroad board use old cereal boxes. You can also substitute high-end watercolor paper with a cheaper version or even drawing or construction paper. You can also skip the ribbon altogether or substitute it with a braided yarn. The standard supplies for this project are:

Book making supplies. Supplies to make artist books.

Check out the video below to learn how to bind the pages and finish off the covers to create your own handmade artist book.