Sculpture making ideas
Materials: plastic washing up bottle; newspaper;
masking tape (ideally on a tape dispenser);
2 mm garden wire; cork; thin card; pliers;
scissors; double layer of unused kitchen cloth
glued to thin wire mesh (previously prepared;
glued to both sides of mesh); pva glue
1) Carefully pierce the washing up bottle (with scissors or a craft knife) with a 2 cm wide criss-cross pattern (X) where the shoulders and legs should attach. (This needs to be done by an adult for children)
2) Roll 3 or 4 sheets of clean newspaper around a length of 2 mm garden wire and secure with masking tape. Tip: the wire should be 2 cm shorter than length of paper.
3) Insert the rolled newspaper through the plastic bottle where the legs should attach. Balance out half the rolled paper for each side. Tape the roll to the bottle.
4) Repeat 3 and 4 for the arms, again measuring out half way of the protruding rolled
paper for each arm. Trim if necessary and secure with masking tape.
5) Bend the arms and legs to give them their required pose. Attach a large loop of wire
to the standing feet (or foot) and secure to the leg and torso.
6) Experiment with bending the loop slightly, or the model, for finding the model's
centre of gravity. Dramatic postures and balancing acts are possible!
7) Tape the cork (or a narrow cylinder of card) to the open top of the bottle for the neck.
8) Cut a piece of the dried kitchen cloth mesh to shape for the head. Bend it into shape, check fit onto neck and secure with tape.
9) Use pieces of card cut and bent to shape for details (hands, nose etc). Fold clean plastic bags into smaller taped shapes for bulking out the torso.
10) Remaining offcuts of kitchen cloth mesh can be used for sculpting clothes or bulking out the torso. Attach all parts securely with masking tape.
11) Decorate the model by adding layers of pva glued tissue paper, cloth, or paint with acrylics.
Disclaimer: These instructions are freely available for any responsible adult to use in a craft session or classroom. Craft knives, staplers and all art materials are the sole responsibility of the craftworker / teacher. You are advised to practise any unfamiliar technique prior to using it with children. No liability can be accepted as a result of using these instructions.
