Years ago a good friend gave me this little guy saying she just knew I could use it as inspiration for an art lesson someday. It still hangs over my desk, staring at me, and I think challenging me to do just that. I remember attempting it once with a class and not being too happy with the results, but now I am giving it thought again. (I wish I knew who the artist was because I'd love to give her or him the credit due for such a great idea.)
I am thinking about using squares of pre-cut plaster cloth shaped around small bowls lined with foil for the armatures. Acrylic paints, thinned slightly, will be perfect for a variety of surface designs. I don't have access to the thousand or so shells it would take to do the hair this way, so I am thinking of various pasta maybe. We have trees right at our school that shed these same pods, so that will be no problem at all. I don't want to have to use the glue gun, so I am hoping that my trusty Elmer's Glue All will do the trick. I'll let you know how it all works out, but meanwhile you might want to use this idea as inspiration and try an adaptation of your own!!
Hello here,
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I would recommend using tacky glue (spread it w/a pop stick) rather than Elmer's - it will work better with the heavier not-so-porous stuff.
ReplyDeleteHi, those pods are from a Sweet Gum tree! And yes, they are probably plentiful wherever there's a tree. You might even want to use twigs or dried plants for the hair, since they're easily found. If you poke through the mask with a sharp pencil or x-acto knife for the kids, they will hold better if they're stuck into the mask and not on top. I think I'd use something stronger than Elmer's too. Tacky glue would probably be best if you don't have enough glue guns on hand. Good luck and please post the project when you get them finished. Cynthia S.
ReplyDeleteI guess I forgot to mention that the artist of the above mask did poke holes in the top. She/he then stuck the ends of the shells in the holes and used hot glue (from glue gun) on the inside to secure the shells. I am planning to do that with the pasta (except I'll use Glue All (or maybe Tacky Glue - good idea) on the inside. I am thinking about running thread through the pods, poking a hole in the base, running the thread through to the inside and securing with tape, glue, ..... on the inside. We'll see. I have a sample in progress now using paper mache instead of plaster cloth.
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