Week 1: Build-a-City Collaborative Sculpture
Age 1st-2nd grades
Teachers Madigan Young and Anna Schlictmann (photography and observation by Liv and AJ)
Date 9/29/2022
Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson TLW construct a collaborative, scaled down cityscape made of individual work and at least 15 different art and building materials.
By the end of the lesson TLW recall and identify what a city is composed of in a group brainstorm discussion.
By the end of the lesson TLW design their own building made of at least 3 different materials and suited to an intended being.
Inspiration artwork Bodys Isek Kingelez, part of City Dreams, mixed materials sculpture
Activity Summary
Introduction
This was the first day of the Saturday morning art workshop (SMAW) so we began with introductions. First, as students came in we offered free drawing paper and crayons and a blank name tag at the table. Anna had each student share their name and their dream pet they would pick- any animal, real or imaginary.
Lesson Introduction
After introductions introduced the lesson. I asked the students if any of them knew what the first image of the slide show way (birds-eye view of Iowa City). One student called it out right away. I asked students “Do you know what an architect does?” and talked about architects planning buildings, then pointed out that builders execute architects plans. I told students “Today, you get to be an architect and builder.” The first few slides instigated student participation throughout the presentation. I showed real examples of sky scrapers and local buildings that students recognized. I pointed out design aspects of the local buildings (Hancher is a very wide building, the Englert theater has a sign/awning sticking out, skyscrapers are super tall) and pointed out the students could think about adding similar details and decide whether their sculpture would be really wide or really tall. Finally, I talked about Bodys Isek Kingelez and how he created city sculptures with imaginary buildings, and showed images of his work. I told the students that as architects they would design their own individual building- imaginary OR inspired by a building they know- and then build it. I showed them my teacher example and asked them what kind of building they thought it might be - they said skyscraper. Next, I shared who we were creating a city for, a sculpture creature (made by Liv which students will make in a few weeks), to incorporate imagination and storytelling + provide context for scale. The sculpture was also the size of a rubber duck, we pointed this out for familiarity. We had both the sculpture character and duck out for students to engage with. To further explain scale I showed them how the character would be able to fit through the door of the example sculpture.
Technical Demonstration
Anna did a demonstration on how to begin by collecting materials and thinking about the base of the building, the shape and function and finally the design/how it looks. Students were eager to begin and volunteered ideas and physical help during Anna’s technical demonstration. I told the students we could begin work time, and had them choose individually if they wanted to work right on the city street (the paper on the ground) or at their table spot (a teacher would help them move the building once it was complete).
Work Time
Once students began working (instantly, once we cued work time), they independently gathered materials and made their way to a work space of choice. Anna and I checked in with students while AJ and Liv took photos. We helped students keep buildings together or find materials but they designed their buildings on their own. Once they completed their construction, I either prompted them to add design aspects or if they had those, I let them know they could add landscaping on the street/paper with crayons or tissue paper. Students eagerly accepted this role as well.
Conclusion
We were crunched for time from fitting both general workshop and lesson introduction, so with 5 minutes before parent pick up, all students brought their buildings to the street and added any last minute details. Then I thanked the students for coming (and they thanked us!) and said the teachers would clean for them today.
Order of Events
Write name tag/free draw
Introductions and expectations
Lesson Introduction/slide show (architects, builders, buildings & artist inspiration)
Technical Demonstration and scale model
Work time- individual building creation
Work time/wrap up - combine buildings into one city
Final Outcomes
The final outcomes of this lesson included high student engagement, exploration of different materials, employing the artist behavior: engage & persist, and original individual sculptures combined into one collaborative sculpture of an imaginary city block.
High Student Engagement
Our group of students was talkative (if not right away, by the end of worktime), and excited to create. They had active imaginations and intelligent, original ideas. The students created drawings before and throughout introductions and were beyond happy to share about their drawings. They were excited with the idea of using the materials to create any building they wanted and began working and brainstorming right after and almost during the technical demonstration. They also had ideas to contribute while Anna was demonstrating.
Exploration of Materials
Most of the students gathered blocks or boxes to begin their sculptures. Once they had their structures- most of which had interior space as they envisioned the character interacting with the building- they explored the colorful add on elements such as pipe cleaners, tissue paper or drawings with crayons.
Practicing engage & persist
Several students had challenges with their sculpture falling apart on the first try or had to reinforce their structure with tape or a larger base to build it up. None of them got frustrated but instead asked for assistance (mostly with tape), advice, or simply tried again. Students also had a vision of what their building was before building it and used the various materials available to create the shapes that brought their vision to life. For example, one student wanted to make a hat shop shaped like a witch’s hat and intentionally sought out a large triangle shape to use for the main profile of her sculpture.
Original Individual Sculptures
Students created one building for their city made of at least 2 materials (more in most cases). We had a hat shop, an ink factory, a factory with a road and delivery car out front, telephone wires, and 4 houses of various styles and sizes. Most of the buildings had a very 3 dimensional structure with “functional” space inside for the character to enter into. Students completed their sculptures by adding details around their building on the street paper- they drew the street and/ or bushes/plants. Each student worked the entire time and happily yet emphatically shared what their building was and why it was designed that way when asked by Anna or me. If their sculpture wasn’t quite complete or the exact way they imagined, they explained their future plans for it (one student shared that a pipe cleaner design she created was laying down inside the house but would eventually stand up when she created the roof).
One Collaborative Sculpture
Several students chose to work “on site”- exactly where on the city street their sculpture would go. Four of the twelve chose to work separately at their table spot, to move their building later. This allowed students to decide their work environment- did they want more space with more controlled and quiet energy at their table spot, or were they okay with a more collaborative chaotic space constructing right next to each other in the city. I found this aspect of choice allowed for a very active, almost urban/busy atmosphere that was still comfortable for each individual working in the space.
The final result - with all of the sculptures assembled on the paper street- was a reflection of the busy, chaotic, exciting process. Our group sculpture was not obvious as a city block instantly, it wasn’t neat or orderly with a street in the middle and buildings on the side. I was satisfied with the final result even though it wasn’t an obvious, extremely aesthetic city sculpture. It was rewarding to see the students engaged and excited as they imagined what they could create in response to the lesson prompts. If we would have managed time to allow for more collaboration and tweaking once the sculpture city was placed, it would have been fun to see the students work as a team to be intentional about how their individual work would come together as a final sculpture.
Instead, the final collaborative sculpture was more of a patchwork collection of individual parts brought together swiftly, highlighting the fact that process and activating student imagination was emphasized more than the physical final product.
Future Modifications
To aim for a clearly communicated display of a collaborative city sculpture, I would prepare the street space ahead of time with the street, landscaping and lots outlined. I enjoyed the fact that students had full choice when it came to their individual sculptures + where it resided/what that street space looked like. Their imaginations are powerful enough to not require that imagery to see the street space. However, if we weren’t disassembling the work after class, it would have been nice to provide more structure to create a visually clear cityscape, either by drawing/painting paper or a large piece of plywood or cardboard for a stable, movable base.
Along those lines, another modification would be to design the lesson to create a more permanent sculpture that remains standing. This would lead to a more celebratory result to view at a final exhibition. Using similar materials (wood blocks, PVC, legos) I would incorporate hot glue (supplied by a teacher) to hold the individual structures together. Or I would provide different materials, focusing mainly on recyclables and art materials (cardboard, construction paper, etc.) that could be glued and taped more effectively.
To activate imagination/storytelling even more, I would further involve the beings we created the building for. Rather than introducing the clay character simply for scale, I would introduce the students to the character right away or precede this lesson with the lesson where students create their own sculpted being.
Finally, one main modification regardless whether I want to change the lesson or repeat it more closely, I would structure the time better and allow for time to wrap up and collaborate more at the end.
