Natural Materials Sculpture (due 12/21)

For this project you will work exclusively with materials you collect from nature. You will have to collect AT LEAST 100 of the same type of item for this project and figure out how to join those items together to make an interesting object. Material suggestions: Palm fronds, driftwood, long grasses, tree pods, anything interesting that you can access a lot of. Try weaving, braiding, sewing, balancing, tying, bending or whatever technique you come up with to make an object out of the separate materials. At home and during the in-class work day you will try different techniques of arranging or joining your objects together to make one unified form. SIZE The sculpture must be 3 feet long in at least one dimension.

No glue, wire, string, etc. Only use natural materials that you collect.

Schedule:
Dec. 7 We will watch the movie Rivers and Tides, about Andy Goldsworthy and his sculptures, in class.
HOMEWORK Gather and experiment with your materials (100 of the same natural material)
Dec. 14  STUDIO day, come prepared with all of your materials, sketches, and experiments you've already done.
Dec. 21 Critique

Inspiration for the project: Andy Goldsworthy

Documentary on the man-made floating islands of Lake Titicaca, Peru, which are made of woven reeds.


Last Year's Projects
Previous year's projects

Span Strength (crit 11/30)

Each of these bridges held 100 lbs!

Assignment
You will build a bridge using only foam core and white glue. Your bridge must span an 18" gap, be at least 8" tall and and 8" wide, and there must be a place where we can stack bags of clay that are 6" wide. Your goal is to build a bridge that can bear as much weight as possible. Consider strength and beauty when you design your bridge. Your projects will be strength tested during the critique, and the student whose bridge can hold the most weight will win a prize.

Nov. 9: You will be given a small sheet of foam core in class. For homework, do an experiment to see what kind of strong structures you can make. DRAW bridge plans that you think would be strong. Bring your experiments and drawings to class on the 16th.
Nov. 16: Come to class with white glue and a sharp knife & your drawings and experiments. This will be a studio day.
Nov. 30: Critique of bridge projects in class.

Here is an example from last year so you can see the setup during critique. The pieces of wood screwed to the side of the table extend down 1'.
'=foot
"=inch

Last Year's Projects

Previous year crit: