Materials:12x18 drawing paper pencils/erasersMasking tape aluminum wire (at least 18gauge)wire cutters newspaper (lots!)papier mache paste cardboard for surface of sculpturebowls for paste cardboard for building materialscreen or chicken wire paint (tempera or acrylic) and paintbrushes
Objective: Give students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the rock cycle by creating a three-dimensional sculpture in paper maché.
Subject Preparation: Discuss the rock cycle with students to verify collective understanding of the cycle - magma → igneous rock formation → erosion and sedimentary rock → metamorphic rock → magma. Talk about the different type of situations that occur with volcanoes on land and in the ocean, as well as the cycle inside caves. You want students to be able to visualize the structure of various geographic zones for their sculpture options.
Students will draw the type of rock cycle setting they want to build three-dimensionally. Their landscape should reflect a flat side to serve as a “cut-away” section that illustrates the internal parts of the rock cycle – refer to the image above.
The science in bending wire: Students will use aluminum wire to begin their armature (skeleton of the sculpture). This is a great moment to discuss the physical changes that happens by repeatedly bending aluminum wire. (science in action during the art making process!)Give each student a small piece of wire and have them bend it a few times experiencing how soft and easy it is to bend. Then have them bend it in one spot over and over again, ask them what happens. They should remark about how it is getting warm and harder to bend and isn’t so flexible.
Explain how the back and forth motion of bending repeated over and over eventually forms a crack and the wire snaps. This is called “metal fatigue”, and is explained by the following: Repeated bending upsets the regular arrangement of the atoms inside the metal wire. Faults called dislocations appear in the layers of atoms. These dislocations stop the layers sliding so freely and the metal becomes brittle. Scientists say that the metal is fatigued. Some of the first jet airliners crashed because certain components failed as a result of metal fatigue.
Forming a volcano armature: Demonstrate creating a volcano “skeleton” using aluminum wire by spiraling up from a large base to a smaller opening at the top. Students will begin creating their volcano with this first step. **Remind students now that they need to remember to make one side of the volcano and landscape flat in order to illustrate the steps of the rock cycle.
Once the wire volcano form is complete, begin stuffing the form with wads of newspaper supporting the wire so it will not collapse. Use masking tape to secure the newspaper to the wire, and the wire structure to the cardboard base.
Next step is to cover the wire and newspaper armature with screen mesh or chicken wire. I prefer screen as it is much easier to get waves and folds for a more realistic surface structure.
The paper maché process: Once the completed armature is constructed, students can begin to cover their structure with paper maché.
Make sure students understand it is necessary to criss-cross the newspaper strips to achieve the strongest structure that won’t fall apart once dry. **Make sure students understand they need to insert wires for lava sprays now if they want them. With a layer or two of paper maché on the volcano, students can use short pieces of wire bent into a curve and inserted at the top of the volcano. They will need to papier mache the wires from base to tip to secure them to the volcano. They will not be completely secure until the first layers of paste and paper are dry.
Creating texture and extending the landscape: With the first layers of paper maché complete, it is now time for students to begin working on creating a rock-like texture for the surface of the volcano. Show students how to bunch and twist pieces of newspaper with the paste to achieve a varied surface on the volcano that will resemble rock once it is dry and painted.
Once the volcano has texture, it is time to consider the continued construction of the land and/or seascape. Demonstrate and assist troubleshooting of how to create various textures and armatures for different objects such as trees, rivers, etc.
Remind students to make sure all of the features must have at least 5 layers of paper maché to be sturdy. Once they are dry, test them by pressing down on the forms to see if the newspaper gives under the pressure. If it does, more layers are needed.
The final layers of paper maché will be done in brown paper towel to provide a uniform color for paint application.
Once the sculpture is completely dry, students can begin to draw the features of the landscape and rock cycle on the sculpture. Once the drawing is completed, students can begin to paint the structure. Tempera or acrylic paint are fine. If using tempera, I suggest coating it with a tempera varnish to seal the paint so that it will not rub or wash off the sculpture.
Completed work: It is always interesting to lay the sculptures out across a line of tables for a class gallery walk to see the differences and similarities of each sculpture and how well each one represents the rock cycle.
