Making students go on a play date with their art materials

So we do this modular madness project in which students choose 100 to 1000 cheap found objects to create a three dimensional work that responds to the formal and conceptual elements of the materials.

Step one was to go home and just throw their objects down and play with them like a kid coming up with at least 5 different potential ways of putting the materials together. You will be able to tell from Jada's experience that we have no fun and we take art extremely seriously!

Like a child they were to attempt to allow the materials to speak to them...here is Jada's experiences before and beyond her first 5 structures...


First a brief history about popsicle sticks. They were invented by an eleven year old named Frank Epperson in 1905. So they're more than a hundred years old! Before they were "popsicle" sticks, they were "Epsicle" sticks. Epperson came by the idea on accident during a cold winter season. He had left his fruit flavored soda outside on the porch with a stir stick in it, but when it had frozen over and he tasted it, he thought it was a delicious treat. From there it took him 18 years to develop the idea of frozen ice on a stick. Soon it was named Epsicle Ice Pop. Later his children renamed it Popsicle as we know it today. He sold his Popsicle idea to the Joe Lowe Company of New York and Good Humor now owns the "Popsicle Rights."(I got my information from: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpopsicle.htm)
So anyway, here are a few things I came up with while "playing" with my object(s). We had TONS of fun!

 
I listened to my object.. 

As did Zack. Here he is listening to his Q-tips.

Then I smelled it!

I tasted it...gross.


I examined it very closely!

Then we took a much needed nap!

This is the natural form it fell in.

But I had to push it aside. :(
...
After all of this work, me and my sticks decided to have some real fun!

First we went to the beach and watched the sunset. Isn't it beautiful?

Next we went on a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas. This was so much fun, but we were both sooooo scared! :)

After that we traveled down to Cozumel, Mexico and scuba-dived with the fishes! :D

We ended the day in Paris, France.
What an exciting time we had! :D<


We hope you enjoyed our photos!

Jada's process video part 2...(created for educational purpose)