Submitted by Justin Kramer
Unit: Sculpture - mixed media - ceramic - paper mache
Lesson: "Cinderella's' Revenge" - Design a Shoe
Grade Level: High School (adaptable to middle school)
See Ceramis Shoes Lesson Plan
See Lesson sheet by Sara Gant
The students were required to respond to the exhibition
"Cinderella's Revenge" by generating a work that could be exhibited
alongside the works shown in the exhibition. They were encouraged to
explore a whimsical interpretation of a shoe. We discussed
interpretations of what could constitute as a shoe - these include
thongs, flippers, skates, the word shoe, etc. Some of the students
ended up using the word shoe and painting it in graffiti style on a sheet of paper. I didn't document many of the 2D versions - the 3D ones were far more creative.
This is a good unit for problem solving skills. Students should already
be familiar with sculpture techniques and hand building techniques for
clay.
From Justin Kramer:
Students were encouraged to use the media of their own choosing, this
included mixed media, collage, Papier Maché
, drawing, painting,
construction and carving (Clay
). They brainstormed possible
construction methods and negotiated for media via design plans.
The work sent to you were from a year 9 class. In retrospect I feel
that I might have had more surreal interpretations from an older group.
Technically they handled the media very well but on the whole they
struggled with the student-directed activity and were quite needy. This
isn't the case with older students. I will be doing the art cars with
some of the same students next year and with this previous experience they should be a lot more
confident in being creative rather than being conservative or
stereotypical.
The brief was very simple and allowed the students to be very
creativity. They enjoyed this unit - on the whole the boys were the
most successful with it - something which I didn't predict.
Examples from the exhibition "Cinderella's revenge" were used to
discuss the variety of possibilities and were used to encourage students to be
adventurous.
Student work on this page is by
students at
Dakabin State High School, Queensland,
Australia. Justin now teaches at North Lakes State College.
See Ceramic
Shoes Lesson Plan
. Also see Shoe Sculptures.
Materials
Choice of paint: Acrylic Paint
, Glazes, Underglazes
Stoneware Clay (or other Clay)
Clay Tools
Brushes
Books
Carving Boots and Shoes With Larry Green
- The shoes become works of art to which most people can relate. With step-by-step, color illustrated instructions, Larry gets the reader started on the "right foot." Five boot and shoe projects are described in detail, including a baby shoe, a work book, a cowboy boot, a "Storm" boot, and a ski boot.
The Art of the Shoe
- Marie-Joséphe Bossan is a curator at the International Shoe Museum in Romans, the French capital of the shoe industry. This museum holds the greatest shoe collection in the world with 12,000 specimens.
Links
