Reflecting on the scope of my fifth-grade art curriculum, I realized that, aside from clay projects, students were mainly creating watercolor paintings and construction paper collages—primarily 2D assignments. So, I researched artists and came across the amazing “wall sculptures” of American abstract artist Elizabeth Murray (1940–2007). I developed a cardboard construction project that includes layering cardboard and painting with acrylic paint. The results are unique and showcase a wide variety of solutions to layering cardboard.
Abstract Artist Elizabeth Murray
Elizabeth Murray’s abstract paintings are considered three-dimensional (especially her work from the eighties and beyond) because of her overlapping of materials. She used bright colors and painted in a cartoon-like style, adding humorous elements to her art.
Before students begin their projects, I show several images of Murray’s paintings and we engage in a discussion about what they see in her work. Students identify elements such as geometric and organic shapes, cartoon figures, and recognizable forms (train tracks, roads, rivers, and buildings).
Day One: Working with Cardboard
After our discussion, I hand out 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm) cardboard for the base of the project—this piece doesn’t get cut. I then demonstrate how to cut various shapes out of cardboard, how to peel off one layer of the cardboard to expose the corrugated part, and how to use glue dots so that the cardboard doesn’t get too wet with glue.
Once I hand out a variety of scrap cardboard, students are off and running with creativity! I instruct students to layer cardboard pieces to create height, and to cover their board, leaving only small bits of the base board visible. This part takes one full period of fifty-five minutes, excluding clean-up time.
Days Two and Three: Painting
On day two of the project, students use white acrylic paint to cover their board base and shapes—everything they can see except the bottom. The purpose of this step is like priming a wall before painting; the brown of the cardboard will inhibit the intensity of the colors if not covered with white first. This step typically doesn’t take the whole class period, so I have extra assignments students can work on while the paint dries.
Day three is for painting shapes, lines, patterns, and other details using a set palette of colors. I limit the palette to bright colors to better manage the use of paint, considering there are twenty-eight students in the classroom. Students spend the entire class period painting. Once the paint is dry, a gloss medium is applied.
Once dry, the finished projects are displayed, and students take a gallery walk to provide feedback to their peers.
Reflecting on the Use of Cardboard
Projects that challenge students to create using a nontraditional art material encourage risk-taking in a safe and supervised environment. Introducing students to artists who repurpose materials changes how we think about art and opens our eyes to new ways of creating art. These experiences broaden student understanding of the art-making process. And isn’t it rewarding to hear students share their excitement about what they’ve learned after trying something new?
Jane B. Montero is an art teacher at Creekside Intermediate School in Dexter, Michigan. MonteroJ@DexterSchools.org
National Standard
Creating: Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work.
Resources
Elizabeth Murray
Art teachers share a variety of meaningful and engaging interdisciplinary lessons. Students create space suit helmets and souvenir photos of their imaginary journeys through the solar system, use architectural principles in a cardboard construction project inspired by abstract artist Elizabeth Murray, make STEM connections to origami and use unfolded paper figures to create geometric paintings, and more.
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