As students in separate pre-K classrooms throughout our center became interested in different animals, weekly studio time was used to support and extend their interests from an arts-based perspective. One pre-K class after another became fascinated with ocean animals. Using these interests as the starting point in the studio, I designed a model-building project around sharks.
From George Rodrigue’s impressionistic Blue Dog paintings to Deborah Butterfield’s metal horse sculptures, there are many fine art examples of the kind of fascination with animals almost all children exhibit from an early age. Building three-dimensional sculptures and forms is a great way to give students the chance to learn about art, science, and math at the same time.
Project Inspiration
As students in separate pre-K classrooms throughout our center became interested in different animals, weekly studio time was used to support and extend their interests from an arts-based perspective. One pre-K class after another became fascinated with ocean animals. Using these interests as the starting point in the studio, I designed a model-building project around sharks.
Preparing the Armatures
After discussing ideas with students, I gathered images of sharks online from multiple angles and media and printed them out. Then, in the studio, I built the preliminary armature of each model out of newspaper, butcher paper, plastic garden netting, chicken wire, staples, cardboard or foam board, and tape. Tools included scissors, a stapler, and a box cutter.
Starting the Sharks
The sharks were built on a near life-size scale! Working with an assistant, we used metal chicken wire to shape large cylindrical bases approximately two feet in diameter and four feet long. One end of each cylinder was pulled tighter, then another smaller section of 2 x 3' (0.5 x 1 m) chicken wire was pulled into a conical shape and fixed in place by twisting the ends of the wires around each other.
One class wanted to create a hammerhead shark (pictured), so we used a 2½' (1 m) wooden ruler-shaped slat inserted through the front end of the cylinder to provide a base for the head and eyes.
Each base wire form was wrapped in butcher paper and taped to form a workable surface.
Building on the Bases
After each class had a base and any additional parts for their model, their task was to papier-mâché it. Using a mixture of half water and half glue, students used paintbrushes to slather newspaper strips and apply them. As classes usually only visited the studio once every three weeks, teachers sometimes relocated the models to their classrooms or scheduled extra time in the studio for students to papier-mâché.
Once the base was complete, additional chicken wire was added to one end in a conical shape to form the tail. Using the printed photos for accuracy and proportional reference, my assistant and I cut cardboard and heavy foam board into fins and used a box cutter to cut slots in the body to attach them.
Students built up additional layers of papier-mâché until their model was substantially solid, had stable extending parts, and could be easily transported. The final shark models were 8' (2 m) long with fins extending to 4' (1 m) wide.
Painting and Display
Once the models solidified and dried, classes referred back to the printed photos to select colors and paint them. Students often needed to mix colors to achieve the desired effects, such as darker-hued stripes on their tiger shark or a lighter-colored belly than the back.
After painting their models, many students were able to correctly identify the different parts of the shark and how they worked. One class made labels for each part and attached them to the model.
Each class displayed their model at different, and sometimes overlapping, periods throughout the year. The models were sometimes on display in the studio and other times in classrooms or hallways. These models often served as a focal point for family discussion and interaction during pick-up and drop-off times.
Mindi Rhoades is an art educator at the Ohio State University. Rhoades.89@OSU.edu
National Standard
Connecting: Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.
Art teachers share lessons that students can relate to, fostering a sense of self and community. Young students identify emotions and facial expressions while collaging, elementary students trace their countries of origins and share their findings through self-portrait photo compositions, middle-school students create aquatic themed rug canvases with important ecological messages, high-school students draw alongside Tibetan monks as they create a sand mandala, and more.
