Paper Soft Sculptures
2022-25
The great thing about paper soft sculptures is that the art object is extremely adaptable to different ages, concepts, interests, and learning objectives. Below are some of the soft sculpture projects created with my students.
Things That Heal Me Soft Sculptures
7th and 8th Grade
A great project near the beginning of the year as a way for the students and myself to get to know one another—the Things That Heal Me Soft Sculpture asks students to reflect on their identity, community, passions, and more. The focus of the project is to name and materialize the people, places, and things that add joy, rest, and excitement into one’s life.
Exquisite Corpse Soft Sculptures
3rd Grade
Imagination and collaboration are the focus points of this project. Students are first introduced to the exquisite corpse exercise culminating in a jointly created creature or character. After a few iterations of the game, students are then asked to create their own exquisite corpse to be made into a soft sculpture. Imagination and risk-taking play a bigger role in this project compared to technical skill, allowing for both novice and practiced artists to participate fully.
Zoom In Soft Sculptures
5th Grade
Observational drawing is a challenge for any artist. Especially with Chromebooks and tablets having a permanent place in classrooms, students choose to trace rather than look and draw. Not only that, the sheer volume of drawings, artwork, anime, etc., that students have access to inevitably have students comparing their drawings to what they see online. The Zoom In Soft Sculpture project hopes to push students beyond their device screens. The project asks them to draw from observation and to draw BIG, preventing them from tracing at all. The soft sculpture format entices students to keep going and keep trying—because they really want to take one home!
