Self-Portrait in Wire

This lesson covers line as an art element and sculpture as an art technique. It also includes an examination of wire sculptures created by Alexander Calder

A lesson plan for grade 5 Visual Arts Education

By Paulina Olson

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• demonstrate using variety of line in wire sculpture.
• demonstrate the use of wire and wire manipulation as a sculptural medium.
• examine wire scuptures created by Alexander Calder and identify similarities with their own artwork.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

60 minutes

Materials/resources

Required Materials:

• Twisteez brand wire (1 pack per 2 classes, cut approximately half of the wire from a pack into halves and leave the rest whole length)
• scissors (1 pair per student)
• beads (miscellaneous shapes and sizes)
• reproductions of Alexander Calder’s wire sculpture portraits (see Relevant Web Sites)
• completed sample projects (either teacher or student created)

Optional Materials:

• mirrors (1 per student or student group)
• other forms of wire sculpture for comparison

Technology resources

Computer with Internet access (optional)

Pre-activities

It is suggested that students be familiar with the concept of line in 2D design. This lesson will be focusing on the use of line in 3D and manipulating the wire to create the sculpture.

It is also helpful if students have had some experience with representing themselves in a self-portrait. This way, they can concentrate on the manipulation of the medium for desired results.

Activities

Set-Up, prior to lesson:

• Place scissors and beads at student work centers for individual use.
• Place whole and halved wire at a central location for groups to get materials.

Introduction, approximately 5 minutes:

1. Begin the lesson by telling the students that they will be creating a self-portrait. Not just any self-portrait, however. A self-portrait in wire. Their attention tends to peak a bit at this point.
2. Show the Alexander Calder reproductions attached: Fernand Leger, Joan Miro, Edgard Varese. Briefly describe Calder as an artist that created sculptural forms by bending, twisting and joining wire into a variety of shapes. Describe the artwork as almost being like a line drawing that has sprung off of the page and become a three dimensional sculpture.
3. Show the students the sample projects and tell them the self-portrait they will be creating will be similar in form.

Demonstration and Process, approximately 45 minutes:

1. Call student groups up to the central location to get one full length wire and three halved wires. While they are getting these materials, other students may be getting their scissors and choosing beads for their projects at their work centers.
2. When everyone has their materials, begin by demonstrating how to make a circular form for the face. Have the students complete the step after you demonstrate it. Loop the large piece of wire into a circular shape and then wind the ends around the circular shape until secure. Stress the importance of making sure the wire is securly attached. If the attachments are not secure, their form will not be stable. It would be a shame to have worked so long on a project to have it fall apart when you move it.
3. Bend the circular shape into the shape of your own face. Have the students complete these steps and wait for further demonstration.
4. Next demonstrate how to create a nose shape by bending and twisting the wire. Remind the students that it needs to look like their nose, this is a self-portrait after all. Demonstrate how to attach this shape to the face shape. The students now have several locations to secure additional face parts, either tho the face frame or to the nose shape. As they keep adding forms, they have additional places to attach more shapes and so on.
5. List on the board face parts to be included such as face shape, nose, eyes, eyebrows, lips, teeth, hair etc. I encourage students to add as much as possible to make it represent them. For example, add glasses if you wear glasses, etc.
6. Tell students to slide on the beads wherever they want them before attaching the wire and securing it. The beads may slide if they want or they can kink or twist the wire to make them stay in a certain position.
7. Encourage the students to explore the materials and use their imagination in how they create their shapes. Use a variety of lines like curly, zigzag, coil, spiral etc. Combine several pieces of wire for part of the face rather than just using one piece of wire. Encourage them to share ideas and to look at the samples more closely in their problem solving.
8. Let the students work independently on their projects while you walk around and assist individuals. Prompt them in ways to figure out what they are trying to do rather than telling them or doing it for them. This way they will understand the process more completely. Let the students get more wire as needed.
9. Have the students self-evaluate their artwork and the process of creating as compared to Alexander Calder’s work. Where do they see that their work is similar to his? How are they using the materials like he did? Ask for the students responses to these questions as they are working.

Clean-Up, approximately 10 minutes:

• Collect art work in a central location.
• Return materials to their locations at the beginning of the lesson.
• Have students look at all the self-portraits together and compare the different ways of manipulating the wire to create the sculptures. If time allows, have the students share some of their ideas about how their artwork relates to Alexander Calder’s artwork.

Display, optional suggestions:

• Suspend the self-portraits from a string or another piece of wire for a spatial display.
• Double mount the self-portraits using staples on black paper and a colored piece of paper for bulletin board display.
• Have students write a brief description of their similarities with Alexander Calder’s work and display the description with their artwork.
• An assortment of student examples are attached: A.W., C.A., N.L.

Assessment

The art specialist will evaluate the student projects according to the following lesson goals/objectives:

1. Students will demonstrate using variety of line in wire sculpture.
• Has the student successfully created a sculpture composed of contour lines?
• Has the student used variety of line, twisted, zig zag, coiled, etc?
2. Students will demonstrate the use of wire and wire manipulation as a sculptural medium.
   • Has the student demonstrated problem solving in manipulating the wire to represent their self-portrait?
   • Has the student successfully secured the wire for a stable sculptural form?
3. Students will examine wire sculptures created by Alexander Calder and identify similarities with their own artwork.
• Does the student recognize visual similarities between their artwork and the artwork of a professional artist?
• Does the student recognize similarity in the processes used to create their artwork as compared to the work of a professional artist?

Supplemental information

See attachments and relevant websites

Related websites

National Gallery of Art: Calder Virtual Tour
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/caldwel.htm

The Calder Foundation
http://www.calder.org

Twisteez (the sculptural medium for this lesson)
http://www.twisteez.com

Please preview all linked materials prior to showing to students.

Comments

The time spent on each part of the lesson is approximate for pacing purposes only. The lesson may be expanded or compressed as needed. I have, at times, let students choose to use additional time on this project if they felt it was not complete. Many students, however, are able to complete the lesson as described in this plan. You may choose to have students write their responses to the Alexander Calder comparisons rather than having them self-evaluate when working and responding verbally.