SCULPTURE

Sculpture & 3D Knowledge Organisers

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Year 1

Tube Towers

We learnt that sculpture is three dimensional art that can be made out of any material and can be any size. We had a go at creating our own sculptures after looking at steel sculptures by artist Samantha Stephenson. We rolled paper around different cylindrical objects, secured them with glue then stuck them down onto our base. We tried to use different heights, colours, thicknesses and thought about how they sat together.

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3D Drawings

We had a go at using paper to create 3D sculptures. We made different shapes, such as loops, zig zags, spirals and tables and glued these down to a base. We overlapped some of the strips and even decorated some before sticking them down. Some shapes were trickier to make than others and we had to create tabs at each end to ensure they were stuck down securely. Once we'd completed our paper sculptures, we had a mini-exhibition and walked around looking at each others artwork.

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Tree of life

We looked at images of different types of artwork portraying the 'Tree of Life'. We learnt that this symbol is used in many cultures as a common way of representing all of nature in one tree. We had a go at creating our own tree of life sculptures using the 3D paper shaping skills we learnt in our previous lessons. 

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Ocean waves

We thought back to our drawing work when we experimented with different types of lines and wanted to try and represent those lines in a three-dimensional way. We used the water paintings of Zaria Forman again for inspiration and looked carefully for the shapes, lines and colours she uses. We applied our paper shaping skills to create different kind of lines in 3D, to create a collaborative ocean sculpture. 

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Year 2

Exploring clay

We spent a lesson exploring clay, experimenting how we can manipulate it with our hands and with tools. We tried flattening it to make a smooth surface, shaping it (by squeezing and rolling) and making different marks by pressing into it with everyday items. We then used these techniques to make miniature models. We found joining separate parts tricky as the clay didn't quite stick together.

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Pinch pots

We used techniques we learnt from our previous lesson, such as rolling to make a ball. After, we used our thumbs to make a well, then we used our index finger and thumb to keep pinching around the edge of the pots to create a bigger hole until finally it resembled a small bowl.

We learnt about ceramicist Ranti Bam and looked at some of her clay pots, thinking about how she joins all of her flat pieces of clay together to create these.

We made decorations for our pinch pots and attached these extra pieces of clay using the slip and score technique. This worked better than just smoothing the pieces on.

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Clay house tiles

We sketched out design ideas of the front of a house and its features. We annotated our drawings to show how we would create each feature, by impressing, hollowing out or adding pieces of clay on. We then used these drawings to guide our clay work, adapting ideas along the way if things didn't quite go to plan.

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Year 3

Structural shapes

We talked about how we could tell if something was a sculpture and as a class we decided that a sculpture is: 3D, you can view it from all angles, it can be any size and made from any material. We looked at various sculptures as part of an installation by Robert Morris, called 'Bodyspacemotionthings'. The interactive sculptures reminded us of playground equipment. Using this as inspiration, we had a go at creating sculptures of our own with card. We made 2D shapes and thought about how we could make these 3D by folding and rolling them in various ways. We also tried using a slotting technique to secure two pieces together without using tape or glue. We tried our hardest to get the sculptures to stand on their own.

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Joining structures

We learnt about sculptor Sir Anthony Caro and how he helped design the London Millenium Footbridge. We discovered that he made abstract sculptures, sometimes out of metal, and that to join this material he used a technique called welding. We looked at his artwork, 'Child's Tower Room', and discussed it - we thought it reminded us of playground equipment, similar to the 'Bodyspacemotionthings' installation by Robert Morris. Using these two artworks as inspiration, we made an abstract 3D sculpture of our own. We worked in groups to try different ways of attaching parts, such as using glueing, tying string, twisting, folding, rolling card and making tabs. 

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Positive and Negative space

We looked at images of playgrounds and highlighted shapes we could see within the equipment (positive space) and shapes we could see in the background (negative space). We used the shapes we found to help us plan some abstract sculptures that we will eventually build. We thought carefully about how we would arrange and join the shapes, taking into account what worked well and not so well during our last building challenge.

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Abstract sculptures

We used our plans to help us build our abstract sculptures. If something didn't quite work or we had a new idea, we adapted our plans as we went along. We looked at some more artwork by Sir Anthony Caro and thought about what his abstract sculpture 'Early One Morning' might represent, taking into account the title of the piece. To decorate our abstract sculptures, we took inspiration from this piece, using one bright colour to unify the different shapes, just as he did.

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Year 4

2D to 3D

We looked at the artwork of ceramicist Magdelene Odundo and thought that all her vessels looked curvy, natural and smooth, and that they reminded us of the shape of a body. We learnt that before she makes her sculptures out of clay, she draws them, not just in sketchbooks, but on a large scale on the walls and on the floor. We had a go at using big, sweeping motions with our arms to create large scale drawings like Odundo. 

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Shadow sculptures

We learnt about Nigerian sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp and looked at her piece 'All the world is now richer'. We thought the words looked like the shadows of each person. We used this as inspiration to create our own shadow sculptures but thought about using words that reflected our friends in our class. We tried out different typography and created large words by cutting, painting and lining up our letters. We then photographed them in different positions to see what looked best. Sometimes we were part of the sculpture and other times the shadow itself became the final piece.

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Year 5

What is installation art?

We learnt that installation art means artwork that: transforms a space; is in a specific location; aims to convey a message; is often on a large scale; is often temporary and can be interactive. We analysed images of a variety of installation types, thinking carefully about why the artist had chosen a certain material, location and what message they were trying to get across. 

Space and scale

We learnt about artist Cai Guo-Qiang and looked at some of his artwork including 'Sky Ladder' and 'White Tone'. We discussed how some of his artwork is not only classed as installation art, but also performance art. We discovered that to make some of his artwork he uses gunpowder explosions and stencils so we had a go at creating mini-installations using his work as inspiration. 

Once they were finished, we took photos from close up angles and played with the idea of scale, to give the illusion of a full sized room.

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Everyday amazing

We looked at some abstract sculptures featuring everyday items and talked about how they had been transformed by adding something or positioning it in a different way. We had a go at creating our own everyday installations using chairs and items in our classroom. We also learnt more about artist Cai Guo Qiang and how the Cultural Revolution influenced a lot of his work. We discussed his piece 'Inopportune' and thought about what the message behind is was, based on what we knew about his background.