Outdoor Playground Sculpture

Students will work in groups to create a large outdoor playground sculpture. 

This unit has five parts: research & design, construction of the architecture and support structure, paper mache, pal tiya clay, painting, and presentations.

Overview Unit Goal

Composition Concepts

  • Dimension
  • Balance
  • Representation & Abstraction

Technical Skills

  • Cardboard construction (measuring, cutting, and gluing)
  • Paper Maché Strips
  • Pal Tiya Clay
  • Painting
  • Installation

Tools & Supplies

  • Cardboard
  • Paper Strips
  • Pal Tiya Clay 
  • Paint & Brushes

Technical Skill Videos

Resource Book Notes

Order of Work

ARCHITECTURAL CONSTRUCTION
  • FRONT & SIDE VIEW cut the cardboard you need to make your form
  • WAFFLE CONSTRUCTION connect your cardboard pieces together to make your forms
  • CARDBOARD STRIPS add thin strips of cardboard across your waffle construction to mostly cover your animal
  • SCULPTING make sure you like the shape of your form at this stage
  • TEST the balance of your sculpture - it should stand without wobbling
FOIL
  • COVER SURFACE with foil - everything should have foil on it - crumple the foil and reflaten before applying for areas that don't need extra sculptural forms
  • SCULPT any detail parts with extra foil - use hot glue to add more foil to areas that already have foil attached
PAL TIYA CLAY
  • FIRST LAYER cover the entire project in a layer 1/8" to 1/4" thick (5mm) - before leaving class, carve lines all over the surface
  • COVER IN A PLASTIC BAG at the end of every class period - any clay that has carved scoring lines can accept more clay on top another day - any clay that is smooth will not accept new clay
  • ADD DETAILS AND TEXTURES add only the amount of clay you can finish during that class period - the area you finish in one day should be fully sculpted, smoothed, and finished  
  • COVER IN A PLASTIC BAG - the stuff that was done the day before should be covered in a wet towel - the stuff you did today should only be covered in plastic, no wet towel
  • CURE in a plastic bag covered in wet towels for 5 days
PAINTING
  • PAINT everything with the base coat
  • DETAIL painting to add any fun features
​INSTALLATION
  • INSTALL the sculpture in it's final location
​ DOCUMENTING
  • PHOTOGRAPH the bodies and elements that you sculpted (as many photos as you need to capture your work - minimum of 3)
  • Fill out the REFLECTION
  • Record a VIDEO if you are not presenting in class
  • EMAIL an important adult about your work

Project Concept Inspiration - Outdoor Playground Sculptures

Outdoor Playground Sculpture Criteria

  • ANIMAL FORM - your sculpture should look like a cute animal
  • FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURE - your sculpture needs to be structurally sound (hold it's own weight, last outdoors, etc.)
  • SAFE FOR SMALL CHILDREN - no sharp protrusions small children can injure themselves on
  • PAINTED - finished surface is painted 

Skeleton

USE CARDBOARD TO MAKE A SKELETON OF YOUR ANIMAL SCULPTURE

YOU CAN WAFFLE THE INITIAL FORM AND THEN ADD STRIPS TO CREATE THE LARGER STRUCTURE

Foil Layer

FOIL SHOULD BE COMPLETELY COVERING THE FORM

FOIL SURFACE SHOULD LOOK WRINKLY, NO SMOOTH

IF YOU ARE ADDING FOIL TO AN AREA THAT ALREADY HAS FOIL YOU WILL LIKELY NEED HOT GLUE

Pal Tiya Clay

FIRST LAYER IS A SCRATCH COAT - IT MUST HAVE GROOVES IN THE SURFACE

SECOND LAYER IS DETAIL & TEXTURE LAYER

​COVER IN PLASTIC 
PAINT
Paint a first coat covering the entire sculpture
Additional coats and colors add details

Documenting your Sculpture

  • Photograph all of the aspects that you sculpted
  • 3 full sculpture photos (front view, 3/4, side view)
  • 3+ details of the parts you did that you are most proud of
  • Be sure your photos are well lit, in focus, and center your artwork
  • On your reflection draw a diagram of which parts you sculpted and which parts were sculpted by your teammates

Email an Image of Your Project

Grading Criteria

Student Work