Plinth People: Sculptural Self Portraits
Join Paula Briggs and the AccessArt Art Club for ages 8, 9 and 10 to see how to make autobiographical sculptures.
By Paula Briggs
In the AccessArt Art Club for ages 8, 9 and 10, we’ve started a body of work (sculpture, collage, painting, drawing) which is loosely autobiographical. The idea is that by the end of the term the children will have each made a number of small artworks based upon their own likes, dislikes etc, and the children will then make a cardboard suitcase which will both house these collections, and provide a pop-up gallery for each child.
This week we started by making autobiographical sculptures.
Preparation
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Sheila C
May 8, 2015 @ 10:57 am
These are stunning and touching too as personalities shine through the sculptures – what you write about the frustrations that working with materials can bring, though resonates, it’s obvious that you facilitated a really positive making experience here and what comes through is a shear celebration of individuality and that ‘innocent’ creativity that comes pouring out when making and you just know what needs to be done next … Thanks Paula!
Kyle B
May 13, 2015 @ 7:36 pm
These are very beautiful creations, and its a project I might adapt for my students.
Rachael Causer
May 15, 2015 @ 4:27 pm
I love these Paula and am thinking of doing something similar with a group – How long did they take you all?
Paula Briggs, AccessArt
May 16, 2015 @ 6:36 am
Hello Rachael, I guess it took about an hour for me to prepare the ten plinths (befire the class, just because the room I rent isnt good for mess… though the children would have actually loved to have made them) and then 2 x 1 hour sessions for the children to work on them… good luck and keep us posted xxp
Rachael Causer
May 21, 2015 @ 12:35 pm
Thanks Paula. I’m running it with a group of children from the Tavistock Hospital next week. I will definitely keep you posted!
Rachael
Paula Briggs, AccessArt
May 21, 2015 @ 12:46 pm
fantastic good luck with that!
Ciara Gibson
September 9, 2015 @ 7:56 pm
These are stunning! I have made figures from wire before but the plinth just adds so much to these and the personalities shine through! Can’t wait to try these, really inspiring post.
Many thanks.
Nicola Fast
February 27, 2016 @ 8:04 pm
going to be making these with year 6 in a couple of weeks. can’t wait…have a class of about 20 so there is a lot of work for me to do first! I LOVE this site…I shall post some pics when we are finished
Paula Briggs, AccessArt
February 28, 2016 @ 9:17 am
Hi Nicola – lovely to hear from you – really good luck with that! And yes pls do keep us posted – am sure they will love it! best wishes, Paula
Lisa L
June 14, 2022 @ 8:30 pm
Hi – Would it be possible for the children to create their own clay plinth – inserting the wire while still damp? Would this hold well enough for the children to then sculpt the wire after the clay has hardened? Many thanks! Lisa
Paula
June 15, 2022 @ 7:40 am
Hi Yes that should work – if you make sure the clay plinth is stout and tall enough – remember as the clay dries out it will get lighter so you need a decent “limp” of it to act as weight to balance the sculpture. Also be aware that clay shrinks so make sure the wire is stuck right into the clay (there will be some shrinkage around the wire when the clay is dry). But yes give it a go and it will take a whole stage out of the project. You could also think laterally – use a big stone or a brick etc… and fasten wire around it? Good luck, let us know how you get on, Paula
Philippa S
October 19, 2023 @ 11:47 am
Hi – is there an alternative which could be used instead of making wood plinths? This looks like a great unit but with so many children in the class the wood may not be an option. Many thanks.
Paula
October 19, 2023 @ 3:24 pm
Hi Pippa this resource doesn’t use wooden plinths it uses plaster plinths – but that still may not be an option for you. You could be creative and get pupils for example to bring in a shoe box etc – they could make a hole in that for example and use it to stick a wire support – or even use a brick and tie wire round that… think creatively about what other heavy objects are available to you. Garden centres often give away old flower pots – could you fill one of those full of soemthing heavy for example and stand the wire into that?
Philippa S
November 7, 2023 @ 12:16 pm
Thanks Paula – I don’t know why I wrote wood, apologies. Thanks for your suggestions, these are great ideas which I can explore further in school. Many thanks, Pippa
Francesca H
March 4, 2024 @ 8:28 am
This looks brilliant – plan on doing it next week! Can you advise where to find the long strips of cloth? Thank you!
Rachel
March 4, 2024 @ 10:52 am
Hi Francesca, the cloth can be cheap cotton or polyester cotton which you can buy by the metre, or you can buy cheap sheets or pillow cases and tear them up. Even old shirts would be fine! Hope that helps!
Francesca H
March 11, 2024 @ 8:04 am
Thank you very much, Rachel.