Paper Forms as Sculpture

Materials for making paper sculptures

Making a paper sculpture

In my demo for making paper sculptures I emphasized the importance of making paper stand up by showing my students how they could create folds or tabs at the end of each strip of paper to create feet and how the glue needed to be placed at the bottom of the tab that makes contact with the ground. It is a simple and straight forward construction device.

I illustrated a couple of different ways the paper strips could be changed and I listed their descriptive names on the smart board behind me, taping

the examples I had made next to each word for the ELLs. I included an extra choice for changing the paper by introducing scissors and showed how the paper can be changed by cutting its edge or width. Finally we explored how placement ought to be considered when gluing the strips that had been changed. They learned strips could be intertwined, glued below or above, at a distance or together. Just as in their collages, these paper sculptures could be arranged, layered and composed but with an added difference: they could be viewed from multiple angles! Here is a list of the ways they changed and placed the paper.

Twisted Intertwined

Bent or curved Woven and braided

Crushed Layered for height

Accordion folds Explored for scale differences

Rolled Symmetrical & Asymmetrical

Cut edges and widths Stretched/clustered

Decorative patterns and applications Central formats