From the Art Docent: Tin Foil Owl

How can one incorporate metal into a third grade art project that doesn't require loud hammering and sharp edges? Thankfully, I came across an awesome blog called Make It...a Wonderful Life that offered up an amazing idea using tin foil. Sign me up!

This was a two part lesson, because I needed time for the glue to dry in between. So the first part included the following:

1.) simple line drawing of an owl on cardboard, using familiar shapes: oval for the body, upside down triangles for the forehead and beak, circles for the eyes, and more ovals for the wings and toes. No details! 

2.) We set that aside, then worked on a Zentangle-type project to explore patterns and details that the kids might want to use later on in the tin foil assignment. 

3.) While half the class worked on creating patterns, the other half outlined their owls using tacky craft glue. Then the kids alternated until both projects were done.

Outline Drawing with Tacky Glue

Let It Dry

In the second class, the kids were given their dried projects, a tube of glue stick, a piece of tin foil, a paper towel, and an etching stick (or use a dull pencil). Part two consisted of:

4.) Smear a decent layer of glue stick to the surface of the owl project. 

5.) Lay down the sheet of tin foil and with a fingertip wrapped in paper towel (so as not to mar or tear the foil), rub the foil onto the glued cardboard. Start in the middle and work your way out, burnishing the foil into place. Find the dried tacky glue edges and mold the foil gently. 

6.) Use the etching stick (or a dull pencil) and with a light touch, score the foil with details (remembering Zentangle-type patterns from the first lesson). 

7.) Each student then took their turn wiping their project with shoe polish (the kind with the sponge applicator) to give the tin an antiqued look.

My Finished Project

I had a bit of a problem using the shoe polish. At home I applied a liberal coat and immediately wiped it off, which removed everything. I tried to let the polish sit for awhile, maybe a minute or two, and then when I wiped it, it all came off again, leaving no antiquing affect. The third try, I left if on for five minutes or so, and the shoe polish had dried. I couldn't remove it, and it left dark brown blotches (insert eye roll). What was I doing wrong? I had to get out the steel wool to remove most of it, but I managed to get the antiqued affect I was looking for. Check out the image above.

When in class, the shoe polish dried very quickly, and I barely had time to remove it before it started setting up. It was the same bottle, so the only thing I could think of was that perhaps when the bottle of polish was full, it was a lot more "liquidy," which took longer to dry. As the shoe polish in the bottle was reduced, it came out more foamy and thick and dried a lot quicker.  

Some pieces looked a lot more rusty than others, but overall, I was quite pleased. It was a fun project!

Students' Work Mounted for Art Walk

Students' Work

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"Observe and reflect and become a little wiser everyday." ~ Author Unknown