Recycled art is easy to create. Students can create beautiful, interesting objects and discover that using recycled materials is fun, and useful. This art project is for students in grade 4 - 8. Teachers can teach about pop can recycling in a new way with this easy recycled art project.
Materials:
Several Pop cans, tape, wire, hot glue sticks, hot glue gun, hole punch, shoelaces, etc.
This art sculpture is made with old pop cans and other materials to teach about the reusing of bright metallic materials. Students should bring their own materials. Teacher can demonstrate purchased pop can purses or other articles to provide the students with ideas. The students need basic cutting and gluing skills to make their sculptures.
Step 1 - Preparing the Students
Using a “Conservation” theme, brainstorm with the students ways we can conserve energy, resources, heat, and water in our world today. Demonstrate articles made out of recycled pop cans such as purses that are sold online or in stores. Ask students what they would envision in a perfect, green world in the future. Once their ideas are focused, ask them to create a theme using pop cans to teach a conservation lesson. They can show buying from a local market, using alternative transportation, conserving resources, recycling or even composting.
Step 2 – Prepare the materials
Cut apart a pop can using scissors and lay the pieces flat. Show how the pieces can be flattened, curled, folded or bent to shapes needed. Use a hole punch to get holes in the can to piece them together. Use leather or a shoe lace to sew together pieces. Tape or use hot glue to glue other pieces together as needed to create a sculpture. The tabs of the pop cans can also be strung together on wire for handles or to create jewellery. The pop cans may also be used in their original shapes with pieces added or glued onto them. Students need to be creative in their use of the pop can parts.
Step 3 - Mounting the work
Show students that what they mount the sculpture on is also a statement. For example, if creating a shoe, what is the “footprint” they want to leave on the earth? Would the shoe create a big dent in the mountain of garbage created? If creating a hat, what is it protecting? If creating a purse, what can we carry in it? What material would a person use for mounting on?