Recycled Art Project

Submitted by: Kim Robinson, Bermudian Springs High School, York Springs, PA
UNIT: Art-Science- Earth Day – Found /
Grade Level: Middle school through high school
Time frame: 6 to 7 class periods (flexible – you determine)

Recycled Art Project

"One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!" | See Recycled Ideas

Recycled Objects to consider:

Styrofoam: egg cartons, packing peanuts; food containers; meat trays

Cardboard: food boxes, paper boxes, corrugated boxes, ice cream containers, drink trays

Plastics: soap containers, lotion bottles, shampoo bottles, laundry bottles & lids, plastic shopping Bags, soda 6-pack rings

Aluminum: soda cans, clean/used tin foil, food wrapper linings

Paper: shredded paper, envelopes, letters, junk mail,

Odds & Ends: CD’s, broken pieces of furniture, chipped plates/mugs, jewelry pieces

Wire: old coat hangars, twist ties from garbage bags

Nylon: clean, used panty hose

Metals: nuts & bolts, screws, soda tabs/lids

Fabric: old tablecloths, sheets, scrap fabric swatches, torn clothing, old curtains

Recycled Project Ideas to consider:

• Create a two-dimensional wall hanging using layers of cardboard/paper pieces…relief sculpture with a flat back and items glued on top to add depth/thickness

• Create a wearable piece of jewelry made from unusual pieces of recycled materials

• Create a three-dimensional sculpture of an animal, person, figure, insect, plane, train, etc.

• Create a painting of a landscape on a surface made from Styrofoam or cardboard

• Create an artwork out of soda cans by cutting them apart and using the metal pieces

• Create a purse out of recycled Wal-Mart bags or anything!

• Create a piece of functional furniture

• Create a wearable piece of clothing or accessory

Evaluation Categories:

Overall neatness/craftsmanship... is your work clean and neatly presented?

Use of only recycled items (with the exception of adhesives to hold items together)...

You shouldn’t have made something "dirty" so it could be recycled!

Unique use of the materials... is your work an original idea? Was it a clever solution

to the assignment?

Ability to make the deadline of ______________________________________!!!!!

Difficulty of your selected project

If you worked with a partner, you will need to indicate which person worked on specific areas of the project.

What’s the difference??

Relief sculpture: a three-dimensional sculpture made by attaching objects onto a flat surface. It should hang on the wall and is viewed as a "flat" backed surface.

Sculpture in the "round": A three-dimensional sculpture that shows length, depth, width (3 dimensions) that can be viewed by others from all angles.

Functional Sculpture: any three-dimensional sculpture that can be used... it can "function" as a purse, bag, table, hat, etc.

Decorative Sculpture: any three-dimensional sculpture that is simply made for aesthetic qualities (seen only for its beauty, not to use it for a function)

Recycled Art Evaluation

Name: ___________________________________ Art level: ___________

Partner’s Name: ___________________________ Date:____________

Evaluate your project using the following categories. 0=not evident; 10=perfect

StudentTeacher

The following recycled items were used on the project:

(list ALL that were used)

The following non-recycled items were used on this project:

(list ALL that were used)

What difficulties did you encounter creating this project?

What would you like to change about your final results?

If you worked with a partner, rank what percentage of the work was done by each individual.

(i.e.: Jane did 75% of the work while John only did 25%

Name:______________________% Name:________________________%