Year 9 Sculpture

Marine life sculptures using cardboard and plastic

In our work this term, students in Year 9 sculpture started by creating very simple cardboard seagulls using videos to guide them through the process. The next step was testing a cut and notch method of joining to create a seahorse as seen in a previous newsletter. Having developed knowledge and skills of various joining methods, students were then required to create a sculpture of marine life of their own choice.

The presentation of some of the sculptures was partly informed by what the students had learned about plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a massive area of marine debris, currently estimated to cover 1.6 million square kilometres, an area twice the size of Texas or three times the size of France.

I am extremely happy with my sea turtle/ Tortoise that I created.

To create it I first gathered masking tape and normal printer paper. I then added two layers of masking tape over normal printer paper on either side to get a thicker, cardboard like consistency that was easier to mould and bend. I then looked at different prisms for shapes as well as different prisms for simple animals. I then experimented with different shapes and cuttings and came up with my turtle prism. ... on the right back leg I manage to get a realistic knee curve which I’m very proud of. However, I was not able to recreate it with the other legs. My turtle is interesting also because it is entirely hollow. When colouring I decided to colour it more like a tortoise instead of a sea turtle because the overall shape was more similar to a tortoise’s shell. (I also had the colours of a tortoise on hand).

Over-all I am very proud of this and will love to continue to work with a mixture of origami as well as cardboard sculptures.

Tilda Hutchesson

Here are some of the wonderful final sculptures the students have created.