The Assignment: Soda Can Bug Sculpture
Focus Point: Free-Standing Sculpture

Inspiration
The Art I foundation class, approximately 30 students a class consisting of mostly freshman homogeneously grouped, needed a lesson that would transition them from 2-D design to 3-D sculpture. After studying the forms found in insects and the techniques used in sculpture, the students would be asked to create a sculpture out of just soda cans and wire that represented a bug of their choice. I hoped that the students would translate the living form using sculptural techniques to make a final product that was unique and interesting to look at. My assumption was that the students had basic knowledge about the forms of insects from their previous science classes, but to varying degrees. This was an opportunity for them to share their existing knowledge and build on that knowledge to isolate the main characteristics of various bugs. I intentionally kept the activity titled "bugs" instead of "insects" because I was curious to see how they would decode this word and didn't want to limit their creativity. This activity would force the students to use some of their own interpretation and in the process, reflect on how the 2-dimensional world differs from 3-D. They would also discover how their final product might have altered from their original concept because of the limitations and possibilities of the materials and process.

The Introduction to Sculpture unit would be broken down into 4 main guiding questions: What are dimensions? What defines a Bug? How does Sculpture differ from other artistic mediums? And What would your bug look like? The unit would take approximately 4 weeks.

Objectives for the Unit:

At the end of this activity, the students will be able to:

• Visualize art in natural forms such as insects
• Learn how to re-use materials that surround them every day
• Become aware of current artist's work
• Feel the limitations and possibilities of different materials
• Understand the sculpture medium and be introduced to basic terminology