In the print version of SchoolArts, we don't always have space to print every lesson we would like to. This article by Ted Edinger is one example. It fit the STEAM theme of the issue so well that I am sharing it here. SchoolArts Editor Nancy Walkup
A year ago I
stumbled across the website for The SPORE Project, an awareness program to support creativity and art
education by constructing and planting mushrooms made simply from brown paper
lunch bags. Developed in 2005 by Doug Rhodehamel, the SPORE Project has expanded into a world wide
effort to spread the message of the importance of creativity and art education.
The SPORE
Project’s magical little mushrooms caught my attention and I knew I had to do
it with my students. As I explored the site,
I loved the heart and soul behind the idea!
As I thought about this, I could see the mushrooms creating conversations
and questions. “WOW, THOSE ARE
GREAT! BUT WHY ARE THEY THERE?” What a wonderful way to advocate for your art
program and the importance of art education in schools!
I asked Mr. Rhodehamel
how he imagined teachers using the projects in their school. He said “I would like to see educators
using the project to teach students to look at things in another perspective.
Yes, it's just a simple lunch bag, but look what you can do with it. There are
so many things that can be turned into other things. It is a wonderful tool to
unite a school in creativity.”
This year I felt
the project fit best within my kindergarten and 1st grade curriculum. It provided a great opportunity to talk to my
younger students about collaboration and “temporary” art. After I explained that their work would be
part of a beautiful installation that would deteriorate over time, the students
were excited about the process. I feel
collaborative art can be challenging for young students as they become very
attached to their individual creations.
However, if you explain the process, experience, and end result (and
promise to take lots of pictures) even the youngest students will be on board
for collaborative projects.
In the project, I
wanted to mimic the colors that were in a Kandinsky-inspired sculpture created
earlier in the year by our school community (parents, students, teachers, and administration). I envisioned the mushrooms surrounding the sculpture
so that it appeared as if the colors were melting out of it, or as if they were
little aliens coming back to the mother ship.
The students created their mushrooms from brown paper lunch bags (the
directions are on The SPORE Project website), drew designs/patterns with permanent
markers on the caps of the mushrooms, and painted them during a one hour
class.
After completing
the mushrooms with all of my kindergarten and 1st grade students, volunteers
helped hot glue wood skewers in the stems.
After this step was completed, it was time to “plant” our
creations. Once all the mushrooms were
in place, I sprayed them with a clear acrylic seal, hoping it would extend
their lives. I then sprinkled glitter on
the caps while the acrylic was still damp. (Who doesn’t like a little sparkle?)
After two weeks outside,
the caps began to lose their shape. The
weather helped as we had been in a dry spell with no rain. However, morning dew still impacted the
paper. With rain was expected, it was time for clean-up day. Both the visual aspect
and the advocacy portion have of the project been a success. Students, parents, and teachers took
pictures with and of the installation and so many wonderful conversations have
been started with parents because of it.
I’ve had a number of parents approach me about volunteering in the art
room next year, and I link it directly to this collaborative project catching
their attention about the art program at our school.
Ted Edinger is
an art teacher at Tulip Grove Elementary in Nashville, Tennessee, and the
author of the blog, Art with Mr. E. tededinger@gmail.com
Web Links
I know Doug and live in the same town. It is awesome to see this article about his spore project.
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