Imagine you are stranded on a desert island... desperate for food, water, shelter, sunscreen, WiFi, and maybe, just maybe...a good hat. Cast away with little to no resources, you make it your first mission to create something substantial to place on your head. Time is of the essence as you scavenge the area collecting any materials to repurpose when you locate recycled paper bags that could be used to build the form, structure, and design of a hat!
The 8th grade art class at New Buffalo Middle School has been faced with this challenge under much better circumstances! Supplied with donated paper bags from our local grocery, Barney's Market, students were given this mini art challenge as they awaited their clay projects to finish drying for the kiln firing. Thank you, Barney's!
This lesson is a throwback of mine credited to my former mentor, Sharon Stratton, who I worked with while teaching art at Fennville High School. Students were introduced to the work of a Hawaiian artist known as Moses who sculpted paper hats custom designed for over 150 locals in his village in his body of work titled, "Crowning Glory."
My students tackled the challenge on the first day by brainstorming ideas in their group and sketching out initial concepts. They were then each given a paper bag to start the process of cutting, folding, twisting, and modeling 3D hats. This is the stage of trial and error where students have to experiment, take risks and make mistakes to determine what isn't working and how to problem solve through their hat construction.
Getting started is always the hardest step to transform the flattened paper bag into a form that can stay on their heads. Several students collaborated on ideas and helped each other with the building process as they each designed a custom hat to wear.
To add a twist to the challenge, the students are also competing in a class competition for the Tallest, Widest, and Most Innovative Hat Design at the completion of the challenge to push the boundaries of their creativity. While the tallest and widest hats can be measured, the class will vote for their favorite design on the Most Innovative Hat in a post-production art critique.
A culture of collaboration was established in the first couple days of this challenge with in-progress critiques where students took turns showing what they had developed and explained their theme. Classmates shared feedback with what they thought was going well by giving kudos to their fellow artists, asked questions, and gave suggestions of how to keep going on the next steps to accomplish their hat goals. Students had fun modeling their hats and explaining their ideas to the class.
A class critique builds critical thinking as we analyze the artwork, show appreciation for others' progress, and bond with the group. It's also a good confidence booster for people who may be frustrated with their progress to hear positive, constructive notes from their classmates. I loved hearing their ideas for how to make a hat more sturdy, ways to add texture, or describing specifically what they liked about a hat's theme for works in progress.
As students make final changes on their hats based on their feedback from the class critique, they will document their work with an Artist Statement and self-portrait drawing of their hat to reflect on their process and explain their design. My students are most looking forward to the conclusion of the challenge when we will award the winners of the "Paper Bag Challenge" through a class vote for the Tallest, Widest, and Most Innovative Hat designs.
It's amazing what you can accomplish if you just set your mind to it and be open to the creative process. Great job, 8th graders on giving your best artistic effort in the "Crowning Glory" Paper Bag Challenge!
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