It all started with a paper bag in the 3D Design class as we embarked on the beginning of 3rd Trimester at New Buffalo High School. The students were given access to recycled paper bags, butcher paper, newspaper, and Elmer's glue to design wearable hat sculptures for their opening challenge.
This lesson is credited to my mentor, Sharon Stratton, from Fennville High School. It is also inspired by the work of a self-taught artist who goes by the name of Moses. The original concept of the artist was to create decorative hats for sun protection when he was living in Hawaii, but over the course of a decade, Moses continued to craft ideas into paper hats for the people in his neighborhood until he had accumulated more than 250 paper hats. The Mingei International Museum in San Diego featured a Moses exhibition titled "Fold, Twist, Tie" with elaborate hat sculptures all constructed from recycled paper.
© 2024 Mingei International Museum
Step 1: Build the Base
The first step was to cut the paper bag into flat sections and create a headband that could could be worn on the head. They used Elmer's glue and paper clips to attach their hats together and couldn't rely on stapling or taping their pieces. This band of paper served as the base for all other supports to be built off from. Some people started by sketching out their ideas and others just dove in experimenting with the material to see what they would come up with.
Step 2: Tinkering as Sculptors and Designers
Once everyone had a working base, the next phases of construction involve a lot of trial and error. There is no one correct answer for how to build a paper hat. Students had to think creatively of how they could engineer the basic medium of paper to bend, fold, weave, or twist into their ideas. Students were encouraged to manipulate the paper and develop structures to support their 3D forms and details.
Step 3: Build it Up!
For a little friendly competition, we had an ongoing class challenge for the awards of the Tallest, Widest, and Most Innovative Hat as they progressed on their wearable sculptures. This challenge pushed the students to go beyond the boundaries of the rectangular paper bag by increasing the scale of their creations! While all the hats were measured for Tallest and Widest hats on Final Critique Day, each student had to explain to their peers why their design was the "Most Innovative" in their presentation before their classmates voted for the award.
By adding cardboard, some students were able to give their hats more support for larger structures and stacked forms to increase the scale as needed.
Tubs of watered down Elmer's glue act as a paper mache paste that they could brush on their sculptures or dip individual pieces of paper into the glue to strength the hats. When the gluey paper dried overnight, the hats became very solid. Other students cut out intricate shapes for more precise details such as the making of a knight's helmet below.
Step 4: Document and Reflect
As students completed their hats, they documented their process by creating a drawing of the hat with who or what would be wearing this type of hat. They were asked to describe what they created, give it a title, and explain the process of how they built it in their artist statements.
Step 5: Critique
On our last day of the unit, students wore their hats and presented them to the class! They explained their artist statements with the intent behind their hat designs, how they built them, and posed for the hat competition. The hat winners got a treat of their choice and one student asked for doughnuts for the class so that we could celebrate the culmination of their hat designs together!
"The Great Helm" (Most Innovative Hat by the class vote)
I was inspired by medieval helmets for this project, working with paper was a new experience. My helmet has an interactive element with a functional visor that slides over the face. Overall, I enjoyed creating the helmet and would like to do something similar to this again.
"Jelly Factory Hat" (The Tallest Hat)
My favorite part was the way the I used recycled materials and made them into fruit slices like wearing a fruit basket on my head. I am most proud about how I stuffed the pineapple to be more pineapple shaped. I wish I would have made the inside a little taller so it fit better on my head and not needed to use a chin strap.
"Hat for Helios' Daughter" (The Widest Hat)
The hat I created is a cardboard circle base with butcher paper fans in a circle attached to it, and paper bag caps stacked on top and beneath with papier mache. I also created a lattice and a strap that attaches on either side of the circle and ties beneath to secure the hat to the head. My hat is unique because I used innovative construction techniques to secure the caps to one other and to make the hat as stable as possible on its own. I wasn't sure what I wanted to make until I was creating it! I had an initial idea about the type of base I wanted to have but I was intimidated by sculpture so I went with the flow to increase my familiarity and try to make something that I enjoyed making :) In the end I am medium happy with what I made so I felt like it was successful either way. In the future, I would plan ahead a little more but I feel good about this for a first try.
"Samurai"
I created a hat inspired by the samurai helmets. Although it is not quite the same, it reminds me of a helmet worn with armor. My hat is durable and unique thanks to my crafting techniques even if it is not as sturdy as I'd like in paper. I added a chin strap to protect the face and make it more fun and interesting.
"Spring Party Hat"
I wanted this to be a fancy hat so I decided to make bows of different sizes for the top. For the back, I made a small bow with curled ends just to add a little more detail. The ribbon around hat pulls the entire design together for the perfect party hat. I made this type of hat because I wanted to try making something with curled pieces of paper and thought a party hat would go well with the details I wanted to make.
"Jaws"
My intent was to create the head of a shark for my paper hat sculpture. I started realizing just how big it was becoming and decided to adjust my theme to the idea of building the skeleton of a partial shark under construction as if it was a costume design for the theatre.
"Knight in Not so Shining Armor"
My inspiration for creating this hat sculpture was a medieval knight's helmet. If I was to make this again, I would definitely start with the circle that I used for the top so that i could conform the rest of the helmet around it instead of the other way around. This would prevent gaps in the top as well as help the rest of the helmet keep a more cylindrical shape. I learned how to use paper mache and something that surprised me about this artwork is how the paper mache warped the shape of the cardboard. To create this artwork, I formed two pieces of cardboard into a cylinder, made the top, and then cut out the face plate.
"Over the Sedge"
During my hat-making process, I started out by making a cardboard frame so I would be able to adhere to the stiff shape of the sedge hats that my design was based on. Along with this, I also attempted to create a sort of weaving pattern with my paper strips. I chose to model it after sedge hats because they look pretty cool.
"Tornado Hat"
To create this artwork I was inspired by my interest in meteorology and storm-chasing. Before this project I had never used paper mache or paper for sculpting before, so I learned how to do that. The funnel shape on top represents a tornado beginning to form. I had to do a lot of structural supports on the inside of the hat to maintain the structure on top.
"Petasos"
My "Crowning Glory" artwork is a very shapely and sturdy piece and keeps a strong silhouette in any situation it's placed in. Unfortunately, I could not replicate the original round metal cap shape and it ended up with a bucket hat shape. My inspiration for this piece was the hat of the greek god Hermes called the Petasos. I chose Hermes because of how iconic the hat is to anyone familiar with Greek mythology.
It's amazing what people can create when they set their mind to it and stay open through the process! My students pushed through obstacles and tinkered until something a simple paper bag became complex, wearable sculptures. I am proud of my their ingenuity, creativity, and perserverance in the "Crowning Glory" Paper Bag Challenge!
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