Detroit Connections

Inside the classes of Detroit Connections, University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design students work with communities and schools in Detroit. We promote engaged and active citizenry, out-of-the-box thinking, and embrace reciprocity through collaborative creative projects. Contact us: [email protected]

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Homemade String Instrument

I knew I wanted to work with making string instruments because of my interest in guitars when I was little. I always loved the different, fun shapes that the base of the guitar was and how they came in a variety of colors and designs. For this reason, I wanted other kids to experience what it was like to make and decorate their own personal guitar.

I played around with different shapes for my guitar with pieces of cardboard. I eventually settled on using two ends of a large mac computer box for the base, and the top strip for the handle. Although I didn’t get a chance to fasten the strings, I planned to stretch a thick rubber band from the base of the hole to the tip of the handle. This would yield a large sound, especially with multiple rubber bands. The idea was that when different “chords” were held down with your fingers on the handle, a different sound would be heard, just like a real guitar!

I wanted the color scheme to be bright and customizable. Partially inspired by the simplicity of the mac box, I made the base white so other colors would pop on top of it. By painting the base white, I also wanted to allow the kids to decorate it with any other type of media they might like (i.e. gems, stickers, pipe cleaners, etc.). When I made this guitar, I wanted to show kids that it is possible to make unconventional looking guitars too. For this reason, I tried to make my guitar into an interesting geometric shape and gave it the ability to stand up on its own. I was hoping to show the kids that they can make any crazy, fun, geometric or organic shape they desire into a cool guitar fit for any rock star.

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3D Exquisite Corpse

When tasked with coming up with a project that allowed the Bennett students to use their imagination and creativity to the fullest, the first thing that came to mind was the Exquisite Corpse. This is one of my favorite exercises since it always pushes my imagination and helps me come up with creatures I never imagined. To add a bit of a challenge, we decided to make the Exquisite Corpse 3D. 

The first task was coming up with a way to make it 3D. After going through several iterations, I found the most successful way was to make boxes that would be stacked on top of each other and attached by a rod in the middle so that the students could twist and turn the boxes and stack their favorite iterations. 

The first step is to give the students 3 sheets of this cube pattern and the freedom to draw to their fullest imagination.

The cube pattern comes with several instructions to lessen any confusion students may have:

Each sheet is labeled with the part of the body: face, body, legs

There are arrows pointed downward to show the students which way they should draw the body part in order to minimize the potential of students possibly drawing a body part upside down. 

The dotted lines represent where the student should fold the paper to create the cube

The holes that need to be made are outlined on the top and bottom of the cube 

Below is an example of the sheet filled out:

After completing all three sheets, the students would use scissors and tape to fold the papers into boxes. 

To create a base, I cut a red solo cup in half and made a hole on the top. I used large chopsticks as the stand to stack the three boxes. Other ideas I had for the stand were using a large wooden dowel rod or thick pencil.

Here is an example of what is would look like (not colored in or decorated yet):

This allows kids an easy way to turn the blocks and make lots of fun creatures! 

Try it out at home and enjoy :)

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String instruments making

Instead of creating prototypes from existing boxes and containers that already have a clear shape to them, I wanted to explore what options I have and methods of execution I can adopt to forge instruments with imaginative forms.

Throughout the class session where we were allowed an opportunity to make such explorations, I found Amazon packaging boxes to be a great material for template-making and cutting. My process began by breaking down the box -unfolding its edges and flaps- until it became a flat work surface. Using a sharpie, I marked lines on the piece of cardboard, denoting the shapes I would like to cut out to create my instrument. I decided on making an “avocado ukulele” as its form is relatively easy to craft and still bears resemblance to most string instruments we are familiar with. Upon cutting the shapes out using both a pair of scissors and an x-acto knife, I began binding the pieces together with masking tape. With several coats of white acrylic paint, I prepped the surface of my instrument for painting so that the cardboard is fully covered and more receptive of paints of other colors. After that layer of paint is completely dried, I started painting the form more meticulously using green and yellow so that it would look like an avocado. Lastly, I added rubber bands to my ukulele so that it has “strings”.

Overall, I was satisfied with the outcome of my exploration. I made the instrument with the kids in mind, and so tried to do everything in a way that I thought could be accomplishable easily and within a limited period of time by the kids (maybe with a little bit of help from us with the cutting). I think the drawing and cutting of templates would really allow the kids to create whatever they want, and not be limited by the original shape of the hard boxes or containers.

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Wearable Instruments

Instead of constructing a single instrument that was detached from the child, I wanted to play with how we could make our bodies the instrument. That’s where my idea of wearable instruments first evolved. I think the biggest challenge and the most fun of this project was brainstorming how exactly sound could be made from objects that weren’t necessarily made to make sound. My first design for the wearable was a simple arm band made from construction paper with a few bells tied into it with yarn. 

This was a great prototype for the first wearable, but I think it was more fun to try and think of other nuanced ways to try and make sound from the objects that were available to us.  Brainstorming with my partner Sylvia, we came up with ideas like how suspending popsicle sticks from yarn could kind of work like a wind chime but learned that doing the same with paper clips creates a completely different sound. Through planning out their wearable instruments, I wanted the Bennet kids to have a similar sort of exploration, playing around with different materials to see how they could make different kinds of sounds from different objects other than the bells.

What I also really like about this idea was how much creative freedom it allows. Even just brainstorming by myself and with my partner, Sylvia, and some other students, we came up with ideas like capes, milk carton hats, sashes lined with bells and decorative string and a headpiece from cardboard that kinda looked like a seesaw with popsicle sticks hanging from both sides. With the instruments, your mind is really the limit. The goal is just to make something you can wear and that makes sound, so you have the freedom to create anything you can think of.  I also wanted to give the kids the creative freedom to add whatever designs, structures or accessories they wanted to their instruments, whether that be paint, marker doodles, tissue paper designs or whatever else they wanted.  

By the end of the first workshop day, I was decked out with arm and leg bands, a belt lined with paper clips and a matching headband lined with bells that made sound when I shaked my head. Through this project, I wanted the Bennet kids to get the same satisfaction I got when I was hopping around with my designed belt of bells. I wanted to give the students an opportunity to get active and kinda go crazy with the instruments they made, just spazzing out like kids do. It would have been really exciting to see what kinds of ideas the kids would have thought of that never would have even crossed my mind.

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String Instrument Process

I knew when we started this project that I wanted to make string instruments. I played the violin when I was little and I really liked the idea that a single string could hold a bunch of different sounds. In my exploration I focused less on form and more on trying to maximize the different ”chords“.

Initially I decided to simply cut different shapes out of one box and wrap around different widths of rubber bands to create sort of a control. I found that when working with the bands I was constantly thwacking myself so I made a note that we may have to help the kids with that part.

I had the greatest success with a variation of sound when I worked with unconventional shapes and allowed the space to sort of create itself. This occurred with the styrofoam mac box as well as the blue popcorn container. I especially enjoyed when the body was flexible so I could move it as I was making sounds. It had a really cool effect.

I think this would be an interesting project to present to the kids but it is kind of hands on since they can’t really use the box cutter on their own and the rubber bands were kind of iffy. It may be a project better suited for older kids.

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Bandcamp’s Drums

When I first realized that we had the galvanized plant supports (aka the garden wire tower things) at our disposal, I knew it could be the base structure of a drum. I decided to create a tall, free-standing bongo.

I first grappled with covering the perimeter of the wire frame while having a hollow inside. I knew that the edges of the drum also had to be sturdy in order to hold it.

Some materials we had available in the class were yarn and cardboard. I initially considered wrapping yarn all around the edges of the drum but realized that wouldn't be sturdy enough to hold. Thus, I made strips of cardboard to encase the wire frame. I made longer pieces of cardboard as the frame got wider to the top. I fastened the cardboard pieces around the wire by tying them with yarn. After adding the cardboard around the circumference of the wire, I placed thick strips of masking tape across the top of the drum (smooth side of the tape facing up) so that the top was completely covered. This became the surface to hit on.

Nick was also making a drum, and we decided to create mallets together. This way, we could have different ‘booming’ noises (other than just our hands). We created mallets out of scrap wood (from the wood shop) and small balls of yarn. We stuck the small yarn on one side of the wooden rod and tied/fastened some of the yarn around the rod to make sure the ball would fall off.

Overall, I believe that the students of Bennett Elementary could have the freedom to create and decorate these drums in any way they please. If they find another way to construct the top of the drum, and paint the cardboard, they can have the freedom to do so!

-Natalie

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Collaged Self Portrait

We were tasked with coming up with another project to send the Bennett students since we still weren’t able to see them. The idea of a collage was presented, but we wanted to come up with more of a prompt to inspire visual thinking. Eventually, we decided on a collaged self-portrait made of non-human parts! Students were to compose a self-portrait made out of magazine clippings and other found papers. We discouraged the inclusion of photographed body parts in their self-portraits, instead encouraging them to create body parts out of forms found in the magazine clippings. By inventing their own shapes and forms with found images and patterns, the students are prompted to view things differently, inspiring creative problem-solving.

While making my self-portrait, I flipped through a lot of pages looking for interesting objects and colors. My plan was to find pictures of chocolate to use as my hair, but I couldn’t find any. Instead, I found a lot of wood patterns, so I used that because I like to make things out of wood (see if you can find the paint brushes I used for hair!). I also put purple ribbon pictures in my hair because purple is my favorite color. I cut out shapes of colors and patterns that I liked, and started putting them together to make a face. I also found some really cool round light fixtures and thought they looked like eyes, so that’s what I used!

Other students incorporated different materials into their collages- here Dani used mop fibers as hair! She also made a face shape out of different colored paper fragments.

Natalie used fun objects to create a little creature-esque self portrait! She used a vase as the body, and curtains as arms and legs! We wanted to emphasize to the kids that their self portraits do not have to look exactly like them or life like. They can use objects differently than as they were intended- below, Molly used a hat as a mouth! 

We dug through numerous magazines and ripped out heaps of interesting pages to send to the classroom, along with other papers for the students to use as a canvas. We needed something to hold all of the collage materials when sending them to the classroom, so I made gigantic envelopes out of big rolls of paper. We stuffed these collections into the comically large envelopes addressed to each of the teachers’ classes for Melanie to deliver!

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Bennett Situation/ Nametags

Detroit Connections is a class dedicated to sharing art with children in Detroit. Our initial mission was to pair off in groups and each week guide them through an art project we had fleshed out and constructed earlier in the week. The location chosen for this endeavor was Bennett Elementary School in Southwest Detroit. 

We hit a snag almost immediately. Due to policy changes & a new method for processing background checks, we were not able to meet the children in person. An agreement between the University of Michigan and Bennett Elementary was not able to be made promptly enough to meet the students before the end of our in-person class periods. In the midst of not knowing if or when we’d meet the kids, we took measures to work with them remotely.

Our first remote art assignment with Bennett Elementary was making name tags. We thought it would be a fun ice-breaker, and a good way to introduce ourselves. We started by making our own name tags so we could understand the process, brainstorm ideas for creative formats for the nametags, and come up with a list of necessary materials.

We collectively decided that we wanted the name tags to be in the form of hats or some kind of wearable. Most people elected for hats, but other people made other wearables like sashes.

Everyone used the materials at hand in unique and creative ways. Most people used a combination of colorful construction paper, ribbons, and/or string. Some people used markers to illustrate their names, and others constructed the letters for their names from paper. It was a fun way to construct something useful and stretch our creativity at the same time. We could only hope that the children would feel the same.

The Bennett first graders received boxes of handpicked materials that we put together in our class and that we had the honor of dropping off in person. The kids put together their name tags with the help of their teachers. Their teacher Sandra Limmer said in an email she sent afterwards “We had an amazing day yesterday making name tags.  Some of the students said it was the best day ever!!”

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December 6, 2018

Our final day at Bennett was certainly one to remember! The lunchroom was filled with holiday cheer and happy faces. The kids were eager to paint their alebrijes and make them stand out. Each group’s alebrijes was unique and they were all so creative and fun to look at. Some creatures we saw combined camels, dragons, and unicorns. While others groups combined an owl, a turkey, and a penguin. Some were small, some were big, and some were HUGE. It was wonderful to see the creativity our students brought to the alebrijes project. And that continued with the painting. Colors were seen all around. Some mixed their colors and some students added patterns.The kids enjoyed collaborating with one another and choosing which colors to use on their creatures.

 Although it got messy, they were all very cautious of cleaning their brushes and their hands to avoid too much of a mess. Our class was so proud to watch how our groups evolved over time and see the friendships that were made in the process. This final day was a reflection of all of the hard work our class out in to make sure that the kids enjoyed every second of our time together. It was so nice to see kids who barely interacted at the beginning of the semester, laughing and smiling with one another.

When the painting came to an end, we projected our classmate Layla’s compilation of our animation projects as our final activity together! The kids got so excited when they saw their Claymation characters come to life through animation. After watching the video, the entire room got together to take one large photo. We took cheerful ones and silly ones on Melanie’s camera. Melanie was even able to join the photo because she used a self-timer. It was so special to have everyone come together for a photo and document the wonderful memories made this semester. At the end of the day, each group leaders gave a special gift to their kids as a goodbye present. There were lots of candy canes and chocolate spread across the room. The children felt really special and it was very sad to say goodbye. They also presented us with goodbye remarks and cute cards showing their appreciation. It was not easy leaving their smiling faces but the memories we made will forever be a part of each and every one of our college experience.

Thanks for a great semester! 

~Alexa and Emily 

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Alebrijes at STAMPS

On Thursday Nov 29, 2018 the Bennet kids got to visit Stamps [School or Art and Design]. Before class began we gave them a tour of some of the studio workspaces at Stamps. In the weaving room Sarah explained the basics of how to use the floor looms and in the clay studio, Bennet students got to watch a university student shape a bowl on the wheel.  There was excitement on both ends of this exchange as the university kids got to share their knowledge and the Bennet kids got to see new and different ways of working  and studios on a grand scale.

Afterwards, all the students came up to the Detroit Connections classroom and began paper macheing their alebrijes. With paste and newspaper everywhere it was quite an exciting mess. Some kids got really into the work and soon both the alebrijes and the students were covered in paper mache. Some of the kids, however, were not as in love with the texture of the paper mache and wanted to wash their hands quite frequently. Others said it smelled like masa. 

Working on group sculptures required a new level of collaboration and cooperation between all the students as we tried to coat the sculptures evenly and not drip on each other. With so many people all in one room, there was a lot of noise, a lot of fun, and a lot of paper mache. As we continued to work on the alebrijes, slowly they all began to take shape and come to life.  

At the end of the day, some of the kids were covered from head to toe in paper mache, while others were super careful not to get any on them. A couple of the students were also worried about their clothes staining, but we reassured them that it was only flour and water. After we washed out hands, the kids lined up to go back on the bus to Bennett. We were sad to see them leave, but glad the kids were able to come and explore our school! 

Stay tuned next time for our last day at Bennett

Love,

Sarah and Ophelia 

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Alebrijes - Day 1

We started our last project with Bennett the week before we went on Thanksgiving break, Thursday, November 15. Although that seems like a while ago now, this post will cover the first stage in this project – paper armatures for alebrijes.

This project is Natalia’s brainchild and is based off of alebrijes from Mexican culture. An alebrije is an animal or pet that has died and now serves as a spirit guide to their owner. In spirit form, the animal’s appearance usually transforms to include some chimera-like or exaggerated features. Artist Pedro Linares Lopez first started making alebrije sculptures in the 1930’s in Mexico City. Today, artists continue to make alebriije sculptures from wood, ceramics or papier mache and paint them with colorful designs and dots.

On November 15 we brought a big roll of paper and a lot of masking tape to Bennett. The paper, once crumpled up, would become the form of the papier mache sculpture. At the start of the hour, we began by explaining that the students would be creating a collaborative alebrije sculpture. We then looked at images for inspiration and pointed out the various combinations of animal body parts, such as the elephant-butterfly. After discussing the imaged, we asked them to think of animals that they like or their own pets and to pick out a body part from that animal that they would like to contribute to the sculpture. They came up with tails, wings, horns, legs, and one student wanted to make the body.

When we prepped for this lesson the previous Tuesday, Natalia demonstrated how you can take a large piece of paper and crumple it down, shape it, and tape it up. Although it is a simple enough task, I wondered if the students would have trouble manipulating the tape and forming the shapes from such large pieces of paper. However, they jumped right in without much aid or demonstration from us.  I was impressed with their ability to work with the normally 2D medium of paper in 3D. As I looked around the room, I saw that this seemed to be true for most groups; the cafeteria was transformed into one big paper crushing party.

At the end of class, it was fun to see the college students parade out of the school carrying each groups’ alebrije. The sizes and shapes ranged from a small owl creature to a huge winged dragon.  

The fun was just getting started with these paper armatures; papier mache-ing at Stamps and painting are on the horizon!

Thanks for reading! - Group 10 (Olivia and Rachel)

[detroitconnections]

Week Six At Bennett!

Marj and J here bringing you the Bennett Jams!

The project this week was to create “Doodle Monsters” and clay counterparts to be eventually used in an animation! The “Doodle Monster” project is based on J’s and Layla’s proposals combined! First, students would draw a random non-geometric shape (i.e. one that’s KRAZY!!!!) that would serve as the beginnings of their monster. Students would then swap papers to get a whole new shape. Taking that shape, they would turn it into a MONSTER, interpreting what the shape was conveying to them. They were also able to add on to the shape with cool accessories like hats, headphone or extra arms. They would then make clay figures based on their characters to animate in the second half of the project. This project helped kids to engage with character design and new medium for creation like clay and animation. 

Above, are the college students’ projects and below are the Bennett kids’ projects!

Our kids struggled with the translation of 2D image to a 3D form. Some of the kids initially made their characters a little too flat, which with some detailed explanation and instruction, they were able to restart and reshape their characters into a more fitting form. A couple of the kids showed some clear frustration when starting to work with the clay, varying from the clay being a little hard to mold at first (it just had to warm up), to making their monster have more structural integrity and detail, like a wicked rad pair of headphones.

One of the solutions that they gravitated to pretty quickly was the introduction of wire for their monster’s arms n’ legs n’ tails (you name it, bucko). Not only did help keep their structures standing, but it’ll help them in the future with animating their characters in the second half of the project! 

Once they got over the initial struggles and got used to the clay, they made a bunch of creative additions to the characters like pets, sun glasses, and and extra spikes and scales. 

Stay tuned to see how the second half of the project turns out! J and Marj signing off!

[detroitconnections]

Week Five At Bennett

This week is our first time practicing student’s project proposal in the Bennett classroom. Olivia’s ideation of weaving was welcomed by our class as it is a project that encourages children to gain hands-on experience, and also devote their creativity to a medium that they may not have encountered before. In preparation for our week five trip to Detroit, we not only visited Scrap Box to collect yarns, decorations and many other unconventional materials that could potentially be used for this project, but also practiced weaving on Tuesday’s class in order to understand the process better.

The steps that take to make a DIY weaving sample are simple and straightforward. First, we made a loom by cutting gaps on a piece of cardboard (6’’x9’’) and attaching two other small pieces to leave space for the yarns to go underneath. Next, we tied a string of yarns back and forth in between the gaps. Then, we used a length of yarn taped to a popsicle stick to weave through the warp of the cardboard loom. We might use different colors and materials to create interesting effects and color mixtures. Finally, we collected the weavings and tied the ends together.

Instead of sticking to the traditional methods of weaving, our goal was to encourage the fourth graders to think creatively about the materials they see, and add them to their weaving samples. Some groups provided fabric stirpps that are cut weirdly for the kids, while other groups prepared a variety of items like keys, bells flowers that can be tied on.

On Thursday we arrived back at Bennett and they were excited to see us as we were to see them. We loaded up premade looms, popsicle sticks, yarns, scissors and the materials we bought in Scrap Box. My partner and I brought our sample along with a series of weaving pictures from different cultures and our group of children were really inspired by these samples. Some children said that they had seen their moms weaving at home and they felt glad to have the opportunity to weaving by themselves. A variety of yarns were provided so that students selected the colors freely to create stripes and experiment with other patterns. For our group, children started immediately after our introduction and although they made some small mistakes when weaving through the warps, they were pretty confident, and are constantly excited for the next material that they planned to add on to their design. We encouraged them to attach bells, laces, straps and tassels to their pieces and the picture below shows two of the final results. We were impressed by how quickly children learned a new skill and actively demonstrated their creative ideas. We also hope that they would get more aware of the fabrics they encountered in real life. Since some children did not finish during class, we gave them extra materials so that they could continue weaving at home.

Overall, this week went very well. During our reflection time on the way back, many groups shared that the kids in their group really enjoyed the process. We were also very glad to hear that most boys got engaged to this project and enjoyed it as much as most girls did. There has been some minor concerns about whether weaving is a bit too technique-heavy or not; however, the conclusion we made after the day is that most children loved the idea of doing something that they cannot really picture the end result. In this way, they became less hesitant and did some really interesting and bold designs on their weaving samples.

[detroitconnections]

Week Four At Bennett

This week at Bennett was a continuation of our project from last week. The project we have been working on is a sculpture. Last week at Bennett we started our projects with the kids. The students started by bending hangers in all directions, until they found their desired form. The end of the hanger was then pinched and put inside a hole that the college students drilled inside a wooden block. Pantyhose was then stretched over the hanger and block then pushed into the bottom of the wood block hole. The students then used sponge brushes and painted gesso over the whole sculpture.

In preparation for this week’s trip to Bennett, the college students made sure that their sculpture examples were painted to show this weeks step in the process. Using acrylic paint some groups painted their sculpture a solid color, multi-color polka dots, and some even left the gesso stand as the white background and added a single color on top to add a creative line design. For our group we kept our base color white. We then took four different colors and watered then down. With our brush saturated with paint, we pressed it to the top of the sculpture and watched as the paint ran down. We repeated this step until the sculpture was decorated to our liking.  

A problem we faced when preparing our supplies to Bennett was figuring out the most effective way to distribute paint. Some groups decided to have a cup for each color, with enough brushes for each student to use at once. Other groups chose to allow each student to pick their colors and then put them on individual pallets, so they could blend on their own.  

We loaded up gallons of acrylic paint, sponge and bristle brushes, tablecloths, smocks, paper, and paint pallets then headed to Bennett. The college students also brought back their painted examples, along with photo examples of other artists working on sculptures. This was an aid to the Bennett students to spark their imagination and consider the process of building.

When the students walked in they had their drawings from last week in hand, so they had an idea of what they were going to paint their sculpture like. This week we knew it would get messy so we put down tablecloths and gave the kids smocks. The kids started off by using one paint brush for each color. As a few minutes went by I noticed that some brushes were being dipped in multiple colors and the colors were being contaminated. We fixed this by scoping out the mixed colors. Eventually paint was covering the tablecloth, but it was just a part of the experience.

The students at Bennett really came to life when they had the freedom to paint. This week most of all, the students had full range and the ability to express themselves. Some students choose one color and designed their sculpture with abstract line art. Other students used a wide assortment of colors and painted the sculpture with different objects, such as raindrops. Another group of kids experimented with color mixing and covered their projects with unique shades. Lastly, we also had some students that imagined their sculpture to be real life objects. One student saw the curvature of his form and decided to paint the sculpture as a snake.

Once the Bennett students had finished painting, we placed their sculptures to dry. Those who finished early painted more on paper. When it came to clean up the students generously offered to clean their brushes and pallets.

Overall, this week at Bennett was a major bonding and exploration experience. The students really showed their creative sides this week by diving in and making paintings that were unique to themselves. The energy level this week was at a high and you could really see the students eyes light up when they were given the freedom to paint from their imagination. It was interesting to watch as the students experimented with each other about how different colors are formed. We learned this week that paint is very messy, especially when allowing 40+ fourth graders to just paint. The mess was kind of part of the fun though, the kids wanted to be a sculpture too and they didn’t mind getting messy. Their hands were covered in the paint and they pretended they were pop-stars. Going forward with projects it should be noted that a specific order to dealing out paint should be made to reduce waste. Finishing up I would have to say this week was probably the most impactful because it allowed the college students to see a deeper look into the creative and a more open side to the students at Bennett Elementary.

[detroitconnections]

Week Three At Bennett

In preparation for our weekly trip to Detroit, I got to take a test run of the project that our class would be conducting at Bennett. This project was unique, whimsical, and a little bit messy which I knew the kids would get a kick out of. Beginning with the initial form, I pulled, pushed, and twisted a hanger until I landed upon a unique and intriguing shape that I was satisfied with. There was definitely a freedom present in regards to the form of each sculpture and after the kids used all of their strength to morph these hangers, no two looked alike. 

Next, the hanger was placed into a hole within a wooden block that served as a base and then covered with tightly-stretched pantyhose. Forming the hanger so that it fit into the hole, yet didn’t go through and cause the sculpture to be unbalanced was challenging but manageable. Students had the option of having the panty hose knot in the center of the base with the hanger or instead having it wrap around the outside and enter through the bottom.

Once the hanger and pantyhose were in place, the next step was to gesso the work. The students really got a kick out of getting to gesso their pieces. Some only painted thin layers on their hangers while other thickly coated the base and even bottom of the base in addition to their piece. Once the gesso phase was dried and complete, I was left with a decently hard, crisp white shell and prepared to paint.

I found the texture and color of the gesso to be so appealing that I decided to leave it as the base of the sculpture and only go in later and add some detail using black acrylic paint. With the black paint, I created slightly curved lines that mimicked the overall shape of the sculpture. After, I went back in an added black dots to certain areas of the piece. Overall, there was a significantly beautiful transition from the gessoed piece to the painted piece and I am confident that this upcoming week at Bennett, the kids will really excel at bringing their sculptures to life with the use of color, designs, and patterns.

With examples and enthusiasm in hand, we introduced the project to the Bennett students who shared their excitement about getting to work in 3D as well as use paint. The sculpture project presented a new way to explore their creativity after two weeks of 2D work.

At first, the hangers presented somewhat of a challenge to figure out how to bend and form. However, with trial and error, each student molded their own unique sculpture. Some even recalled the shape exercise from Week 2 as they slid the nylons over their forms to create the structure to be gessoed.

The gesso process was a messy but beneficial experience for the students who got to start to practice their painting skills. Following this, drawings were made to ideate possible designs for the next step of the project, adding in colors and patterns to their sculptures.

Overall, the project has provided a great introduction to 3D forms by allowing each child to completely control the process and product of their creative labor. Starting with random objects - objects that could be recognized from everyday life - and creating something completely new from them, as well as abstracting their identity, provided an intriguing challenge.

[detroitconnections]

Week Two at Bennett

This week was our second week planning projects and working with the Bennett kids. Last week was a typical introductory name-tag-making first day, so this was our first real “art project.” We spent our Stamps class time Tuesday creating two project options  and deciding between them for the kids.

Both of the projects involved a few people standing and the rest of the group drawing. Project One involved two volunteers that danced to music, and when the music stopped so did they. The artists got to draw the moving people as they danced as well as them frozen between songs. Project Two was similar with the two volunteers, but this time they were holding a large loop of string and didn’t move during the process. The string created multiple geometric shapes, and the artists then drew what shapes the string made on their paper. After drawing, the artists would cut out their drawn shapes, glue the shapes to a new paper, and then draw a picture using those shapes.

As a class, we preferred Project Two because of the multi-step process, multiple use of media, and opportunity for creativity. We also decided that each pair of college students would pick if they wanted to show examples and explain the whole process at the beginning or if they didn’t want to reveal the whole project until after the kids drew and cut out their shapes. We all created multiple examples for our own group as homework.

On Thursday we arrived back to our group at Bennett and they were just as excited to see us as we were to see them. My partner and I showed the kids how to use the string to create shapes but decided to not show them any final products so that we wouldn’t alter their fun and creativity in making the shapes.

They quickly caught on to the shape making idea and were eager to take turns making shapes with their classmates. We made a lot of triangles that crossed in the middle but once the kids were encouraged to add in their feet and even their heads the shapes became more dynamic. Moving on from there, the kids learned it was time to cut out their shapes. There was a small disconnect here as to what cutting out their shapes had to do with making them, but they participated well and were happy to cut out their colored squiggles and triangles. Throughout the cutting process our kids were shouting, “this looks like a _____” and “Hey! Yours looks like _____” even before they realized that was what we were going to end up doing. Once they were done my partner and I explained the final step of the project and how they would be creating something from their cut outs, and they got to work fairly quickly. Making multiple monsters and their homes, a giant sunshine, to creating a giant queen unicorn the creativity was a-flowing.

Overall this was a great project to start them with. Low supplies, but involved movement and energy and our kids responded really well. One of our kids, whom the school felt the need to warn us about, was extremely energetic, but my partner and I have no issues with him thus far. This week, however, he did get a little over stimulated so we’re making a mental note to stay away from any activities that are too active to keep our group under control. Ultimately we think this project was a success because of the breadth of final products we received and the excitement from the kids.  

– Paige and Claire

[detroitconnections]

Our Last Day at Bennett

Raise your hand if you had a great semester!!

For the past few months, our class has had the pleasure of spending Monday afternoons with some of the coolest, funniest, and smartest kids in Detroit. Bennett Elementary became our sweet escape for an hour once a week. Not only were we able to engage with our driven classmates, but we also watched as our group of six, truly spectacular, kids channeled their creativity and made beautiful works of art. Although we both didn’t know what to expect from Detroit Connections, Juliana, Katy, Giovani, Jonathan, Anastasia, and Andres turned out to be the greatest group we could have asked for. By the last day, we’d gone from a group of strangers to a cohesive unit and were truly sad to say goodbye.

During our last visit, we all met in the auditorium to watch a compilation of stop motion animations made the week prior (led by Derek). Needless to say, the kids loved watching themselves on the big screen and gave a big round of applause. Each group had chosen an object they were meant to bring to life; our group animated a big purple spider! Other groups made waves, a tornado, a snake and many more--the final product was a great success. After the screening, we then headed into the lunch room where we had a free draw for 20 minutes and finished off the day by giving each kid a personal present. It was so great to be able to show the kids our own creative skills and hopefully inspire them to continue making art. The gifts we all made ranged from t-shirts to slime to planters for their classrooms to funky portraits. Through this we were able to show the kids the many different forms art can take. The kids were all so excited to receive their gifts and we were so excited by their reactions! Sadly, after the gifting was over, it was time to say goodbye. This semester working with and getting to know fourth grade class at Bennett has been a truly amazing experience and we hope we brightened their semester as much as they did ours.

-Julia and Emma