All right, creative art teachers, I need you!! Here's the problem:
You may recall that my 6th graders are building "people in motion", using wire armature, newspaper, tape, and then plaster bandage. As you can see by the SCUBA diver, not all the people are standing on their feet. There's swimmers and divers, there's someone meditating who is levitating above a rug, there's a karate kick caught in mid air, and more.
But my big challenge is the three basketball players, all who are designed to be caught in mid-dunk. Which means of course you need a basketball hoop. So far we've started with a dowel rod stuck into a styrofoam base, and a backboard made from foam core. But what can we make the basket out of? It needs to look enough like a basketball hoop, but should support a hanging sculpture. And I'm not about to start crocheting. It needs to be easier than that. Any ideas? For a size perspective, the basketball player sculptures are between 12 to 15" tall.
Thanks in advance for your ideas!
What if you used wire for the top of the basket and then some type of plastic net under it. Strawberry baskets came to mind right away, but now I'm also thinking plastic canvas could be rolled into a cylindar and tied with fishing line. That's at least white too, and easy to cut if they want to make the edge uneven like a real hoop.
ReplyDeleteI like Jodi's wire idea and am envisioning the net made out of that netting that lemons, etc. often come in. What I am not picturing is how this basket will support a basketball player in mid-air (balance wise). Hmmm. A problem. If balance is, indeed, a problem, what about a piece of clear lucite (a small cylinder or cube or something that could be under the foot of the basketball player, but not really seen because it's clear??
ReplyDeleteYes, I was thinking the plastic netting that tangerines come in when you buy a bag full at the store and hot glue that to the inside of a circle cut from a paper towel or toilet tissue roll. You could even spay paint it white and paint the circle orange, and then attach it to your backboard. I just bought tangerines, let me know if you want me to mail you the plastic netting.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of the fish nets sold in the dollar stores for beach parties, or ones for holding stuffed animals.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas already, after just a few hours! Wow! I'm heading to the grocery and maybe dollar store this afternoon, so at least I'm going with some ideas in mind. Thanks, ladies, I'll let you know how it works out :-)
ReplyDeleteI have this foam woven stuff that my pears came in I'll e-mail you a pic and if you want them I can send them. Let me know if you find something!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the offers, but no need to mail stuff to me! I've sent out an "all staff" email and someone will bring me something - it always works. :-) Don't know what I did before email though.
ReplyDeletePlus I think I have an old $1 store butterfly net in my classroom that I could cut up, or even some chicken wire though I hate using it w/kids. Making it strong enough will be the bigger challenge, though I like the idea of a clear support under the legs. I have some old acrylic tubing that will work I think.
By the way - the cylindrical bases under some of the sculptures are ... try to guess... slices of swimming pool noodles!!
Perhaps this was mentioned - use the plastic wine bottle meshes that slip on/off. Glue gun it on.
ReplyDeleteWine bottle mesh! This may be my favorite answer yet; what a great excuse to go out and get a new bottle of wine ;-D
ReplyDeleteMy fourth graders do the wire sculpture part of this lesson, but do not cover the wire. They normally don't use props either. I saw a photo recently that I took of one that a kid had added a wire basketball hoop on a stand. Let me see if I can find it again.
ReplyDeleteFound it. It wasn't pretty but it was definitely recognizeable. It was all made of wire.
ReplyDeleteIn Walmart a couple weeks ago I bought a small set of wooden kitchen utensils for a few dollars that came in a mesh bag that would make many more basketball nets than you need but the mesh is the right size I think.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the student could make a net out of string dipped in glue and wrapped around something round like a film canister - when dry, it could become a hollow net-like thing. Or, how about a portion of the spine of one of those big spiral notebooks?
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a suggestion (you seem to have more than enough good ones!) but a question about your lesson. I've done something similar with 5th graders where we pose people dancing with aluminum foil and then cover it with plaster strips (and paint it bronze to look like Dega's sculptures). Do you think the wire wrapped in newspaper and tape would be easier or harder to do? I want to do this lesson again but with 3rd graders this time. What do you think?
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