Project 2 - Cardboard
Getting Started
I picked cardboard as the next material because I have already posted about it! In 2010, the original Beyond Garbage Project explored cardboard, so I refer you to that page in the other blog for a little history and some links to the work of artists making amazing things with cardboard as their primary material.
Cardboard includes corrugated and solid stock packaging, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, among other things.
What is cardboard? How many different kinds of cardboard do you have in your recycling? What is the corrugation for? How do different thicknesses of solid cardboard serve different functions?
Before you start making, think about how you can use the special qualities of cardboard. Corrugated board folds, but only one way easily. Use that to your advantage!
Artist Ann Weber makes large-scale sculptures out of corrugated cardboard - she uses a huge amount of material! Maybe you can work on a slightly smaller scale. Here is a link to images from a workshop she taught in 2011 .
Here is a short video (good info for all ages) that might help you think about strengths and weaknesses of corrugated cardboard. Instead of using tape (like the video), you can cut slits to make intersecting connections and build complex and relatively sturdy sculptural forms.
A special nod to toilet paper rolls (they are so topical these days!). Because they are ready-made tubes, they provide a new realm of creative possibilities. You can simply cover the ends with paper, tape, or more cardboard to make a closed form, like a rattle. Tubes are very strong and can withstand a lot of pressure on the ends, so you can use them as instant legs for structures. And then there is the amazing Junior Fritz Jaquet, who makes individual toilet paper rolls into faces by simply squishing them (probably when wet? I am not sure).
Junior Fritz Jaquet - toilet paper faces. You can follow his paper work on his website or on Instagram, or see more images here.
Let me know what you make with the cardboard you have lying around!
Cardboard sometimes comes with beautiful outer covering! See this link for step-by-step instructions for how to get the decorative paper off of cardboard if you want to use it to wrap or embellish something else.
Suggested tags:
@beyondgarbageproject #beyondgarbageproject #paperart #cardboardart #recycledart #reducereuserecycle #spreadartnotfear
Vocabulary
bend, crumple, cut, fold, hide, hole, layer, opaque, pattern, peel, pierce, puncture, rattle, rip, shadow, singe, slit, soak, symmetry, texture, transform, weave, wet
Possible Tools/Materials
awl (something you can make holes with), brush, glue, paint, ruler, scissors, staples. string, tape, water, Xacto or matte knife
Prompts
Can you find a way to add a quality of movement or sound to what you make?
How do the materials you are using influence the scale you work in (large or small)?
What happens if you make multiples of a simple simple form?
What is easy or hard about working with this material?
Cardboard Projects
Peeling decorative paper from cardboard
Cardboard Links
@CatherineSatterlee - Gorgeous ceramic work! Catherine makes beautiful corrugated cardboard maquettes to work out her ideas beforehand.
@Microwave-Project - Fantastic nature- and recycling- related projects for kids (and other creative people), see this link for a lovely way to reuse cardboard.