Book Sculptures

On a display shelf in the studio I have some past projects, including a book sculpture I created inspired by Gaudi's architecture.

I have one particular little boy in the Monday's class who is fascinated by the book sculpture and is always asking me when we are going to make them

And so after several months of asking me the same question,  I thought it was high time we had fun creating deconstructed book sculptures.

I have a large quantity of old books I have gathered from church sales and the thrift stores and for this project gave each child a small encyclopedia from the early 1900's. (I paid two dollars for the incomplete set)

Any hardcover book will do that is past it's prime.

8 year old

The kids first need to find the middle of the book. The easiest way for them to do this is to find the last page number and divide in half. We did this as a group, the older kids helping the younger kids, to make it easier.

Then I stressed just two rules for the project.

Whatever you do to one side, you must do to the other and fold away from the center into the gutter.

Then I put out some scissors and glue and told them to have some fun.

Instead of trying to explain how to do some basic folds, this is a great video to get you started. In fact, I had each child start with the basic ten folds in this video in order to get them started on their way to an original creation.

10 year old

Once the students got the hang of the project, the sky was the limit. It was fun to see them get lost in their creations and try out a variety of things as they built the sculptures.

10 year old

Buildings, fighter jets, and oceans became inspiration for these sculptures. As their confidence grew, the build became more and more elaborate.

7 year old (wave)

By the end of the hour and a half class, the floor was covered in bits of paper as the kids proudly showed their parents what they had created.

9 year old

This is a fun way to up-cycle books that are past their prime. The project takes just the simplest of supplies to create, some scissors, glue, and if you want even a hole puncher. Add a little imagination and the sky's the limit on what you can do with an old book.

8 year old (how cool are the paper flames coming out of this fighter jet?)

Fighter jets, buildings, and whatever else one can imagine. I'm pretty sure these kids will be giving this project another try at home in the future.