Recycled Art Sculptures

Creating recycled art sculptures is a great way to create art without needing expensive art materials. It also is earth friendly as you are reusing materials in a new way. Creating a work of art from recycled materials requires patience and determination. It is a great way to help develop your child’s creative thinking and problem solving skills. Your artist will need to think of new ways to attach materials and to make recycled objects visually interesting.

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Materials:

Recycled Objects
(Items we used, egg cartons, plastic bottles, fabric scraps, tissue paper, paper towel rolls, cereal and snack boxes)

Acrylic Paint

Glue (We used Fabric Glue and Hot Glue Gun)

Tutorial:

Step 1: Collect your materials. Before you begin building your sculpture, layout all the materials so you can see what you have to build the sculpture.

BUILDING TIP:  Some children may want to dive right in and begin building. Others may want time to plan and sketch what they are building first. Allow your child the time to think and plan or experiment with the materials. When working with found objects it may take several tries to find the best way to assemble the sculpture.

Step 2: Let your child lead in building their own creation. You are there to assist and help when needed.  For example, I did the hot gluing but I let the artist tell me exactly where they wanted the glue to be on their sculpture.

Questions to think about:

– How will the sculpture stand on its own?

– How does the sculpture look on each side?

-What materials will attach together the best?

Step 3:  Add details and color. To add color try covering the sculpture with fabric, tissue paper or paint. Acyrlic paint works best on plastic and covering cardboard.

Step 4: Let dry.

UPSIDE DOWN TEST {optional}:  I gave my artists an additional challenge, once the sculpture was finished the artist had to hold the sculpture upside down for 10 seconds and if anything fell off they had to go back and refigure how to attach the piece (once again using those creative thinking skills).

WRITING EXTENSION:  Write an artist statement describing the sculpture and the materials they used.

We love to see your recycled art creations! Share your recycled art sculptures on instagram #handmadekidsart or Facebook