Club de Arte 4: "Mi Muñeco"

The puppet community made by the children in Nueva Prosperina.

ONGOING THEME: Our Art Club Community

WEEK 4: My Puppet

IDEA: For each child to create a 3D puppet representing themselves. 

AIM: To continue with introductions and settling into the community of Art Club in the three neighbourhoods here in Guayaquil.

PROCESS: Jonny and I made two slightly different examples, so the children had two options to choose from to create their character:

OPTION 1: LOLLYPOP STICKS

1. BASE/ FEET: Fill a plastic bottle cap with clay and push a lollypop stick down into it.  Wrap clay around the outside of the cap too, to give more weight.  Option to paint clay once dried.
2. HEAD: Roll a ball of clay and push this onto the top of the lollypop stick. Decorate with short pieces of pipe-cleaners for hair, pushing them down into the clay or using silicone.  Option to paint the clay once it has dried.
3. FACE: sculpt lips and eyes with clay.  Once dried paint as desired.
4. ARMS: break a second lollypop stick in two and attach to the 'body' stick with silicone.  Option to stick on Fomex hands.
5. CLOTHES:  Cut flat clothes shapes from Fomex and material and stick onto the puppet's boy using silicone. Draw on any desired 'logos' or designs with marker pen.

 Puppet-making process with the kids from Sergio Toral

OPTION 2:  PLASTIC SPOONS
1. BASE/ FEET: Fill a plastic bottle cap with clay and push a spoon handle-down into it.  Wrap clay around the outside of the cap too, to give more weight, and sculpt feet or shoes as desired.  Option to paint clay once dried.
2. HEAD: Cover the scoop of the spoon with clay, making sure to join the clay along the sides so that as it dries and contracts the head doesn't fall off).  Option to paint the clay once it has dried.
3; HAIR: Decorate with colourful wool for hair, pushing the strands down into the clay or using silicone.
4. ARMS: twist a pipe cleaner around the centre of the spoon to create arms and fold in the ends to create hands.
5. FACE: sculpt lips and eyes with clay.  Once dried paint as desired.
6. CLOTHES:  Cut a long rectangle shape from cloth, with a second rectangle cut out from the centre.  Pull this over the head of the puppet and glue sides together or use wool for a belt.

MATERIALS: plastic spoons, plastic bottle caps, lolly-pop sticks, scraps of cloth, Fomex, glue, silicone, scissors, cardboard, paint, paintbrushes, palettes, bowls, marker pens, wool, pipe-cleaners

MEET THE PUPPETS:

The puppets created by the children in Nueva Prosperina.

The puppets created by the children in Sergio Toral.

     The puppets created by the children in Socio Vivienda.

This turned out to be the most fun activity so far, with every single member of Art Club getting absorbed in making their puppets, including the orienteers Ronald and Fabio and our lovely assistant and photographer Blanquita - so we can definitely say that it achieved our aim of relaxing the kids and staff more into Art Club!

Kids that finished quickly were invited to 

design their puppets a brief profile, 

(above)I'm called Mercy, I'm 12 years old, 

I live in Guayaquil

:-)