Student Created Lamps

My class has done a lot of drawn out projects this year, but we’ve finally finished the longest project of all, our lamps.  During our machines unit, which started in February, my students and I looked at a variety of lamps, and talked about how a simple idea, such as a lamp, could be quite complex depending on the design.  Then, I gave my kids a design sheet to help them through the process of designing a lamp.

This has been our ongoing art project since then.  We have worked on our project once a week, during our art time, and this week finally finished it!  Here is my favorite:

The process has included:

- designing the lamps and thinking through the base and stability

- creating lamps with recycled materials

- adding a prepared lamp kit

- paper macheing

- painting

- adding a light bulb

The lamps have turned out amazing.  Some are very simple and others are very complex, but what has been the most amazing is the amount of pride the students have taken in their work.  They are very excited to take them home and use them.  Unlike most of what we make in art, this is a useful product that they can use.

If you are interested in this project, it is included in my Get Moving! – Exploring and Designing Machines Unit.