Chihuly Cylinders (1st Grade)

Continuing my lesson with the 1st grade of comparing the Navajo Blanket Cylinders that Chihuly designed, to actual Navajo blankets, with their various line designs, I had students paint the bottom half of a water bottle with a mixture of black paint, Crayola "Pearl It" and a smidge of Acrylic Polymer Medium. Today, we dipped strings in starch, and laid them across the bottles. When they dried, the string stayed put, adding the textural element of the lines. In order to control the chaos, I gave each student a piece of paper on which they wrote their name. I showed them how to use 2 small balls of modeling clay on either side of their bottle to steady it. That way it wouldn't roll while we were working. After school, I wrote their name with a silver sharpie, and can re-use my modeling clay.