- Cardboard is a renewable resource that is widely available to artists, and is easy to cut and manipulate. You can find cardboard by asking for it at grocery stores and department stores. One idea for a cardboard sculpture is to create three-dimensional homage to well-known paintings such as Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night," Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and Andy Warhol's "Marilyn." You can also create full-scale three-dimensional sculptures, such as dinosaurs or jungle animals, using cardboard.
- Collect a variety of cans from your recycling, making sure they are clean. You can opt to remove the labels or keep them for effect. Use hot glue to create a sculpture of a person using the cans. You can use a hammer to shape the cans, but be careful to avoid the sharp edges at the top of the can. You can either create a general sculpture or a sculpture of a well-known figure such as Albert Einstein. You can add a sense of unity to your sculpture by painting part or all of it with acrylic paint.
- You can reuse the plastic bags you receive from grocery stores to create sculptures of animals like a bear. You can either stuff bags with more bags to create the bulk of your sculpture or create a frame for your sculpture by shaping wire mesh or chicken wire into a cage-shape. If you opt to use chicken wire, cut large squares of plastic bags and stuff them into the wire mesh in the same way that tissue paper is used to make parade floats.
- Go to your local scrap yard for inspiration. Junk yards often have a dizzying variety of materials. One option to you is to walk around and see if anything inspires you. You might find two rake blades that remind you of the ribs of a fish or several chrome hub caps that remind you of a field of wildflowers. Keep an idea in mind, such as the shape of an animal, tree or fruit, until you find a collection of objects that suit your purpose.
Three Dimensional Cardboard Project
Tin Can Man Project
Plastic Bag Sculpture
Scrap Yard Inspired Project
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