Bacich Upcycling Art Installation

Annually I like to create and direct an art event/project that involves and connects the entire Bacich student body and the immediate community. This purposeful activity connects students to artists and gives them the exciting opportunity to be part of a large installation. The 2016 Bacich Upcycling Art Installation entails one large art installation per grade level, temporarily installed in different locations around the Bacich campus.

Students were introduced to the term and concept of upcycling. Upcycling has become a trendy term in today’s art world.  It is the practice of creating an art piece from waste or unwanted items or adapting an existing product in some way to add value. The purpose of upcycling is reducing waste and improving the efficiency of resources used.

Each grade level worked with, and “upcycle” one product.  Additional recycled materials may have been added to embellish the final art piece. Students had the opportunity to alter the product into an exquisite piece of art. 

On Open House night (April 7, 6:30-8:00pm), and through the month of April. Students’ upcycled art pieces are displayed as a grade level group iInstallations are in a variety of locations around the Bacich campus.  I have assigned a product to each grade level, (please see below).  Students, staff and the community worked together in collecting the products/materials.

Products/materials to be upcycled by grade level:

4th grade: Hard and soft cover books

3rd grade: CD’s and scraps of yarn and other recycled fiber materials

2nd grade: Plastic water bottles

1st grade: Cardboard and additional recycled items

TK and K: Paper bags and flower pots

The Bacich TK-4th grade Upcycling Installations will be displayed in different locations around campus. Please refer to grade level project descriptions and display locations below. 

TK-4th grade Upcycling Installation Locations:

• TK-Kindergarten: Kindergarten play yard
• 1st grade: Fence by main parking lot (car line)
• 2nd grade: Gardens by 2nd grade classrooms
• 3rd grade: In front of third grade classrooms 20 and 21
• 4th grade: Library and Art Room

I would like to express my thanks and deepest appreciation to my display coordinator Anna Rochester and her team. Without their help these amazing installations would not have been possible. 

Upcycling Project Description by Grade Level

TK and Kindergarten      
Paper Bag Trees in Flower Pots
TK and Kindergarten students practiced scissor cutting skills in altering a shopping size paper bag to shape a tree. Students used their hands to twist and shape the cut paper bag into branches and interesting looking trees. Upcycled flower pots were used as a base to hold up the paper tree sculptures. 

Gustave Klimt's "The Tree of Life" (Art Nouveau) painting was the inspiration for decorating the paper tree sculptures. Students used recycled gold wrapping paper and other textured paper scraps to decorate their paper trees and add a flavor of the "Art Nouveau" era. 

Display Location: Kindergarten play yard

1st GRADE        
Cardboard Faces inspired by Picasso
What shall we do with all this cardboard and packaging material that stacks up in every household or garage? Have you ever wondered what to do with random bottle caps, buttons, drinking straws, plastic forks, ribbons and other silly items? The Bacich 1st grade students upcycled all of this "trash" into fun and colorful 3D portraits. 

Students got their inspiration from portraits by Pablo Picasso. Students cut, shaped, and glued a variety of cardboard pieces in a cubistic arrangement. Picasso often added a clue about the person he portrayed. Students experimented with adding a clue element to their portraits;  i.e. glasses, freckles, eye color, birth mark, neckless, hat etc. The application of additional recycled materials made these portraits one of a kind art pieces. 

Display Location: Fence by main parking lot (car line)

2nd GRADE        
Plastic Bottle Garden Art
Facts about plastic pollution: 50% of the plastic we use, we use just once and throw away. The average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic per year. Americans throw away 35 billion plastic water bottles every year. 

These facts are stunning, but even grander was the inspiration to not throw them away, but turn the plastic bottles into garden art. Each 2nd grade student was directed to cut a plastic bottle into three sections. Students used scissors to cut and shape the plastic into flowers and leaves. Depending on the type of plastic, students were able to mold, bend and shape the plastic with their hands. Students used twisty ties to assemble their mobiles. Students used acrylic Decor pens to decorate, color and add details. 

Display Location: Gardens by 2nd grade classrooms

3rd GRADE        
Woven CD's
Yarn scraps, plastic shopping bags, bubble wrap, ribbons, onion sack netting and old CD's make up this dazzling work of upcycled art. This installation of upcycled CD's was composed of 450 woven masterpieces, three by each student, than strung together. 

Students began by tying a piece of yarn to a CD, putting one end through the center hole, wrapping it tightly around the CD, repeating this action to create a loom with 7, 9, or even 11 spokes. Students wove a variety of recycled weft ( yarn or thread) over, and under the spokes, turning in a circle. Students tied the finished CD's together into rows of 9 to hang vertically. 

This collaborative project really brought students together; they eagerly shared ideas, experimented with recycled materials, and helped each other. Students understood that by working together, they were able to create something stunning, and beautiful that they could not have created alone. It is this kind of pride satisfaction, and learning experience that lies at the heart of collaborative art-making. 

Display Location: In front of 3rd grade classrooms 20 and 21

4th GRADE        
Book Folding
An altered book is a form of mixed media artwork that changes a book from its original form into a different form, altering its appearance and/or meaning.

The fourth grade students absolutely loved creating their own book sculptures. Students were introduced to beginner book folding techniques. Students practiced 4 basic folds and used their creativity in applying the 4 folds in symmetrical patterns and repetitions. Students were also encouraged to invent their own folds and pattern of folds. There are a variety of book folding patters online which some students referred to.

Students used a magazine to practicing folds and patters. After practice, each student was directed to come up with a design plan to alter a book into an amazing piece of art.

Display Location: Library and Art Room