Chihuly 'Glass' BOWLS and Forms!

                 

                                           

1st grade is making Chihuly 'Glass' bowls/forms!! We looked at how Chihuly makes his beautifully colored glass bowls, sculptures, and alien like forms. So beautiful!  I showed students how he likes to put some of his glass bobbles in boats to float around  in the calm waters to have the sunshine show the brilliance of the colored glass & reflect off the water. 5th grade grade concentrated on making glass 'blossoms' like Chihuly's that cover the ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas but we used another method in making those. I'll get to the different options later! Here are some finished Chihuly bowls. Students simply used colored permanent Sharpies to add lots of color, line, and pattern on clear Graphix Shrink sheet (very close to clear shrinky dinks). It's basically a shrinkable, clear plastic sheet that thickens when it shrinks.



After students applied these elements and principles of art, I took them home, heated the oven to 300 degrees and placed a small glass in the middle of the sheet on a cookie sheet that you don't care if sharpie gets on it :). Then watch as the Shrinky dinklike sheet wraps around the bottom of the glass, but work fast. I then yank it out of the oven using pot holders, and push and mold it around an old mug to quickly mold it to keep it's shape before it cools. You have to work fast and be wearing pot holders, but they turn out awesome (more examples at the bottom of the page!).



students using markers to apply color and pattern



adding pattern



adding lots of color and line!





I had students work on tablecloths just incase it went off the table

My friend Jenny who is an elementary art teacher as well, found a great inexpensive way to make Chihuly 'glass' forms. She has students use Sharpie markers on solo clear punch cups. She then puts it in a toaster oven on BROIL for just seconds! Then pulls them out fast! When you take them out you have to let them cool.

student cups from Jenny:)



Voila! After being in the oven it creates a glass like form.

String them together and hang them as one of chihuly's chandiliers near a window
where there's lots of sun light to shine through and bring out the bright colors!

...more glass forms from SOLO clear punch cups

 Here are some of my students 'glass' Chihuly BOWLS below!

Here's what my 5th grade did for our Chihuly unit. We looked at the famous Bellagio ceiling and it's blossoms and tried our own take on the concept. We used clear, empty, plastic flimsy water bottles, cut them into different pieces and cut slits into the pastic pieces. Then using some scissors as a pair of pliers, hold on to plastic piece with them and hold them in front of a heating/embossing tool or gun. The heat makes the plastic piece almost dance as it's warped by the heat. We of course go over safety rules before any of this but the students see that it's almost like 'blowing the glass' before their eyes!

Then mixing paint and gloss medium together so it has a transluscent quality, paint plastic forms and let dry. Then we add all kinds of colored wire and straws with a glue guns to make some funky looking flowers and blossoms. Each piece can be looked at as a sculpture or strung together as a multi media installation!