Now and then, I come across something an art teacher has done that is too good not to share. So, a while back, art teacher Tammy Willis Morin shared a photograph in a Facebook Teacher Group of some sculptures of Adobe Tools that she and her students made in collaboration. Morin wrote that she had an idea about making the room more “artsy.” She asked her students for their thoughts, and together, they came up with the concept of the sculptures. As I’ve been talking about paper mache projects for the last few weeks here at My Art Lesson, this application is another great idea to consider.

The plan is for the 3d tools to be displayed over the cabinets above the student computer stations.

These are the steps she and the students used to create the Adobe Tool Sculptures:

  1. Morin collected all the cardboard.
  2. Next, the teacher and students talked about what tools they wanted to create. 
  3. Students drew the tool on a piece of cardboard. Then, they used that to retrace the tool [onto the cardboard].
  4. Next, students cut out the image they traced.
  5. We attached small plastic shot glasses to one side of the shape. We used hot glue to attach them.
  6. Then, they placed the other tracing of the shape onto the plastic glasses. This helped to give the shape it’s depth.
  7. Once [the front and back] were attached, Morin and students cut strips of poster board for the sides. 
  8. Once the strips were attached, Morin and the students used paper mache and newspaper to cover the sculptures. 
  9. Once it was dry, Morin and the students painted the sculptures black.
  10. Once that was dry, Morin and a colleague added the white lines.
  11. The last step was to seal the sculptures with a clear spray paint sealant.

Morin reports they made tools for Illustrator and Photoshop. They made the logos for each software and four tools for each program. Morin shared, “The students were excited to see their work on the wall. My colleagues who helped loved seeing them up, too!”