Cardboard City

In class we were asked to create our own building using cardboard, other tools, and accents of LED lights. Afterwards, we would proceed to combine them with the other buildings in class to make a city. It had to all be cohesive and still have functionality. I started by reviewing the resources I had in hand. This included a book provided to us on the table, a sheet of techniques, and multiple examples of this project in our TRACS site. I sketched out what I wanted my building to look like, listed some techniques used on certain areas, and the different ways on how to turn on the LED lights. The foundation of my building is what I started with and worked my way up. I had the floor, two walls, and had punched the holes where I wanted them to be located. Before enclosing my building I had to figure out how to connect the LED lights. The prior knowledge I had with our first material inquiry helped, however this time it was with more lights and wanted to use the least amount of batteries possible. I was asking myself if there was any way I can use two wires for each wall of the house or what was the next most efficient way of going about turning on the lights. I went through a trail and error process with various wires. Striping it more and using the little individual strands to connect the lights, seeing if multiple wires fit on one battery, wrapping other wires together etc. However, since I took longer than expected preparing, I ended up running short on time to actually assemble my house the way I wanted it to look and needed to have something complete soon. I then thought what if I took a short cut and only use a battery for each light with no actual wiring. After thinking about it, I decided taking an "easy way out" was not fair and it would be a waste of too many batteries. I ended up just applying one light by the door opening to resemble a door bell. I cut out the door opening, punched the doorbell hole, connected the light, and finally glued it to the rest of the house. When creating the roof and outer window blinds, I found that simply ripping the cardboard off was the fastest and most efficient way to reveal the texture underneath the top layer. Since the roof was not thought out more carefully, it was a little harder to glue it with the bottom half. I finished the top half by adding in a chimney. What I took out of this more than anything was to not spend so much time preparing. Sometimes we just have to dive in and see where it leads you. My final product was definitely not what I planned, but I made it work.

In addition, this made me realize while working with the lights how teachers should activate prior knowledge and link new information to old information as much as possible. It allows for a more thorough comprehension in the students part and allows us to get a sense as to where they are. I will definitely be incorporating this idea in future lesson plans when transitioning from one assignment to another. The idea of also having students build their own structure and then combining them with the rest of the class to create one big piece is a great tool in art classrooms. This project is a great way to inspire community building in an art classroom. It also allows them to play with different sculptural mediums, expand their skills, and encourage communication between peers. *It does not allow me to post videos off of my computer*

The sketch

Foundation

Final product

Cardboard city with lights on

side view

Cardboard city with lights off