AMACO-Lesson Plan #32-Balsa-Foam Butterfly
By Michelle Zimmerman
Butterflies are insects and they have an unusual life cycle – egg, larva or caterpillar, pupa and adult butterfly. Most species of butterflies are active during the day. And because many of them have colorful markings, they are easy to see and fun to watch. Some butterflies even migrate many thousands of miles such as the Monarch which migrates from Mexico to North America. Butterflies are important to humans too as they help pollinate plants. Because of their beauty, butterfly motifs are popular with artists and this lesson encourages students to learn about a breed of butterfly and to reproduce it as a painted sculpture.
Objectives:
Research a breed of butterfly and then carve this butterfly from BalsaFoam® and paint it appropriately
This project is suitable for grades 5-8.
National Visual Art Standards Addressed:
1. Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and culture.
2. Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes.
3. Using knowledge of structures and functions.
4. Choosing a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas.
5. Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics of artwork.
6. Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.
Materials & tools
Materials
• AMACO® Balsa-Foam® – 3˝ x 3˝ x ½˝ piece block
• AMACO® All Purpose Sealer
• Gesso
• Acrylic paints such as Folk Art or Americana brands
Tools
• AMACO® EZ Grip Modeling tools (11139A)
• Butterfly cookie cutter – under 3˝ x 3˝ in size
• Drinking straws different sizes
• Paint brush
• Palette
Resources:
You may find these web sites useful as they show many breeds of butterflies:
http://www.enature.com/FIELDGUIDES/index.asp
http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/butterfly_list/32/a_z_of_butterflies_.html
http://www.butterflybuzz.com/page/290612
Instructions:
1. Press the cookie cutter halfway into the Balsa-Foam® to make an outline of the butterfly then remove. Do not be tempted to press the butterfly cutter all the way through the Balsa-Foam® as you’re likely to damage the shape when removing the cutter. If you do not have a cookie cutter, you can draw a butterfly shape on the piece of Balsa-Foam® so that you can cut around it.
2. Working from the side and the top, cut the Balsa-Foam® away in sections around the mark made by the butterfly cutter or your pencil line. You need to cut away all the BalsaFoam® leaving just the butterfly shape.
3. You can now decorate your butterfly with your own design. It may help to trace the butterfly outline on a sheet of paper and draw in the design you want to use. Use this as a visual guide when carving your butterfly.
To carve the butterfly markings, use different sizes of drinking straws to press holes through the butterfly. You can also make dents and small holes in the butterfly using a toothpick or knitting needle. Shape the details any way you want them to look.
4. Paint the surface of your butterfly with Gesso to seal it and to provide a sound base coat for your paints. Set aside to dry.
Using acrylic paints, paint your butterfly in colors of your choice. Finish the butterfly with a coat of AMACO® All Purpose Sealer to protect its surface.
The study of insects, birds, mammals and plant life can also be accomplished with the same techniques and tools using Balsa-Foam®.
To participate in the Tolerance ‘Butterfly Project’, send in completed butterflies to the Holocaust Museum Houston, where 1.5 million butterflies are being collected to symbolize the 1,5000,000 children who perished in the Holocaust.
