I have just begun a (what I hope to be great) sculpture lesson with my Art 1 students. It is called Henry Moore Inspired Sculptures, and it looks at a brief history of sculpture and focuses on contemporary works made since roughly 1908. I think that through focusing on Moore's early work my students won't feel too overwhelmed with creating a figurative sculpture to the exact scale and proportion.
I start by having the students drape cloth over wooden figure models and tighten the cloth with rubber bands. The result is a harmonious figure with beautiful flowing lines. The students sketch this out from multiple angles, then begin making an armature out of wire. When the armature is compete, they add on crumpled up newspaper with masking tape to add more mass to the form.
Now comes the fun part. Using cheesecloth dipped in liquid starch, the students drape the fabric over the armature folding and pressing the cheesecloth onto the different parts of the body. Many layers can be added on and a sense of motion can be attained if the cheesecloth is pulled away from the body and acts as the wind is blowing a sheet away from the back. When the cheesecloth is fully applied I like to brush on a elmer's glue and water mixture to strengthen the sculpture.
Other fabrics such as Muslin can be used as well for deeper tones and different textures. Go for it and let me know how it goes. I will get the lesson on here soon so you can check it out if you like.
