the idea: make a sculpture out of my students’ leftover impasto paint

As an art instructor, I see way too art materials being thrown away.  Usually there’s nothing I can do about this, I’m working after all.  But every once in a while I make something instead.

Earlier this week I was teaching a class on textures in paintings.  After looking at Van Gogh, Monet, and other painters the kids got a chance to make paintings of their own.  We gave them different materials to paint with and mixed the blue paint with a plaster paste so that it would be like impasto painting.

At the end of the class the extra paints and materials got thrown away but I was intrigued by the left over blue paint.  I scrapped the remnants out of the cups and piled them up on a piece of cardboard.  Then I started to play with the pile and ended up covering the whole piece of cardboard with textured paint.

Now I just have to see if it’s still in the closet where I left it to dry…