Wood comes in lots of different shapes, sizes and textures. Now that the weather sees us getting outdoors more with the children, make a collection of twigs and bits of bark, add some off-cuts and other scrap wood and use the pieces to construct an interesting sculpture.
You will need
Off-cuts from wooden planks, beams, dowelling and board (available from DIY stores; use sandpaper to smooth any rough surfaces); twigs and bark collected from a country walk and driftwood from a trip to the beach (check for any sharp points); lolly sticks, spent matchsticks and cocktail sticks (for older children only and carefully supervised); pine cones; sawdust (available from pet shops); stiff card or wooden board; PVA glue; Plasticene; ready mixed or acrylic paint; paintbrushes; wood or craft varnish.
What to do
Use a piece of stiff card or wooden board to make a base for the sculpture.
Start off with larger pieces of wood to create a firm foundation and build up the sculpture. Use lots of PVA glue to stick the pieces together and make sure the glue is completely dry before moving the sculpture. If you are working with awkward shapes such as twigs, attach them to the sculpture with bits of Plasticene. Encourage children to use the shapes, textures and colours of the wood as inspiration. For any children who need a few ideas, you can also suggest the following:
* Towers: challenge the children to construct the tallest tower they can from their collection of wood pieces. Help younger ones with their construction and encourage older ones to ones to think about balancing and supporting the pieces so that the tower stays standing.
* Townscapes: make a row of flats, houses and factories from blocks of wood. Use lolly sticks stuck into Plasticene for fences and pieces of dowelling for towers and chimneys. Stick on squares and rectangles of coloured card to make windows and doors.
* Decorative sculptures: for children who love to use glittery bits and pieces in their art and craft, a wooden construction can make a good canvas. Construct a simple wood sculpture and decorate it with lengths of ribbon and lace, strips of pretty fabric, blobs of glitter glue, sequins, buttons and strings of beads. Tie the ribbons, laces and beads around twigs, lolly sticks and dowelling, and glue sequins and buttons on to flat surfaces.
* Monsters: use the weird shapes of drift wood to make a body for the monster. Use twigs for talons, bark for rough scaly skin and spent matchsticks for spikes and horns. Add some Plasticene features such as red bulging eyes and yellow fangs.
* Plaques: cover a square board with hessian or a sheet of cork. Choose a few pieces of wood such as bark, driftwood and twigs with interesting shapes, colours and textures. Place them pieces on the hessian plaque to make an interesting arrangement and glue them on.
Finishing off When the sculpture is complete, it can either be left in its natural state or be painted and varnished. Although bark, driftwood and twigs do not need any extra decoration, plain wooden off-cuts usually look better with a coat of paint. Use ready mixed or acrylic paints to brighten up flat surfaces.
You can also give the wood a coat of varnish (use in a well-ventilated room and supervise closely). If you prefer not to use varnish, a layer of PVA glue will dry clear to give a gentle sheen and it is safe for even the youngest children to use. You can also add texture to the base of your sculpture with sawdust. Brush on a layer of glue and sprinkle on the sawdust. Watch the children closely to make sure that they don't get it in their eyes.
