Puppets by students
Great project inspired on the puppets of Paul Klee to do at home or in the classroom.
Suitable for 10 to 15 years old students
Paul Klee made 80 puppets with his son Felix, they used bits of fabrics from old clothes to cut up and to make the puppets costumes. With his puppets Paul Klee represented different characters from his neighbourghood. The teacher, the butcher, the baker were some of the characters represented.
In our classroom, students used different bits and bobs like fabrics, yarns, buttons, leather, lace, Chenille needles and crochet cotton to make the costumes. To start, students had plenty of paper to draw their ideas and to design the body/costume.
Students made decisions on the character they will create and the costume they will cut and saw.
Mini Lesson – Using lots of imagination
How to make the head:
- use terracotta clay or Paper Mache to create the mold for the head, exaggerating the features, nose, eye brows, hears and mouth
- set the head on a small plastic base for easy handling.
- make sure to build the neck, to attach the costume later on
- wrap the clay head with plastic wrap
- apply two or three layers of plaster strips cut up into 3″x 3″
- let it set, wait at least 24 hours
- when the plaster has set, cut ( adults using cardboard cutters) along the center of the plaster head, so that you get two halves. Separate from clay and join the two halves using plaster strips. If using the Paper Mache technique, leave plaster on paper together.
- when the head is ready, set it back on the plastic base and paint it.
- next step, make the costumes add details on the faces, decorate the costumes and have fun.
