Denise Pannell Lesson Plan: Paper Pulp Painting

Submitted by: Denise Pannell, Fairview Elementary in Sherwood, OH
UNIT: Papermaking ( Science related - recycling - Nature as subject)
Lesson: Paper Pulp painting
Grade level: Upper Elementary on up

Materials:

white drawing paper, crayons, construction paper (recycled), berry baskets, mould & deckle screens, blender, plastic bin (like Rubbermaid), plastic food tray (from fast food restaurant or cafeteria), black Sharpie marker, scrap mat board for mounting. Styrofoam meat trays for stencils - optional.

Note from Denise: Upon completing the drawings and ripping the paper, I had one student per period do the actual blending & "painting" and one student be their apprentice & helper. Meanwhile, the rest of the class worked on another project. It all evened out in the end!

Encounter:

Students plan out drawing on white paper. (We chose to do insects, frogs,
and birds). Emphasis is on drawing the creature large enough to fill the paper
and adding a simple background of leaves or flowers.
These drawings are colored with crayon in order to plan out colors. (Do not
use anything which will smear when wet, such as marker).
Students choose colors which correspond with their drawings and rip
construction paper into small (dime-sized) pieces and put into separate berry
baskets. Different shades of green are used for the leaves, etc.
Students place their drawings on the counter next to the sink and place the
mould (so that the wood is down & the screen is up) and deckle on top of the
drawing so as to see their drawing through the screens.
Students place one color of paper in to the blender with enough water to
cover it and blend the paper into a pulp.
This pulp is poured through an extra screen placed on top of the plastic
bin. (The screen catches the pulp and the bin catches the water, which may
have pulp in it which will clog the sink).
The pulp is spread on to the mould & deckle set up on top of the drawing,
filling in the corresponding area. The pulp should be the consistency of
mashed potatoes in order to be workable- too dry & it will not bind to the
other fibers.
Repeat with each color until the painting is filled in.
Remove the deckle.
Place a plastic food service tray on top of the pulp painting and flip the
mould over. Drop the tray & mould on to the counter so that the painting
releases and falls on to the tray.
Using a sponge, press the fibers together & remove excess water. Be
careful not to flatten it too much!
Allow to dry at least over night.
Outline with Sharpie marker or leave as is.
Mount on to scrap mat to display.
Variation: use Scribbles puff paint to add details.