3rd Grade Papier Mâché Alebrijes
Alebrijes are magical fantasy beasts that pop with color and pattern. A folk art of Mexico, these sculptures are traditionally made with papier-mâché, and make for just the type of imaginative animal project I love to do with 3rd grade.
Here was our timeline:
Day 1 - watch a video to learn about the history of alebrijes, turn and talk to friends to discuss ideas, and sketch, sketch, sketch
Day 2 - practice pattern-making in our sketchbooks and build armature with aluminum foil
Day 3 - another day of armature — many students needed a second day because working in 3D is tricky for beginners! A tip— fold a rectangle of cardstock in half and cut out a semicircle shape on the open side (not the fold side). Lay out the paper and you have 4 legs and a spine for a 4-legged animal.
Day 4-5 - papier-mâché time: I gave every table a gallon size bag of mushy pulp to cover their armature. It was at this point that every student got a paper plate to keep their work and write their name. Only two classes did this project so I found the space, but trust me, I know how hard it is to store tons of 3D work.
Day 6 - painting the base layer
Day 7 - painting all those luscious, funky patterns. This day was by far the most rewarding as all their hard work came together in the best way.
Day 8 - artist statements and reflections
I wish I’d remembered to take more process photos but here’s a good example of how they looked during the paper-mache stage. This student didn’t make her front legs sturdy enough to support the head, but problem-solved brilliantly by having the head lean down to sniff the ground!
One of the most impressive creatures. This student inspired many others to add more scales and tails.
I had been wanting to do a project based on alebrijes since I spotted these little tourist trinket versions. I love how they toe the line between a recognizable animal and fantasy creature.
These only stayed up in the hallway for a few short weeks because students were begging to take them home as soon as possible!
I love how this student ended up incorporating his plate into a textured environment for his 3-eyed dragon!
Instead of a regular artist statement I had them fill out a Pokémon-style character card with sentence starters. This crab-scorpion was one of my favorites.
Some sentences were hilarious, like this cat-dog whose magical power is scaring people. Another student wrote that her alebrije’s power was to give flowers when she sneezes— too cute!
