January 1, 2024
Resources for Paper Sculpture & Quilling Project
NEW: a rotating group of artists and art educators will be bringing you high quality art projects and lessons at Outside the Box Creation! January's project is Brandy O'Neill's first ever project as an Artist in Residence with us: paper sculpture and quilling!
DOWNLOAD YOUR PROJECT PLANSetting the Stage
Animal Mural by Mlle Hipolyte, 2015
Panther from Animal Mural by Mlle Hipolyte, 2015
Coralium by Mlle Hipolyte, paper craft techniques. 6'x3'.
A zoomed-in image of Coralium.
Welcome to the first Outside the Box of 2024! This month, we are going to create 3-dimensional sculptures out of 2-dimensional materials.
Can you believe that these gigantic, colorful, and dynamic artworks are made entirely out of paper?
Mlle Hipolyte, a French illustrator and paper designer, is the mastermind behind these stunning works of art. Hipolyte rips, twists, folds, rolls, and cuts each piece of paper by hand, then mounts each piece together on walls or canvases to form these excellent murals. The panther, red panda, and parrots featured on the jungle animal mural at top were formed as face masks and then mounted to the background. In the second mural, Coralium, Hipolyte's choice of paper as the medium helps to demonstrate the fragility of our ocean's coral reefs.
Hipolyte uses paper craft techniques, including quilling, which you are going to practice in this project, to create her works. Paper is surprisingly malleable and flexible when you know how to work it! Enjoy discovering the ways that you can play and build with paper with this project--sculptural paper birds.
This month's book focuses on birds of a different type--planes! Read The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Martin and Alice Provensen with Artist Brandy below and learn about the first heavier-than-air craft to cross the English Channel!
To take it further, we'll be reducing our environmental impact by repurposing our leftover scraps into canvas board collages. You can collage a bird or pick another scene to depict. What do your paper scraps want to become?
Download this month's project plan to get started. Happy creating!
Resources for Further Learning:
BoredPanda.com:
I’ve Spent 2 Weeks Making This Animal Mural From 1000s Of Small Paper Pieces
MyModernMet.com:
Colorful Paper-Cut Sculpture Captures the Diversity of a Coral Reef
Wikipedia: Quilling
Quilling Guild: The history of Quilling
Supplies Needed for Insider's Club Members (or if you're a box subscriber & want to purchase additional supplies)
Strongly recommended: The Glorious Flight by Alice and Martin Provensen. You can purchase it or find it at your local library, or watch our Artist in Residence's read aloud below!
Glue sticks like these
Red, yellow, orange, green, blue, and purple construction paper like this, cut long ways into 2" wide strips
Fancy scissors, also called paper edgers, like this pack
Pencils for quilling paper, like these, which you can also use to sketch your collage in this month's Taking it Further
Clear fishing line or string for hanging your bird sculpture, like this
Ceiling hooks for hanging your bird sculpture like these
5"x7" Canvas Panel like this
Something to cover your work surface such as an old shower curtain liner, cardboard, or even old rags and paper towels.
*The above Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of them we may earn a very small commission but it does not increase your price at all, so we hope you will!
Main Project Tutorial
Taking It Further
Read Together
Helpful Tips for Hanging Your Bird!
- In the box, you'll find fishing line and ceiling hooks so you can see your bird fly. Select the appropriate spot in your home and check out the video below for our suggestions on how to hang it.
- You might need 2 small pieces of tape. Fold the fishing line in half and put a small piece of tape at the halfway point.
- Thread the fishing line through the body of your bird and stick the tape to the inside.
- Knot the fishing line and wrap it with the second piece of tape to secure the loop. Voila! Your bird is ready to go.
The video does not have sound.
About the Artist
Brandy O'Neill
Hi! I am a mural artist (so I like to transform spaces and walls) and an art teacher. I have my masters in art education and I am a big believer in art being a creative outlet and something for everyone! Art is all about the process and the journey, not the end result. Drawing is my passion. Using a variety of materials, imagination, and experimentation, art comes alive!
Printable Vocab Match & Answer Key
Our newly designed project instructions feature an activity just for fun!
The January game is a vocabulary matching game found on page 11 of the printed insert.
Below is a printable version of the game for sharing and the answer key.
About the Insider’s Club
The Outside the Box Insider’s Club is a monthly digital membership that includes videos, downloadable curriculum/project plans, and tips to make it easy for parents to do art regularly with their kids! If you know someone who would enjoy this, please share the Outside the Box Insider's Club. If you have been a box subscriber for a year or more and have accumulated a large stash of art supplies, you may want to switch to the Insider's Club digital membership.
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