Metal Foil Mobiles
Try the full lesson with vocab, teacher instructions, and step-by-step student instructions and let me know how it goes for your class!
There is just something about kinetic art (art that moves) that gets students super excited! I’ve had seniors tell me before they graduated that this was their favorite project throughout their art classes and I think it’s because it’s so open. I have students create a theme in which all pendants that hang on their mobile are connected to each other by an idea. For example, I’ve had a student create bee pendants that swung around a middle beehive. Another made planetary forms that orbited around each other. Others have created more abstract forms, or told more detailed stories through their mobiles. The options are endless and I think that the boundless creativity and movement of the art pieces makes this project really fun.
To create these pieces, students use metal foil (tooling) and modeling tools to create designs in the metal. I often have students plan designs on paper and then trace them on top of the metal to create designs. This is helpful because once an indent is made in the metal it is difficult to adjust it.
The metal can then be cut out in the shape the pendant needs to be using scissors, and certain areas can be recessed or raised (relief sculpting) to enhance the design.
Another element of this project that can be added is through color. A layer of paint can be applied to the pendant and then quickly removed upon drying with a rag or steel wool. This way, the metal can still be seen though the raised areas and the paint becomes an accent to the recessed spots. This can be applied to both sides.
Once all of the pendants have been finished (and painted if applicable) the base of the structure of the mobile can be made. Shown here is one way to accomplish that; however, there are endless ways to hang them. I find that students love the challenge of hanging them according to their designs and getting them to move as desired.
Students use looping techniques with wire tools to connect each of the wire pieces and pendants. These mobiles are great to display, even permanently, around school. Since they are so light, they can even be hung from the ceiling with tiny command strip hooks!
Access the full lesson and create these beautiful mobiles with your students!
