As part of the Sculpture and Installation class offered at Lincoln Lutheran, we have had the opportunity to create a unique piece that has the appearance of the earth. For this reason, it is titled, “Earth.” The overall form of the sculpture was created in a spherical shape, and the colors reflect the blue and green colors that the Earth holds (earth vs. land). Similarly, this project provided the chance to reuse water bottles to help the Earth! We created this sculpture using recycled plastic water bottles, pipe cleaners, and chicken wire. To start off, we scoured the school’s recycling bins to try and find water bottles that we could use. After we had the bottles, we took off the caps and wrappers, and cut off the bottoms. We then used all different shades of blue, green, and yellow to paint the bottles with a sort-of tie-dye feel. When the paint had dried, we cut the bottles into neat little coils, so they could then be attached to the chicken wire with pipe cleaners. Thankfully, the only tools we needed to use for this project were scissors and paintbrushes!

              The big idea of this artwork was inspired by Chihuly’s blown glass sculptures. Because we couldn’t replicate his sculptures perfectly (due to size and inability to actually blow glass), we used paint and water bottles to give it the appearance of being made out of glass. Also, we wanted to use recycled water bottles and Earth colors to show the importance of taking care of the beautiful world that God has made. As a group, one of our goals is to get out of our comfort zone and try something new! This project provided the opportunity to work with a combination of water bottles and paint, which is something that most of us have never done before! Likewise, we had the chance to work together as a team, which is something that we often don’t get to do when working with art. Throughout this project, we were able to learn a lot! It reiterated the fact that one shouldn’t be afraid to get dirty when working with art. Also, it stressed the significance of patience. Oftentimes, this paint took a day or two to dry. We had to learn to wait for the water bottle to dry before proceeding with the rest of the process.