Making: Polystyrene Sculptures

This activity is inspired by the wonderful sculptures of Barbara Hepworth. Using polystyrene shapes, participants can stretch their imagination and create their own designs and contemporary masterpieces. This task could be done by individuals or in pairs.

Materials

• Polystyrene shapes (an assortment to include balls, tubes, cones and angular shapes).
• Wooden shapes.
• Cocktail sticks.
• Kebab sticks.
• Spray paint (metallic, stone, silver and brick colours).
• Glue gun and glue sticks.

Method

• Using an assortment of polystyrene shapes and/or wooden shapes, begin connecting these together in a design chosen by the participant. Cocktail/kebab sticks can be used to connect the polystyrene shapes to hold them together. Use a glue gun if you need them to be more secure or if you are using wood.
• Continue adding to the sculpture until participants are happy with their design.
• Cut off any sticks that may be sticking out from the sculpture.
• For the final step use the spray paints to finish off the work. Cover the entire surface in the metallic or stone effect spray paint. This will make your sculpture look like it is made from stone, brass or marble.
• For an additional task, use the app Do Ink Green Screen (iPad based app only) to explore how the sculptures would look like next to other sculptures at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
• The final sculptures could be displayed in the garden or an outdoor space. If they have been sprayed with spray paint, they will be waterproof and can resist wet weather conditions.
  

How to use the Do Ink app

This App is an iPad based app and won’t work on other tablet devices. You will need the App and a piece of Green Fabric to act as the Green Screen for this to work effectively. Green Screen by Do Ink makes it easy to create incredible green screen videos and images right on your iPad or iPhone. The app lets you combine photos and videos from the camera roll with live images from your iPad or iPhone’s camera. * Create sculptures inspired by Barbara Hepworth’s ‘The Family of a Man’ and then use this app to add them to Yorkshire Sculpture Park without having to leave your chair!

Instructions

• Download the Do Ink – Green Screen App onto your iPad
• When you have downloaded the App and open it – you will see it will take you through the App, tagging where the specific buttons are. This is very useful to watch.
• To create your own project – tap on the + on the top right of the screen and tap on ‘create a new project’ – your timeline will then appear at the bottom of the screen ready for you to edit and personalise
• Tap on the bottom + on your timeline- then tap on ‘Image’ or ‘Video’ – select the one you want to use then tap on ‘use’ top right hand corner of the image or video
• Tap on the middle + on your timeline – then tap on ‘Camera’. If your camera comes on and is using your front camera, turn this around using the camera selection tool (top right hand corner of the screen)
• When you put your iPad up to a Green area you will then see the image/video you selected. You can change the colouring slightly by tapping on the colour wheel (bottom right hand corner) and moving the spot to the correct shade of green.
• You can then take either photos/videos of your group in front of the Green Screen by clicking the red button on the screen (*make sure you select whether you are opting for video or image first)