Art Explorer 2: Instant Sculpture: MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

This week we were asked to create a sculpture out of "found household objects". I was sitting at my desk, looking around, thinking a million things...What should I make? What should I use? How should I create it? What will be my word?  I went through countless ideas, analyzing them with these questions.  After god knows how long, I stopped.  Out of the corner of my eye a saw a jar full of change (Canadian and European) and thought maybe, just maybe, I could use that! I poured out the jar of change and started fooling around.  The first word that popped into my mind was BALANCE.  Why balance? Because money is something that most people have or ALL people WANT to have. It's a constant struggle balancing spending money with saving money (trust me I know)!!

Balance.

According to Art & Creative Development for Young Children, balance is "when forms appear to be in proportion to each other" and it's achieved by either being symmetrical or asymmetrical (Schirrmacher and Fox, 2009).  In other words, balance is a state of equilibrium that is either formal or informal.  Symmetrical or "formal" is a type of balance where shapes are evenly balanced around some point. Asymmetrical or "informal" is the opposite; a type of balance where objects are not evenly balanced from a point. For this specific sculpture I used both types. How, might you ask? Well, I shall explain...

Closer look at the balancing element.

Starting off, the structure was symmetrical. I evenly distributed the coins from a point in order to maintain balance. However, you might say I got "cocky" and kept going when I should of stopped.  At a certain point the top coins came tumbling down, causing the structure to now become asymmetrical. I decided to leave the structure as it was, representing the constant struggle balancing money.  When should you keep going and when should you say, enough is enough?

As you can see, those are the fallen coins in the back.

 I can relate to this representation, as I, myself, occasionally struggle balancing money.  Currently, I have been working hard to save money for a summer trip. I've been working not only more shifts, but also longer shifts and I even worked full-time during winter break.  Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time actually SAVING that money.  I am continuously spending money...going out for dinner, going to the movies, going to clubs/bars, and shopping (for things that aren't needed).  I need to find a balance by asking myself...When is it enough?

SO, balance is not only an element of art, but it an element of everyday life!

**Note to Future Educators**
Remember to BALANCE the use of process and product art activities within the classroom.