Metal tooling medieval style

Please heed my warning: this post is extra long. Also, I meant to post it on Monday. It's been that sort of week.

Each summer, my district invites teachers to create their own week-long classes for local kids. So guess who's asked to do art classes?

This past summer, we used cardboard, glue, and foil to make some cool foil plates based on those I found here (via Pinterest). The kids LOVED them and they looked great (note: we opted to use tempera instead of shoe polish), so I decided to proceed with something similar for this school year.

The gluing was a challenge for some students and did take up a lot of time due to drying, so I decided to do a simpler metal tooling, same premise minus the glue. Then I stumbled upon Ren's metal tooling project here and declared that the subject for this project must be illuminated letters, as this was a genius idea. And because I have an affinity for medieval art. And because I may have become slightly obsessed with illumination after reading this book. Movin' on.

I cut down cardboard boxes with an old(er than I am) paper cutter. I used a 6x8" size. I pre-ripped aluminum foil, too.

We discussed illumination and I talked way too much (which is probably so shocking, considering my concise blog posts, mmhmm). Students spent the remainder of that first day sketching out ideas.

Next class, kiddos wrapped their cardboard with foil. I had them use a glue stick to glue one side of the cardboard before adding their foil, then wrapping the back edges and taping them down for added strength.

With dull pencils, the little illuminators transferred their compositions onto the foil. We had a few rips and tears, but those were covered up with the next step.

With some tempera paint down in the cracks, the letters popped.

I didn't have special foil, but some heavy-duty aluminum foil was on hand. And I think that's why these aren't as fabulous-looking as those on Dali's Moustache. I'll be ordering heavier gauge and various colors for next year to see if that alleviates the problem. On the plus-side, this was a fairly quick project, taking up just 3 classes (45 minutes per class). And the kids enjoyed looking at illuminations from long ago.

And now it's Friday, and it's super rainy, and ohmagoodness, someone get me a cup of caffeine. Happy weekend, all!