Incised Pop-Ups

Pop -ups have such an enduring fascination.  The techniques we used here are not complex, but the transformation from two dimensions to three almost seems magical.

We used index cards and regular scissors.  First, everyone made all 7 of the pop-ups shown below (just to get the hang of it).  The ones you see above were new designs created by the students.

Fold index card in half vertically or horizontally.  Cut where you see a dash line and crease where you see a solid line.  It's important  to crease in both directions to really "set" the crease. We used the handle of the scissors to smooth the crease.   Open the card and just play with it a bit to get the pop-up.  

Paper Weaving, Light and Shadows

Love

This book has been a great inspiration for working with paper.  I've actually done quite a few of the projects in it including  pop-ups with index cards (see below).

The weaving project was done by 5th and 6th grade girls.  It really requires a lot of patience and an eye for seeing the unseen.  It's actually quite simple.  You start off with a basic over/under weaving but what adds that element of artistry is envisioning what the paper could become if you pull and crease a certain way.  The shadows created by the lifted paper add yet another dimension.  I did purposely choose a white on white palette so the girls could focus on the space and not the color.  I also should add that I did not suggest for them to create any particular image, it was just about exploring shadows and light.  The discovery of the shapes or words was through their own artistic process...very cool.

Hi

Pop Ups With Index Cards
I would recommend to do the pop-ups with 5th and up.  I tried it with 4th grade but there was a lot of frustration.  I did it with 5th and 6th and they were challenged but they were very happy with their success at the end.  They even started designing their own pop-ups and asked if they could have extra cards to take home.  Both of these projects came from the book above.