Faux Rice Paper Holiday Cards

Grades 5-6

Art 207-03, Group 4

Amanda Holt, Jessica Gonzalez, Loren Tomschin, and Hattie Gomez

Objectives:

1. The students will learn the history of the uses of rice paper
2. The students will learn to use controlled brush pressure.
3. Students will work within a border that they create.
4. Students will use many materials to create a functional piece of artwork.

Student Materials for Each Card:

8.5" X 5.5" Piece of Colored Cardstock or Heavy Weight Construction Paper
10" X 7" Piece of Wax Paper
Pressed Flowers and Leaves (or small flat artificial ones)
White Glue
White Glue Mixed with Water (ratio of approx. 3 to 1 parts)
Medium or Large Sized Paint Brush
Kleenex
Glitter Pens
Ruler
4 3/8" X 5 3/4" Envelopes (Optional)
litter and/or Confetti Pieces (Optional)
Fancy Pens (Calligraphy, Metallic, etc.) or Rubber-Stamps for Inside Greeting (Optional)

Teacher Materials:

Slides/Examples of works by Artists
Examples of student work

Vocabulary:

Deckled Edge Rice Paper Daubing Cropping

Procedures:

1. Discuss the basic characteristics and historical uses of Rice Paper with the students.

2. Have the students fold the wax paper in half.

3. Using the Ruler, have the students' measure and fold back the three raw edges 1".

4. Open all folds. You now have two large rectangles surrounded by a border.

5. On right half of the wax paper, create and center a design made of the pressed flowers and optional Confetti Pieces in the rectangle. Use the White Glue to hold them in place.

6. Place one layer of Kleenex on top of the design and over the remaining surface of the Wax Paper.

7. Paint the Water/Glue mixture on top of the Kleenex using a type of daubing stroke. Be careful not to tear the Kleenex. Make sure that all of the Kleenex is coated and stuck to the Wax Paper and Flowers. Do not let the Water/Glue mixture pool up too much on the paper.

8. If desired, at this time you can sprinkle glitter on the surface of the Faux Rice Paper.

9. Let Dry.

10. Fold the Cardstock in half.

11. Write your greeting or message in side the card. Let Dry.

12. When the Faux Rice Paper is dry use the ruler to crop it. Along one side, fold the paper along the original fold line for the border in step 3. Press the edge hard all along the fold. Then flip the fold over to the other side and press hard along the fold again.

13. Align the straight edge of the ruler with this fold, and tear off the excess border.

14. Repeat steps 11 and 12 until the remaining three sides are cropped.

15. Fold the Faux Rice Paper in half along the fold line from step 2.

16. Place a few dots of glue along the inside of the fold of the Faux Rice Paper (The inside is the wax paper side.).

17. Place the Outside fold of the cardstock inside the Faux Rice Paper Fold and center the rice paper on the card.

18. Decorate the design on the Faux Rice Paper with glitter pens.

19. Let dry.

20. Display the students' cards and discuss the different designs.

21. When the lesson is over give the students the envelopes to put their cards in before they take them home.

Suggestions & Comments:

This project makes a great community service project for the holidays.  Have the class make enough cards for a local convalescent home as well as a few extras for themselves and their families. They really like having such a nice finished product.