Davis Junior High School students learn sculpture techniques with plastic

STERLING HEIGHTS/UTICA/SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Current Introduction to Sculpture students at William R. Davis Junior High School in Sterling Heights were able to learn different sculpture techniques through melted and morphed plastic plates and alcohol inks, and they recently displayed their work.

“I found this lesson that involves plastic, and it looks just like glass,” art teacher Gail Borowski said. “It’s been a hit year after year with students. This is always the project that kids really, really want to take home or they really want to show it off in the showcase, and I know that’s a good sign about a winning art project.”

The project is meant to serve as an imitation of artwork by Dale Chihuly.

“We study local artists, also mass artists, and we learn the difference between plastic and glass,” Borowski said. “They embellish the surface and they do all the hot work themselves, just like you would if you went into a glass studio and you did the hot work on glass.”

Eighth graders Jessica Kolan, Lana Shoashandi, and Emma Allen were some of the students who worked on these sculptures.

Kolan had some concerns about the melting aspects of the project.

“I was really worried about the heat part, because I was worried about hurting myself, but most of it, I liked it and it was, like, really fun,” Kolan said.

Shoashandi liked sculpting the project.

“I wanted to make it like a chip bowl so I can eat chips out of it,” Shoashandi said.

Allen thought the project was interesting because she didn’t think she could make something like that before.

“We had to, like, plan it before we did, because we couldn’t, like, go back,” Allen said. “So, it was lots of work before we did the project.”

Each of the sculptures was presented on a designer wood base or plinth, which allows light to pass through the art and give better visibility to the colors. This artwork and Borowski’s own hot glass artwork were on display on the second floor of the Sterling Heights Community Center until mid-March.

"Students found several hot glass studios locally, and they were interested in the classes and workshops,” Borowski said in a press release. “I am glad they connected their plastic work to the glass work of artists like Dale Chihuly, and to glass opportunities nearby. Whether it is for fun or for a career, glass is an incredible medium to work with! I am so proud of their success with abstract art and understanding the medium."

For more information, visit uticak12.org.