Lesson Overview:

Don King, an artist and former range botanist with the U.S. Forest Service, started building furniture to use in his home, a large Shoshone teepee. Using his "Windswept" chair as a starting point, students will investigate the evolution of chair design and the practical, decorative, and artistic functions of this often-overlooked furniture form.

Length of Lesson:

Three 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• look at, describe, discuss, and compare chairs that are made for decorative and functional purposes.
• create a brief written report, PowerPoint presentation, or Web page focusing on chairs.
• build a small, three-dimensional model in the shape of a chair using small sticks/branches and twine or neutral yarn/string.
• consciously incorporate repetition, movement, and texture.

Supplies:

• Small sticks and branches or found scrap materials
• Scissors
• Natural or neutral colored string or twine, paper clips, masking tape, or thin, flexible wire (like twist ties) for tying chair joints together
• Water-based glue or hot glue gun for reinforcing and strengthening joints (optional)
• Water, sink, and clean-up items as needed

Instructional Plan:

Tips

• Prior lessons on using adhesives and three-dimensional assemblage would be helpful.
• Collect and display pictures of unusual chairs for discussion. (See resource suggestions.)
• Glue/adhesive should be in small, handy bottles or containers with small holes to limit the amount used.
• The clips, string, and tape are temporary materials for stabilizing the chair. Use only transparent glue for the final product (unless natural fiber ties are part of the composition).
• Avoid toxic adhesives and hazardous materials.

History and Aesthetic Components

Share some information about the history of chairs. You may wish to read (and extract from) the review of the book The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body and Design by Galen Cranz, a University of California, Berkeley, architecture professor who explores the history, politics, and physiology of how and why we sit on chairs.

Use the image of "Windswept" by Don King to prompt a class discussion. Ask questions such as:

• How big is the chair? Compare the size of "Windswept" to other chairs in the room.
• Who would sit in it?
• Does it look strong enough to sit in?
• How was it made (i.e., materials and construction)?
• Where do your eyes go when you look at the back and arms of the chair?

Use basic aesthetic scanning techniques to define the formal, technical, sensory, and expressive qualities of this chair. Other questions could be:

• What are chairs used for?
• Where are they most often located?
• Can you tell who is an important person and who is not just by looking at the chair in which they are seated?
• Are there ladies' chairs and men's chairs?

More questions—and visual examples—can be found on the Cooper Hewitt site: Exploring Design: Chairs

From this discussion, students should investigate (using the Internet or other sources) and create a brief written report, PowerPoint presentation, or Web page focusing on the chair as an item in our culture (an item so commonplace and utilitarian we often disregard its decorative features). This can be a study of historical forms, the basic construction of chairs, or a collection of interesting and unusual examples. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Period Rooms: Virtual Reality Tour presents an opportunity to experience the way American interiors were furnished and decorated from colonial times to the advent of World War I.

Process—Teaching the Lesson

Review the objectives and vocabulary handout. Ask students to visualize the chair they want to create.

Demonstrate how to select similar-looking sticks or other natural/recycled linear shapes that will be the main component of the chair. Show how to break, cut, snap, or twist the pieces to the lengths needed.

Demonstrate two or three effective methods for adhering the pieces together. (This is the hardest part!) For small branches and sticks, use a small bit of white glue or twist-ties and bind the joint with twine or yarn. Older students can use a hot glue gun, but the drops of glue should not be visible on the finished piece. Wire can also be bent to secure the joints. At first, the pieces will need support and balance. Students should gently wrap the chairs in paper or bubble wrap while the glue dries and/or between lessons so that their shapes are preserved.

Share ideas on balance (both physical and visual) and on how to add or subtract texture and repetition to unify the final piece.

Instruct students to lay out the back first—it can be one of the most expressive parts of the piece.

Review objectives, vocabulary, process, and understanding. Specify clean up as needed.

Process—Making a Model Chair

1. Students select similar types of small sticks and branches based on their design plan for their chairs.
2. Lay out the basic form of the chair on a table. Break the branches into usable lengths.
3. Pass out glue/adhesive. Carefully construct the back first (usually includes the back two legs), then the front arms, and finally the seat.
4. Let each major section dry before adding the next. Gently wrapping the entire shape in clear plastic, paper, or bubble wrap for a day or two helps keep the chair intact until the parts are secure.
5. Study the final three-dimensional chair. Add or delete any parts or pieces that do not contribute to the design and unity of the form.
6. Clean up and display chairs.

Assessment:

Consider the following in assessing student learing:

• With Don King's "Windswept" chair as a focal point, did students look at, describe, discuss, and compare chairs that are made for decorative and functional purposes?
• Did students create a research piece on chairs?
• Did each student create a small, three-dimensional model in the shape of a chair using found and scrap materials?
• Did students consciously incorporate repetition, movement, and texture?

Extensions:

Variations

Create the chairs with pipe cleaners or lightweight wire instead of sticks. Many colors and gauges are available for reasonable costs at home supply stores.

Enrichment

This lesson is particularly good for older students, as it is definitely a change of pace from our general art curriculum. Finding value in recycled materials as well as a challenging construction problem makes this lesson unique. The final product is also an excellent example of the Gestalt phrase: "the whole is more than the sum of its parts."

Sources:

Print:

• St. Pierre, Stephanie, et al. Muppets Big Book of Crafts. "Toy Twig Chair," pages 124-126. New York: Workman Publishing Company, 1999.
• McDermott, C. Book of 20th Century Design. New York: Overlook Press, 1998.
• Wachowiack, F. and R.D. Clements. Emphasis Art (6th ed.). New York: Longman Books, 1996.

Authors:

• Boise St. University/ARTSEDGE
  Washington, DC