Art Shaped: 50 sustainable art projects to kickstart children's creativity

A versatile book offering ideas, technique and fun. Uses 'found' cardboard as its material resource therefore allowing children (and adults) the chance to create inexpensively while also endorsing reuse and suatainability. A must for school libraries, and art rooms, as well as home bookshelves!

Darrell’s book is a must-have for educators, parents or anyone with a creative itch to scratch! The 50 projects included are an accumulation of skills from over 30 years’ experience working with children and young people and a lifetime of creating mind-blowing art. It is evident that a lot of time, energy and care has gone into making this a book that is high quality and straight forward to use.The book begins with an introduction to Darrell and a rationale behind his work, followed by useful information on the tools, materials and methods required for the makes. It is then organised into sections under five different themes e.g. faces and figures, the natural word etc. Every section has been carefully crafted to support projects from beginning to end and the good news is, you don’t have to have Darrell’s brilliance to create them for yourself!Each make reads like a recipe that starts with a step by step guide on how to create the basic form. This includes pictures to illustrate the different stages. Darrell then provides guidance on how to decorate with tips to create the best effects. For those readers who are more experienced or want more of a challenge, each project has a section for you to adapt and extend the original idea to take it a step further. There are also helpful suggestions for educators as to how each design can be linked to different curriculum areas.Having made many of Darrell’s projects myself, both with a class of thirty and with children in my family, I can vouch that his projects allow young people of all ages and abilities to succeed. They give guidance where it’s needed but also allow the maker to flex their creative muscles and take each design where they want it to go. The best thing is, you don’t really need any specialist materials to start, just cardboard, tape and scissors. Buy this book- you won’t regret it and don’t forget to save the packaging for your first make!

Sparks the imagination and creativity of kids young and old in how to produce works of art from recycled paper and cardboard. I love it and can’t wait to get started.

Given that I purchased this book on pre order, it’s taken me a long time to get around to reviewing it. This is no way a problem with the book but from my desire to enjoy it and to really get to know it first. There’s an awful lot to enjoy and to learn here but Darrell has made the book so accessible to young readers whilst being an in depth study of process and techniques that will keep the most critical adult studying it. There is no waste in this book ( like many of Darrell’s projects) everything has been well thought out and the graphics team have done a wonderful job on the design and layout. 50 widely varied projects across all areas of the primary curriculum and advice on developing the ideas further are coupled with basic building techniques to match Darrell’s unique take on 3D artwork, recycling and having fun. Yes having fun is a big part of this, Art Shaped is not a weighty old tome but a vibrant newcomer that will be perfectly placed in every school and private home where there is a desire for creativity. If you are a creative person then this book is for you, if you are not a creative person but would like to be, then this book is the place to start. What I’ve asked is a classic? I feel that Art Shaped is destined to become one, a classic how to book, one that will always seem fresh with ideas and working methods that will never become old, tired or outdated. This is a Classic.

I have been home educating my children for about 4 years now, and in that time have attempted many different forms of arts and crafts with them, sometimes leaving them frustrated. These crafts can also become expensive, and need a variety of different supplies.After being recommended this book, both of my children, in a very short space of time, have learned so many new skills, using mostly recycled materials, that they can now take forward .. and produce the work that they have been dreaming of.Darrell has explained the different techniques he uses to produce his amazing art pieces in a way that is accessible to both adults and children.Having a child with special educational needs, this has been particularly helpful to him, giving him the skills and confidence to express his feelings and emotions through art.I would definitely recommend this book to any teachers, home educators, adults or just anyone who would like to broaden their skills and learn more about how to create their own masterpieces using recycled materials..

Packed full of inspiring ideas for using just very basic supplies such as recycled boxes, masking tape and tissue paper with glue and paint. The projects are well presented with lots of pictures making it clear how to construct each artwork. Thoroughly recommend for lots of exciting ideas for young creatives.

This is an incredible and inspiring collection of 50 mini Art projects. The author demonstrates his craft superbly and shows how easy it is to follow the wonderfully illustrated step by step instructions, in order to create fantastic pieces of Art. This book is made with love and over 30 years of experience working with children and young people. A truly fabulous book to add to your collection and a must have for any budding artists, teachers and schools. Even for the more creative souls - sometimes you just need a bit of inspiration. I love it so much I actually have 2 copies - one for school and one for home.

Darrell's book break down a range if ideas into manageable chunks with minimal resources so no need to go to the art shop to make one of his designs.As a teacher, I found his book extremely helpful when planning across the school for a range if subjects.

I like this book. Its a paper back and its all color, and a very well designed book on paper sculpting. Very beautiful illustrations, and detail information on how to make designs using cardboard, cereal boxes etc... it was a christmas gift to me. So happy to have this book. I love working on paper mache, so this book is a good to have as an inspiration.

Liked the nook, use it as reference

My students and I love so many things about this book! The variety of projects and ideas are fantastic. My students can follow the examples with room to add their own creative spin on their creations. Using cardboard and other materials that are free to create with removes artistic barriers and helps the environment at the same time. ❤️

Excited to try my hand. Good illustration of steps