You’ve never seen animal trophies quite like these–no taxidermy required! Chewonki Elementary and Middle School seventh- and eight-graders just finished using plaster, fabric, raffia, paper, paint, and other materials to create and mount the heads (and in some cases, bodies) of creatures from around the globe that are critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable to threats.
Art teacher Coreysha Stone describes the students’ colorful trophies as “whimsical representations…The idea is to shine the spotlight on these fragile species.” Students researched where each species lives, its habitat, and what has caused it to land on the list of those in peril.
Stone led the students through study of reliefs and how artists can “build something up” using plaster over armatures. She encouraged them to “play with different materials” to make final works that are bold and celebratory even as they ask us to come face-to-face with the crisis of earth’s diminishing richness.
