The Fun Art of Pasta!
Interesting shapes make noodles and other pasta a creative medium for children's art
By Alison Panik
Finding art supplies in a grocery store is an adventure in creativity. One aisle that can provide inexpensive, three-dimensional supplies is the pasta aisle. While most of the dried pasta found there is mass-produced by machine, it is important to remember that pasta was at one time made only by hand, and that there are even today many artisans skilled in the art and trade of making pasta. Pasta comes in all shapes and sizes. A visit to a local Italian gourmet deli can open up a whole new world of pasta art for your students.
Let’s explore the creative world of pasta and its possibilities! Dry, flat-cut pasta (fettucine, linguini, angel hair, etc.) offers young artists a variety of straight-line options. Different widths and strengths give children choices as they build two-dimensional artwork or three-dimensional structures. When this pasta is cooked and wet, it can be formed into a multitude of shapes, which can then be left to dry and harden for incorporation into artwork. Hollow-tube pasta (penne, macaroni, etc.) can be strung in patterns like beads, incorporated into weavings, and formed into structures using wire and pipe cleaners. Shaped pasta (farfalle, fusilli, wagon wheel, etc.) can be glued onto flat artwork, painted to make imaginative creatures, and combined to construct fantasy worlds. All types of pasta can be dyed using food coloring and rubbing alcohol or vinegar.
You can offer students of all ages bowls of plain or dyed pasta, plenty of glue, string, wire, pipe cleaners, and a variety of surfaces, both flat and dimensional, for pasta art exploration. Be sure to have a notebook and pencil on hand to take notes as you let your students generate their own ideas for pasta art projects. The lesson plans below provide a variety of fun and creative pasta explorations.
Art Lesson Plans Using Pasta:
Students in third through sixth grades use problem-solving skills as they explore the architecture involved in building bridges… using pasta! This innovative lesson includes a set of bridge requirements, a specific materials list, and the ability to “purchase” more materials using a set number of points that each team receives as part of their materials. I can see the value in doing this lesson before a unit on bridges and architecture (before students have any background knowledge), and then doing it again after researching bridge construction, taking field trips to local bridges, and interviewing civil engineers. This lesson is a winner!
Easy and Artistic Printmaking Using Mixed Media Materials
This lesson connects art with math (tessellations, symmetry) or social studies (cultures, Asian studies, history) with this printmaking lesson for all elementary levels. Be sure to include the optional materials (pasta and other items) to give children the opportunity to experiment with a variety of shapes as they create their own prints. This lesson would take at least two class periods, if not more, to give children enough time to explore the materials to their satisfaction. Additional printing options are included – the collograph relief print is a “must do”.
This lesson for third through fifth grades would work best in coordination with a unit on the human body in the regular classroom or health class. Ask parents to donate different, specific kinds of pasta – shells (skull), penne (straight bones), macaroni (ribs), spiral (spinal vertebrae), bowtie (pelvis), etc. Have books and other resources on hand for children to use to compare the shapes of the pasta with the shapes of different kinds of bones.
This lesson for sixth through eighth grades could easily be used with upper elementary students as well. Simple tips for portrait instruction are included. I’d like to see what students could do with wet pasta noodles. I would let students construct different hairstyles using wet noodles on clear sheets laid over the hairless portraits. When dry, they could arrange and attach them to the portraits with glue.
Macaroni necklaces are practically a rite of passage for first grade students. What I like about this lesson is the idea of creating pattern cards for students to use to make a-b-b (or other) color patterns on their necklaces. This lesson also provides clear directions for how to have students assist in dyeing the macaroni, and provides an individual assessment option that includes a rating system to establish understanding of patterns.