We don't
consider food packaging to be fine art, but that's exactly what American artist
Andy Warhol did when he created his
Campbell's
Soup Series. Part of the Pop Art movement of the 1960s, Warhol liked
Campbell's Tomato Soup so much that he had it for lunch every day for twenty
years!
Based on popular culture, Pop Art started in Great Britain in the 1950s, and ten years later, it spread to the United States. Artists who were creating this type of art wanted to paint familiar subjects that anyone could understand, so advertising, movie stars, and comic books often served as inspiration.
Other Pop Artists include Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldenburg, but Andy Warhol probably is the most famous. In addition to being a painter, he was a filmmaker, commerical designer, author, and a fashion model. Learn more about Andy Warhol at the Andy Warhol Museum.
You can be a Pop Artist, too, and you'll find the art materials for this project in the kitchen. In much the same way as Andy Warhol, we'll use food packaging to make art. We can reuse colorful, cardboard packaging from common foods to make the covers for a memory or autograph book.
A memory book is something you can make to help recall
the good times you've had during the school year or at camp. Besides signing
their names in the book, your friends may write a short message about something
you all did that was especially fun or memorable. Reusing food packages to make
book covers is fun, and it will help save natural resources, energy, and
landfill space.
 |
Open the box, and lay it flat. Have an adult use a paper cutter or utility knife to cut the front and back from the package. Trim both so they are the same size. Lay the box cover in front of you, and measure about ½ inch from the left edge and make a mark. Move the ruler down, and repeat this step. |
| Lay the ruler on the two marks, and holding it firmly in place on the left side, bend up the cardboard on the right. If you prefer, score the line with a pair of scissors. To do this, open the scissors, hold them like a knife, and using the ruler as a guide, draw one blade across the marks on the cardboard. Scoring the material will allow you to more easily open the book so you can write on the pages. |   |
 |
Working on the left side of the cover and within the ½ inch margin, punch four holes in the cardboard, as shown. Have an adult cut paper for the book. Use the cover as a guide to mark the paper so you know where to punch holes for the pages. |
 |
 After all the paper has been punched, line up the pages
and place them between the book's covers. From the front, thread a long piece
of ribbon through the two center holes, taking it to the back and making each
piece equal in length. Bring the ends back through the top and bottom holes,
even out the ribbon, pull to flatten it on the back, and tie in a bow in the
center on the cover. |
Tips and Tricks:
To further help the environment, use recycled copy paper for the pages in your memory book.
Depending on the size of the book's covers and the number of pages, you may need to vary the number of holes punched in the cardboard. A small book may require just a couple, while a larger one may need four or more.
You can reuse magazines to make titles for some of your pages. Just cut out various letters, arrange on the page, and fasten with a glue stick. See Secret Valentine for more directions.
In addition to collecting friends' signatures or autographs, include a photo or two. Don't forget to record the date you created the book, and write something about your favorite subjects in school or things you like to do at camp.
© 2008 Marilyn J. Brackney (updated 2018)
Volume 22 No. 2
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