Support That Remains
Suggested Group(s): Young/Middle/Teen
Purpose: To create an object that changes yet the structures given remain both symbolically and concretely
Task/need: Converting the relationship…to one of memory, relate the loss to a context of meaning
Activity Setup Ideas:
- In preparing the activity, take strips of tissue paper and write things that a person may have gotten from whoever died. (e.g. support, love, encouragement, companionship, etc.) Share these words with the group members and ask the children for suggestions of additional words they can think of and add them to the tissue paper stack of words.
- Start out by explaining to the children that the balloon represents the person before they died.
Materials:
- Sharpie markers (only use a Sharpie Marker so that the words will not run when they get wet)
- Balloons (preferably heart shaped). Older children can try to shape a regular balloon with the paper mache.
- String
- Strips of newspaper
- Strips of tissue paper
- Paper Mache Mix: Mix one part flour with about 2 parts water until you get consistency-like thick glue. Add more water or flour as necessary. Mix well to get out all the lumps. Add a few tablespoons of salt to help prevent mold. You can also use regular glue mixed with a bit of water. Mix using about 1 part water to 2 parts glue. Alternatively, you can buy some wallpaper paste at a hardware store and mix one part wallpaper paste with three parts water.
Description:
WEEK ONE: Have balloons blown up and ready to cover. Tie a string around the knot at base of balloon. Start by having group members cover the balloon first with the newspaper strips dipped in the mache mix to give it a sturdy base. Then ask the children to pick the words written on the tissue paper that remind them of things they feel they received from the person that died. Dip them in the mache placing on top of the newspaper pieces. Make sure they do not cover the base of the balloon where the knot and string were tied. Allow balloons to dry until your next session.
WEEK TWO: Give the children the balloons they covered the week before. Remind them that the balloon represented the person before they died and the words they placed on the balloons represented what that person gave to them while they were alive. Explain that you are now going to pop the balloons, which represents when the person died. Pull the balloon out of the mache by the string and explain when the person died, they were also pulled away from you. Show the mache shell left and explain that you still have all those things that person gave you even though they are now gone. Have the children write messages to the person that died and stick them inside the opening you pulled the balloons from. Cover the opening with masking tape. Let the children decorate the balloons however they want. Most like to paint them, use glitter, attach beads, etc.
Activity Wrap Up Ideas:
- Ask the children to reflect on the role that the heart balloon had in the creation of the paper mache heart.
- Like the person who died, the balloon is no longer a physical part of the heart sculpture, but impact of the balloon will last long after it was physically removed from the sculpture.
