EARLY CHILDHOOD / ELEMENTARY

Clark Fralick

On the first day of school, a six-year-old ran up to me, her eyes wide with excitement, and asked, “When do we get to use cardboard?” She wanted to build a house for Fred, an imaginary character she invented the previous year.

Another student, Ian, was working quietly in the construction center. He was clearly fully engaged as he glued pieces of cardboard he had previously cut out. Ten minutes later, I noticed that he moved to the floor adjacent to the cardboard area to make more room for his artwork.

Working with a familiar material like cardboard alleviates mental barriers students might have when making art.

“Wow! That’s a really long construction. Tell me about it,” I asked him.

“It’s going to be a tower. I want it to be about six feet tall. But it’s too wobbly in the middle. I need to add some support so it doesn’t fall over,” he replied.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked. He said no, and I moved on.

Conversations like these are commonplace in our choice-based art room and other art rooms around the country where children are excited to use their own ideas.

The Joy of Cardboard
Cardboard, the most ubiquitous and approachable material in our choice-based studio, is also one of the most inspiring. We’ve all heard stories from parents who buy an expensive gift for a child only to have the cardboard box the toy came in become the object of the child’s attention.

Students use cardboard to solve both two- and three-dimensional challenges and to express their ideas in truly unique ways.

Often free and widely available, cardboard is easily acquired and can be manipulated, cut, glued, bent, woven, assembled, and connected. This popular material was first used in 1871 to support and strengthen top hats. It wasn’t used for boxes until 1894. Cardboard caught the attention of artists from the Dada and Cubist movements but wasn’t widely used until later in the twentieth century. A simple internet search will show you how diverse and popular cardboard has become with contemporary artists.

Why Cardboard?
What makes cardboard such a powerful material to use in the art room or in any classroom for that matter? Students tell me they like it because “You can make anything with it in 3D and not worry about messing it up.”

Working with a familiar material like cardboard alleviates mental barriers students might have when making art. What I like about it is that it’s easily acquired and a renewable resource with little or no cost. In our studio, I have a large box filled with pre-cut cardboard, scissors, brown paper packing tape, and sponges. After a brief demonstration of how to use the tape, students jump right in and start constructing.

I can’t imagine an art room that doesn’t have cardboard as an option for students to work with. What about you? What do your artists like to make with cardboard?

Clark Fralick is the art teacher at Sugar Creek Elementary near Indianapolis, Indiana. clark.fralick@gmail.com