Big Words

Big Words

Whole School

St Paul's College, Balwyn

Carefully chosen words have the power to inspire and a single word can help focus and motivate students to improve their lives. This artwork, appropriately called Big Words, is an inspirational piece which can be transformed again and again into a collection of words and phrases, using the first letter of every student’s name at St. Paul’s College. Inspirational words include, make, peace, worth, goals, along with the phrase, Christ teaches all. As students assemble the letters, they think of new words and so the artwork can be altered to reflect these changes. The art making process included tracing around a letter template twice, cutting out both, then sticking coffee cups between the two ‘pieces’ to create a 3D form. Students then applied masking tape around the edges so that they ended up with a solid shape – the first letter of their name. They then applied layers of newspaper using papier-mâché techniques until the structure was firm. Topcoats included paint, paper mosaic, inks, glitter and glaze to create the ‘bling’.