In the 7th grade I made paper mache piñatas in my Spanish class. My group crafted a frog. This week in San Miguel we made paper mache títeres. Our products: an uniperro (unicorn-dog), a girl, a witch, a hen, and a pig.
DAY 1: We worked in groups. The kids drew up their design for the puppet they wanted to make and then they received a balloon. The next step included cutting and shaping cardboard and then taping it onto the balloon. This is how folks made their ears, horn, noses, etc. From there came the messy and most enjoyable part; using a solution of flour, water, and salt to paste strips of newspaper on the balloon.
Myra, Blair, and I helped facilitate the process as Andrea documented.
Day 2: We reformed our groups and got to painting. One of our títeres, the girl, caved in during the drying process. It was sad but the kids quickly formed other groups more eager to paint than think about how we lost our dear puppet girl. Painting was fun and quicker than we expected. After groups finished we had them find two sticks; one large and one medium sized. The sticks will serve as the body and the arms of the puppets. From there we will be able to dress the puppets in a large shirt.
All the talleres will lead up to a final presentation that is planned for Wednesday, November 16th. Until then we will have one more taller that will combine two; making musical instruments from found and recycled items and theatre.
Until next time…
PEACE
Alida