Cola canopic jars.

Cola canopic jars. My first-year high-school art students enjoy art-history lessonsabout the art and artifacts of the ancient world. I especially loveshowing the students images of art treasures from ancient Egypt. Eachyear, the students complete a three-dimensional project that attempts tore-create an artifact from the Old Kingdom. This year, we made canopic jars from recycled 2-liter soda bottlesand newspapers. At first, the students thought the project would bechildish and "too easy." They soon learned the challenges ofusing papier-mache to create the facial features! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I began this project by showing the students original and replicaexamples of canopic jars from the Internet. We learned that during theprocess of mummification, four jars were used to hold the organs thatwould be needed in the afterlife. Each of the jars represents one of thefour sons of the Egyptian god, Horus. Hapy, the baboon-headed god,protected the lungs. Duamutef, the jackal-headed god, looked after thestomach. Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed god, held the intestines.Imsety, the human-headed god, protected the liver. The students are fascinated to learn the soft organs of the deadbody were removed because they are filled with fluid and decomposequickly. I explain the Egyptian embalmers would remove the brain throughthe nose and discard it. The heart was left in place, as it was believedto be the center of thinking and creativity. The art of mummification was complicated and ritualistic. The bodywas disturbed as little as possible. After all, it would be needed inthe next life! Mummification took roughly 70 days, helped along by thesalt compound, natron, and Egypt's dry climate. Once the students chose the god they wished to portray, they had todraw a study image to use for reference. The study image was to becomplete with details, color and any hieroglyphics needed for"body" of the jar. They began the process of creating the jar base with a 2-liter sodabottle. The entire bottle is covered with layer of newspaper strips,using a glue-and-water combination applied with a 1-inch paintbrush. Apapier-mache made from wheat paste will also do the trick. Once the students have the first or second coating of newspaperstrips in place and dry, we use a mat knife (with close teachersupervision) to cut away the top of bottle, just above the"shoulder" of the bottle. Don't discard the bottle top,as it will later form the base for the of the jar. The canopic jar needs to be thick and sturdy, so more layers ofnewspaper strips are applied to the base. There be enough layers ofnewspaper so the bottle will not be pushed in when pressed with fingers.The students and flattened pieces of newspaper and masking tape to formthe neck of the jar. The neck flares out and the bottom tapers down.Masking tape was used over the dried newspaper strips, to make theexterior smooth and the neck free of ridges. The final coating of glued paper was made using paper-towel strips.The brown, recycled towels are best for this, but any type will do. Weapplied a cream-colored paint to the jars; adding sand or glitter to themixture created a textured look when dry, as if it was stone. While the bases dried, students began to shape the jar tops, usingthe cutaway portion of the soda bottle. Turning the neck of the bottletop upside down and resting it in a small cup allows the student toeasily work on the top. More newspaper is balled up and taped into the neck of theupside-down bottle top. The ball of paper needs to be large enough to bethe right proportion for the base of the canopic jar. The students tapedup the ball of newspaper, securing it to the upside-down bottleneck.Features such as ears, a nose, eyebrows, a mouth and eyes were addedusing taped bits of rolled paper towels, newspaper, clay, polymer clayor play dough. Once the features were complete, the students layered tape,paper-towel strips and glue on top, used their fingers to smooth themout, and allowed it to dry overnight. Once the top/head was dry, we applied a base coat of cream paintwith sand added. When the base coat was dry, students began to paint thefeatures, remembering to exaggerate them with heavy black outlining. Thetop will look like a big stopper once it is complete, and should fitsnugly into the base of the jar. The base of the canopic jar was "labeled" with thestudent's name in hieroglyphics. The students were cautioned tolimit their paint palette to metallic colors and warm earth tones. These canopic jars look authentic and worthy of the journey intothe Egyptian afterlife! LEARNING OBJECTIVES High-school students will ... * use problem-solving skills to create a three-dimensional object. * use historical resources to make a reproduction of an ancientartifact * use recycled materials to create a work of art. MATERIALS * Empty 2-liter soda bottles * Newspapers and paper towels * School glue or papier-mache * Clay, play dough or polymer clay * Egyptian art and hieroglyphic reproductions * Acrylic paints and brushes * Sand or glitter * 1-and 2-inch masking tape RESOURCES * www.discoveringegypt.com/e-name.htm * www.kingtutshop.com/freeinfo/CanopicJars.htm * www.lucylearns.com/canopic-jarpicture, html Christine Epps teaches art at Surry County High School in Dendron,Va. Go to artsandactivities.com and click on this button for links tothese websites.