Primary

Words and properties
What can we do to paper to change its shape? Write down as many process words you can think of (eg. tear, fold, twist etc). Make postcard samples of each process.

Collections
Make a collection of small objects that are a microcosm of a particular world - your school, the contents of your school bag or locker. Arrange and label them as if they were an exhibit in a museum.

Dismantling and remaking
Take a simple model kit with component parts. Instead of following the instructions, reinvent the model assembling the parts to create your own entirely new object.

 
Secondary

Changing dimensions
Cornelia Parker is fascinated by processes which change the dimensions of objects, flattening and stretching materials to test their limits. In one case she transformed two wedding rings, stretching it until it became a thin wire 40 ft long.

The simplest process of transformation can be cutting. Challenge your classmates to see who can alter the dimensions of a simple object (eg. a paper or plastic cup) most effectively to make one long strip of card or plastic.

How might you change the dimensions of other, more complex objects?

Frozen narrative
Cornelia Parker has referred to the 'cartoon violence' of her work where objects are destroyed but then spring back to life in another form.

Draw a story-board mapping out a similar transformation using an object of your choice (this could also be a photographic/digital project)

Configurations
Cornelia Parker frequently uses objects which have been thrown away or which are no longer used. By using them in her art she gives them another life. Find a similar object - an old typewriter might be interesting (the more complicated the better). Dismantle it into its component parts and rearrange these elements into a 2-D pattern or configuration. What does this new arrangement remind you of? Give your arrangement a title to underline these new associations.

Further Reading