Knights in Shining Armor

Fifth Grade boys were inspired by the chivalrous knights of the Middle Ages in this metal tooling project. They designed their knights' armor by looking at books for inspiration and adding authentic details like chain mail and weaponry while focusing on the art element of texture. Students used special wooden tools and felt and magazines as cushions to emboss pieces of 36-gauge aluminum to create a low relief. Then they covered the metal in black ink and used steel wool to buff them to a shine before cutting them out. The knights stand about a foot tall and are displayed gallantly guarding the third floor hallway!

A few photos of the boys at work, tracing and embossing their designs:

And the finished works: