Water Bottle Sculpture

This was a collaborative art project that I did with all the children in the school where I teach and inspired by the American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly. My husband brought home the empty Poland Spring bottles from work and I washed them all in sudsy water in our basement utility sink.

My husband also helped out by making this handy drying rack. Each bottle was painted twice with contrasting colors of Martha Stewart's acrylic craft paint. She has some beautiful metallics. When the bottles are cut apart, the first color shows on the inside of the bottle and the second coat shows on the outside. The bottles were either cut in strips to mimic flower petals or in a spiral to imitate a vine. Once cut, the plastic is easy to manipulate and curl.

I strung the bottles with ribbon to form garlands.