What are natural materials. What are natural materials? Dried water lily fruit

In order to create a cozy atmosphere in your home, every detail designed to decorate the interior must clearly fit into its overall style. To emphasize the dignity of the interior, highlighting the advantages and hiding the disadvantages, the decorative sound of various accessories will help. One of these creations of home art is handmade crafts made from natural materials. From our article you will learn how with the help of simple things that surround us, you can create exquisite jewelry and original decor items. The following workshops with photos and step-by-step instructions, as well as various ideas for home, summer cottage, school and kindergarten, will help you easily cope with this task.

Beautiful crafts: we do it quickly and easily (photo)

Kanzashi, topiary, decoupage, planters, origami - the world of handmade tirelessly excites the imagination of needlewomen.

A variety of crafts made of wood, glass, shells, cereals, coffee beans, pasta, paper, stones, pebbles and other natural materials will help create a unique comfort and light romantic mood in any interior.

Advice! You can create a variety of stocks for making crafts from natural material from absolutely anything, just look around, you probably have a lot of things suitable for this at home.

Hazel and pine nuts, beans, buckwheat, peas, coriander, pepper - are excellent material for creativity

Advice! So that handicraft creativity gives you exclusively positive emotions, and the process of preparing material turns into a real holiday, you can combine business with pleasure.

1. Being at sea in the summer, stock up on beautiful shells and small pebbles. They make great wall decorations for the home.
2. Walking through the autumn park, give your child the task of picking up acorns, chestnuts, colorful fallen leaves. Products from natural materials made by children's hands are endowed with special warmth and love.
3. When caring for your own garden, do not be too lazy to sow the seeds of dried flowers. They are perfectly stored in the winter and will be an ideal tool for creative work.

Natural wood crafts

Wood- a beautiful and malleable material that has gained popularity among designers, architects and ordinary amateurs. Natural array is easy to combine with metal, glass, plastic and stone decor.

Wooden crafts will harmoniously fit into a cozy country-style room, set the tone for the brutal loft style, and favorably change the classic, Scandinavian, minimalist decor.

We offer you to view a universal selection of interesting wood products that can transform the design of any interior, becoming its beautiful and bright accent:

Tree branches

- a refined natural material that allows you to create many original things for your home with your own hands: chandeliers, wall lamps, candlesticks, photo frames, hangers, headboards and much more.

1. Painted dry branches with many branches will give a special charm to the living room, kitchen, bathroom.
2. Tables, lamps, shelves, vases trimmed with a saw cut look nice.
3. A romantic mood will be set by decorative panels in the form of a heart, a bird, a star.
4. Gold, silver, white, black rods, placed in a transparent vase with stones, attract attention.

Wood saw cuts

Tree cuts help create larger crafts: vases, clocks, frames, stylized wreaths. Wooden tubs for flowers, shelves, hot coasters will harmoniously fit into the interior.

Having shown a little imagination, it will not be difficult for craftsmen to build an unusual countertop from these round ones, fixing the saw cuts of wood on a plywood sheet, filling the voids with shavings and opening them with varnish.

Bark of tree

Bark is a natural and affordable material. Modern craftsmen use birch bark to create unique paintings and appliqués. Mugs, baskets, tuesas and boxes made of birch bark will last for decades.

Crafts made from natural materials will help not only to reveal your creative potential, but also to translate your interior ideas into reality.

Decorative stone and pebbles

• Decorative rock- the unbridled power of the elements, which has a strong charge, which affects the overall design concept of personal plots, interior decoration.

Chests, caskets, vases filled with pebbles will dilute the routine atmosphere of city apartments and office space. Small stones will decorate walls, mirrors, door handles, stands for installations, as well as bottles. Look at the examples in the photo.

An interesting solution would be glass bottle candle holder filled with shells with colorful pebbles. No less beautiful will look beautiful stones stuck to the wall.

A decorative rug, pasted over with flat pebbles, planted on silicone or special glue, looks unusual and elegant. With it, your porch will look stylish and beautiful.

Even children can create original stone compositions. Just before that, you need to conduct a step-by-step master class for them.

Mosaic, painting, stone cutting- a great way to entertain children by creating magnets, flower arrangements, trees, cacti in decorated pots.

Advice! It is best to paint sea pebbles in one tone with the help of special cans, but you need to apply drawings and thin lines on them using brush liners.

• Decorative panels and figurines are made from multi-colored stones. Pebble cladding of walls, floors, fireplaces and window sills - the basis, kitchens, toilets.

Picture of stones - a unique piece of furniture

Summer crafts from fruits, leaves and flowers

The formation of a careful and caring attitude towards the environment is formed by classes with natural materials. An important stage of work is the collection, processing and preparation for the use of summer gifts.

You can make beautiful and original home accessories with children's hands from:

• leaves;
• poplar fluff;
• colors;
• seeds.

Dry grass, fruits, flowers, tree fruits and plant seeds make it possible to create complex volumetric applications for autumn and summer themes, unique and colorful compositions and other original art objects.

Advice! If wood (saw cuts, logs, bark, twigs) is used to create crafts from natural material, it should be thoroughly dried before starting work. Using damp wood will significantly shorten the life of homemade masterpieces.

Ideas for creating autumn crafts

Autumn is the best time to pick fruits, seeds, vegetables, as well as acorns, cones, and chestnuts. Fallen leaves, dry flowers, grass will serve to create unusual bouquets, wreaths, applications.

Natural compositions look good in ordinary vases, watermelon peel, coconut shell, pumpkin shell. An original master class can be held for children, teaching them how to create crafts from natural materials with their own hands.

1. The cones will make a cozy basket or wreath that can be hung on the front door.
2. Zucchini decorated with berries and flowers will become the main character of the garden plot.
3. A kaleidoscope of bright colors of pumpkins, potatoes, eggplant will decorate the yard landscape if you come up with a worthy use for them.

Advice! Looking for ideas for crafts for kindergarten, check out the wonderful houses made from bark and tree branches.

Crafts on the theme: "Sea and the underwater world"

Sea crafts give bright emotions and a rainbow mood even in cold winter. If you are lucky enough to collect a collection of shells during your vacation, hurry up to become the authors of voluminous applications, paintings, frames, a marine theater or an aquarium.

• Sea treasures are easily transformed into beads, pendants and pendants.
• Cold porcelain, salt dough will help to complement the composition with starfish, corals, colored stones.
• The ocean in a bottle is a whole underwater world that allows you to invent different stories and study marine life.
• On a cool day, warm memories of summer will also be given by boats made from improvised materials.

When making nautical-themed decor, do not limit yourself to anything - create, try, dare

In the manufacture of products on the theme of "sea" you can use absolutely any natural material

Feathers for needlework

• bird feathers- used by craftswomen to create soft pillows, warm feather beds, hat decorations, toys, unusual souvenirs.

They also decorate the interior, complementing the crafts with sequins, sparkles, small ribbon bows and other decor.

Despite the fact that the pen is a very capricious material, working with it is quite simple and easy.

Dream catcher - a magical talisman that attracts good luck

Important! Bird feathers can cause a severe allergic reaction in humans, so be careful using them as home decorations.

DIY crafts (step by step)

It is easy to create crafts from natural material with your own hands - the main thing is to get the necessary tools and material. The following step-by-step instructions for creating versatile home and garden decor will help you complete this simple task.

colorful panel

Panel - decorative, facades. Currently, three main genres are used for its manufacture: sculptural, mosaic and appliqué.

An interesting solution is an artistic panel made of natural materials: dry leaves, straw, nut shells, dried flowers. Its production takes place in 3 simple steps:

1. First you need to make a base. It can be made from wooden boards knocked down into a shield or a piece of plywood.
2. Next, the base must be covered with burlap material or a straw grate over it, on which the application will be applied. You can make an application from flat elements (leaves, grains, seeds), or get a relief surface by combining three-dimensional details. An unusual solution would be to weave dried citrus, moss and leaves into a straw net.
3. The final stage is the creation of a rope or wire loop for attaching the panel to the wall. Rate the result in the photo!

Advice! If desired, a frame made of snags or vine branches can be added to the resulting composition. It will make your work more elegant

Egg shells for indoor plants

Creating small flowerpots from eggshells requires special care, since the shell itself is a rather fragile material and can be easily damaged by careless movement.

Procedure:

1. Prick the top of a raw egg and pour the contents into a bowl.
2. Finish the edges until a clean cut is obtained, or leave them chipped.
3. Stabilize your vases with a stand or egg carton. Alternative options may be a plasticine flagellum that complements the bottom of the shell.
4. The resulting container is ready for seedlings of wild flowers, greenery, moss, small succulents.

Interesting to know! An eggshell can also be used as an elegant candle holder, an Easter craft or a miniature flower bed.

To create your own mini-garden, you will need quite a bit of time, the main thing is to do everything carefully and follow the rules described above.

Saw candlesticks

Preparing an exclusive candlestick from a stump or saw cut wood will take a minimum of time and effort. Obtain the necessary material and tools to perform the following actions:

1. Impregnate the wooden base with compounds that prevent the formation of rot and insect pests.
2. Using a drill and a special nozzle, make a shallow hole in the center of the stump to install a standard candle. So that the edges do not pose a danger, process them with sandpaper.
3. Decorate the product with burlap tied with a jute rope or a beautiful ribbon.

A wooden stand for 2-3 candles, made of simple driftwood, mounted on a wall, hangers or supports, will look unusual. Such an interesting hand-made product will be the best attribute for romantic evenings.

Kitchen clock

A clock for the kitchen from cutlery is made very quickly and simply. For this we need:

• clockwork with a beautiful dial;
• disposable plastic spoons and forks;
• glue gun.

Step by step master class

1. First you need to disassemble the watch, separating the mechanism from the dial;
2. Next, using a glue gun, we glue improvised arrows opposite each number so that the spoons and forks alternate and follow one after the other. So the watch will look much prettier;
3. It remains to let the glue dry, set the dial in place and insert the battery into the watch. Original and useful ready!

Summing up

Do-it-yourself decor for home, summer cottage, school, kindergarten is easy to do, especially if you use natural material for this, which is a pleasure to work with.

You just need to enlist the help of family and friends, connect your imagination, and boldly create! Try, experiment, look for your own! epics, proverbs and sayings. In wild flowers, people saw the charm of youth, birds were a symbol of freedom and independence, the wind was the personification of strength and power, Dnipro-Slavutich - wisdom and greatness, mother affectionately calls the great people Russian river Volga.
Love for nature comes with mother's lullaby and grandmother's leisurely, instructive tale. Nature teaches, educates. Remember "Three hundred pages of the Book of Nature" V. A. Sukhomlinsky, his famous "school under the blue sky."
Man is the master of his land, namely the owner, and not the squanderer. Respect for nature is essential educate from childhood as well as respect for elders, the culture of behavior in society.
Since ancient times, craftsmen have used natural material for the manufacture of various handicrafts, many of which have outgrown a narrow utilitarian purpose and turned into genuine works of art. Gained worldwide fame Fedoskino and Palekh caskets, widely known Dymkovo and Filimonov earthenware toys, the famous matryoshka is very popular in our country and abroad.
All natural materials can be divided into two large groups: vegetable and mineral. Plants include leaves of trees and shrubs, bark, flowers, straws, cones, acorns, chestnuts etc., to mineral ones - sand, shells, pebbles, etc. The list of one and the other groups is quite extensive., therefore, based on local conditions, you can always find material for any homemade product.
When collecting natural material it is difficult to foresee what exactly will go into the manufacture of a particular craft, since the creation of toys is a creative process. A toy is sometimes born impromptu, so they collect much more material than is required for one or two classes. There should be plenty of choice at hand. everything you need.
Storage of natural material is not difficult. Technology the preparation of some of them will be discussed in the relevant sections. It is not recommended to store natural material in bulk. It needs to be sorted by type. and store either in folders or in boxes. This facilitates searching during operation and contributes to better preservation.
For working with natural materials use different tools. Thin branches are cut small penknife. A nail file is used for sawing with fine teeth, sometimes a jigsaw. The work requires a hammer, pliers, an awl, a small drill or chisel with a set of small diameter drills. Small parts made of natural material are difficult to process by hand, so small vices or vices are used to secure them. hold the pieces with tweezers.
It is necessary to process natural materials on a special table. If there is no such table, you can use an ordinary board for work, on which wedge-shaped board to hold details. Such a device is used when planing wood on carpentry workbench.

natural material
in working with children

Natural material in work with children.

Nature is an inexhaustible source of creativity and inspiration. From time immemorial, people have drawn plots for works of art from it. For the people, their environment was not something frozen, motionless. Fields and trees, sun and clouds, grass and mountains were inspired images in fairy tales, epics, proverbs and sayings.

In the wild flowers, people saw the charm of youth, the birds were a symbol of freedom and independence, the wind was the personification of strength and power. Love in nature comes with mother's lullaby and grandmother's slow, calm fairy tale.

Man is the master of his land, namely the master, and not the squanderer. Respect for nature must be nurtured from childhood, as well as respect for elders, a culture of behavior in society.

Craftsmen used natural material to make various handicrafts, many of which outgrew their narrow utilitarian meaning and turned into genuine works of art.

All natural materials can be divided into two main groups: vegetable and mineral. Plants include leaves of trees and shrubs, bark, flowers, straws, cones, acorns, chestnuts, flowers, etc.; to mineral - sand, shells, pebbles, etc.

The list of both groups is quite significant, therefore, based on specific local conditions, you can always find material for any homemade product. For each plant, you can notice the originality of the appearance: the shape of the leaves, flower, surface, etc. as in working with natural materials all this must be taken into account.

But it is also necessary at every lesson, during excursions, to remind children that they should take good care of nature - to protect a flower, shrub, any plant from senseless destruction.

Consider some types of plant material that are most often used for various crafts in working with elementary grades and the features of some natural materials, collection, storage and methods of work.

cones . The fruits of coniferous trees - cones - are an excellent material for voluminous toys and entertaining crafts. In shape, they resemble parts of the torso of animals or humans. Cones stick together well, they are diverse in shape, size and appearance: cedar, cypress, fir, spruce pine. For making crafts, it is better to use unopened cones, as they are easier to work with.

Needles. Good for hedgehog needles, spider legs, cat claws, butterfly antennae, doll skirts, etc. You can collect at any time of the year, it is better to use green needles in your work.

nuts . In the manufacture of toys, you can use both shells and whole nuts - walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, pine nuts, pistachios.

Hazelnuts are used to make the heads of toy people (for example, “Merry Man”), animals (the head of a rooster, a hare, etc.)

Hazelnuts should be harvested ripe in the month of August, along with a hat, which can also be successfully used in the manufacture of toys. Nuts are dried on boards and then stored in a box in a dry place. The shell of hazelnuts is quite hard. It is hard to cut with a knife or pierce with an awl. It is difficult to work with overdried nuts, so their use is undesirable.

Pine nuts can be useful in the manufacture of paws of animals, fists of forest men. Nuts are easily pierced with an awl, stick together well.

Walnut shells (in the form of halves) are used to craft boats, carts, turtles, beetles, etc. You can crack the nuts into the correct halves with a knife (so that the knife does not slip, it must be clamped in a small vise or held with pliers). Only a teacher can crack nuts.

peanuts . Peanuts are very easy to work with - they are easily pierced, cut, their shells are thin and rather fragile. Peanuts are used to make original figurines of animals (dog, cat, etc.). their shell does not harden when dried.

Chestnut . Chestnut fruits are a good material for making simple toys. The shell of a fresh chestnut is thin, easily pierced with an awl. Whole chestnut fruit is fashionable to use to make the head or torso of the doll. Store chestnuts preferably in a cool place.

acorns . Oak fruits - acorns - come in different shapes and sizes. Acorns ripen in autumn, in September - October. It is recommended to pick the fruits when they are ripe and fall from the tree. Simultaneously with the acorns, their cups (pluses) are also collected, on which they hold on. Plushies are a very good material to complement acorns and are often used for various crafts. Acorns should be collected different in size and size. For the manufacture of toys from acorns, it is advisable to use fresh acorns, because. they last longer and are easier to work with. Store acorns in a cool and humid place.

Also, when working, natural materials such as pine, oak, birch bark are used for coasters, in the manufacture of backgrounds and individual toys.

In addition, a variety of branches, peels, leaves, seeds are used.

seeds . Seeds of watermelon, melon, sunflower, large flower seeds, such as: dawn, azure flowers. From these seeds, you can easily make eyes for animals or humans.

A valuable addition to toys made from natural materials can be seeds of trees, vegetables, such as maple or ash seeds, known as lionfish. From them you can make wings for a dragonfly, ears for a hare, fins for fish. It is better to collect seeds in the fall.

Leaves . Leaves are an interesting and necessary addition in the manufacture of toys. They can be of various shapes and colors. Leaves can be used to make butterfly wings, fish fins. From the leaves, children make various patterns (applications). It is better to collect leaves in autumn, when they are especially beautiful.

In order to preserve and use the leaves, they must be properly harvested. To do this, the collected leaves of plants are placed between newspaper sheets and ironed with a warm iron, then they can be shifted with thick paper or thin cardboard and a load placed on top. For long-term storage, the paper between the leaves should be changed from time to time.

branches . Branches are used in the manufacture of some parts of the craft: arms, legs, neck, etc. For this purpose, it is better to use branches of pine, spruce, lilac. Their branches are resilient and do not break easily when dry.

Collecting branches is a job that requires time, patience, and accuracy. It is necessary to constantly remind children that trees need to be protected and only dry, but not too dry branches should be collected for toys.

corky . Craft peels can be used depending on the shape, which can resemble various animal figures or body parts. Here, figurative vision and observation are especially important, which must be developed in children.

Many old roots or their offshoots can be found along the banks of rivers. When collecting this material, children should also be reminded that the roots of living trees are inviolable.

You can also use natural materials such as moss in your work with children to create a background, an image of vegetation, etc.

bird feathers . Feathers can be different - chicken, duck, pigeon, of different quality and composition. Their application depends on the imagination of the author. Before work, the feathers are washed, dried and combed to restore their natural look.

shells . Shells can be collected in various shapes - house shells, oval, comb-shaped, heart-shaped, etc. Collection of shells - if possible - is done by children together with the teacher during excursions or summer holidays for children. After collection, the shells are washed with a small brush (you can use an old toothbrush), after which they are laid out and dried. Storage is carried out at any temperature.

The subjects of works from natural materials are varied. Due to the peculiarities of development, children of seven years of age cannot always find a plot for their work. The teacher should help, suggest an interesting idea, advise when choosing the material for this product. Lessons with natural materials contribute to the development of figurative representations, visual memory, fantasy, help to develop the initial skills of processing materials.

In the classroom, when children receive the initial skills of making crafts from natural materials, the teacher should do the work at the same time as the children. Students should follow the actions of the teacher and adopt the techniques and methods of initial processing of materials. After the children have mastered the initial techniques, they can be given the opportunity for independent activity. Children themselves choose a souvenir and the type of material with which they will work.

At the beginning, the children perform the application of the leaves, this work usually takes place in the fall, when the leaves are most beautiful in color. Next, the children do the work “Butterfly”, “Dragonflies”, “Beetles”.

The teacher also invites children to make such souvenirs as “Goldfish” or “Cockerel”, “Heron”. For these souvenirs, various materials are needed, for example, a walnut for the body, leaves for the fins, seeds for the eyes. In addition, children make animals from natural materials: the dog "Bobik", a mouse, a cat, a bear, a bird, a fox, etc.

Cones, acorns, walnut shells serve as the basis for the manufacture of various toys, souvenirs and fairy-tale characters. Tree branches serve as a good material for the manufacture of individual parts (arms, paws, legs, neck).

It should be borne in mind that younger students cannot always find a plot for their work. The teacher should suggest an interesting idea, advise which material is better to choose.

Children perform not only individual toys, but also entire compositions. Mono perform an individual composition or group, in pairs. They perform such compositions from natural material: “Crow and Fox”, “Cosmonauts at the Rocket”, “Swan on the Lake”, “Christmas Tree”, “Fisherman”, etc. Very interesting works are obtained from shells, for example, a parrot, a peacock, a hare, cockerel, sailboat, etc. The more diverse the material, the more diverse the subject matter will be.

Ways of connecting parts,
setting figures.

The easiest and most affordable way to connect the parts of the craft is achieved using plasticine. Plasticine is used for temporary fastening of parts: to connect the head and body of the fox, a small ball of plasticine is made of plasticine, about two centimeters in diameter, into the center of which a cone-torso is pressed at the bottom, and a head at the top. Children use plasticine when they have not yet developed the skill of working with natural material.

A more complex, but also more durable way to connect parts of a toy is gluing. To do this, they collect glue with a brush and lubricate the joints (for example, when making a little man, glue is applied to the lower part of the acorn-head and the upper part of the acorn-torso), then both parts are applied one to the other and pressed firmly for 8-10 seconds, after which they are carefully put on a stand until completely dry. While both parts of the toy are drying, the child prepares the rest of the parts (arms, legs, hat, etc.).

You can also connect parts of the toy with the help of twigs, matches (without heads), sticks using an awl. But this tool should be handled very carefully, so the main work with the awl is done by the teacher, and children can do such work only under the supervision of the teacher.

For example, to connect the head and body of a donkey with twigs, first one hole is made in the acorn-head and acorn-body. The acorn is placed on a stand and held by the sides with the fingers of the left hand. They take an awl in the right hand, insert it into the center of the acorn (the softest place) and, slightly pressing on the awl, simultaneously make swaying movements with the hand. Here it is very important to learn how to hold the awl in place of the injection so that it does not come off. Therefore, at the initial stage of training, it is better to take soft fruits (rose hips). After the holes are made, the ends of the twig are inserted into them, advancing to the middle between the acorns - this is how the neck is obtained. To make the connection strong, the ends of the branches are first smeared with glue, and then inserted into the holes of the acorns.

Details can be connected with threads, wire (especially often they are used in working with straws). Gluing finished toys to the stand is carried out by gluing (glue or plasticine). For this, the attachment points of the toy to the stand are liberally smeared with glue, allowed to dry (5-10 seconds), and then attached to the stand.

Safety at work
with natural materials.

When working with natural material, it is necessary to strictly observe the safety rules for both children and managers:

1. Classes are held in a special room equipped with workplaces, safe in sanitary and epidemiological terms, with normal lighting.
2. Before starting to work with natural material, the teacher should conduct a conversation to clarify the names of the tools, whether the children know how to use them, if not, explain and during the lesson help those children who work with the tools for the first time.
3. Also pay attention to the workplace of the child.
4. All necessary materials and tools should be individual use for each child.
5. The teacher constantly reminds that turning with scissors, an awl, a knife and other dangerous tools is not allowed.
6. For cutting branches and roots, use a well-sharpened penknife with a blunt end.
7. In dry chestnuts and acorns, you cannot make holes with an awl - they must be drilled.
8. You need to process natural material on a wooden board.
9. After completion of work, be sure to clean the workplace.

Storage of works

Souvenirs, toys made of natural materials are fragile and easily destroyed if handled carelessly. As a result, they are recommended to be stored in glass shelves at the level of the child's eyes. Children, considering their crafts, can not only evaluate them on their own, but also rejoice at their success in work or compare the level of their work with others.

Bibliography:

1. Gulyants E.K., Bazik I.Ya. What can be made from natural material M., 1991
2. Pereverten G.I. Homemade from different materials
   M., 1985
3. Gusakova M.A. Application M., 1977
4. Maltseva O.V. Working with natural material
5. Machinistov V.G. Teacher's guide 1-3 grade
6. Panfilov T.R. Merry homemade M., 1996
7. Romashina V.I. Didactic games for labor training grade 1-3 M., 1996

Practical work.

Making work from natural material
"Angler"

Material : cork, acorns, matches, threads, moss, green paper, cardboard, twig, paints, scissors, awl, brushes.

Working process:

An oval or any other lake shape is cut out of a piece of cardboard, painted with blue paint, leaving an island on which moss or grass cut out of green paper can be strengthened. A cork stump is glued in the middle of the island. A hole is made in the cork, a small branch pointed at both ends is inserted into it. A fisherman is made from two acorns: one large - the body, the other small with a hat - the head. Connect them with a small twig or match. Holes for arms and legs are pricked with an awl and matches are inserted into them with clean ends. Then the matches are broken and given the desired position. A thread is tied to one match hand - this will be a fishing rod, it is lowered into the lake. The face of a man is painted with paints or ink. A bucket for a fisherman can be made from plasticine, half a chestnut or an acorn cup.

Natural construction is based on the use of natural materials. Here is a suitable definition of natural materials - these are materials that have not been subjected to industrial processing. But in your home there will still be materials that have been processed to some extent. Unless you find a hole in the ground or an empty tree and live in it. Beavers strip branches and then cement them with clay, bees and wasps produce honeycomb wax and “paper” for their shelter, many birds build nests using complex combinations, for example, of straw, clay, sticks and feathers.

The difference between the processing of natural materials by animals and humans is the key to a good definition of natural materials. When animals process natural materials to build their shelters, they treat each part of the component as if it were a separate entity. Their work celebrates the diversity of the universe. They collect heterogeneous materials with their beaks or paws and form complex structures from them. People take the same separate different materials and give them monotony. These natural materials become raw materials for the same type of industrial processing.

Therefore, we can define natural materials as materials that, even after processing, retain their basic essence. Natural materials must be respected by using them as they exist in nature.

Wood remains a natural material even after it has been sawn down, even if it has been sawn down with a chainsaw, even if it has been sawn into pieces, even if it has been split or chopped into square pieces with a hand tool. Each tree thus used is respected as an individual organism. If a tree is sawn into boards with the same chainsaw, it is still natural to some extent, there is an element of personal participation, an element of response to specific circumstances and thus, there is a creative choice. The naturalness of a tree is significantly reduced when it is taken away from the sawmill in a large truck.

Almost any modern building, although, in general, and natural, requires some materials that are processed in an unnatural way. It is difficult to build a solar collector without glass. Even adobe, which is made entirely from natural materials, undergoes industrial processing to some extent if mechanically made straw sheaves are used. There are no hard differences, but processing goes through several stages and each of them exponentially removes material from Nature and increases responsibility.

Raw and non-combined materials

The list of raw materials for the construction of truly natural buildings is quite short. There is a clear division into biological and geological materials. We snatch biological materials from their cycle of growth, reproduction, decline and decay. We borrow geological materials from the earth, these materials do not grow and decay extremely slowly. Unlike biological materials, geological materials are not eaten by animals or insects. Life has almost no effect on them. Stones and clay are well tolerated by heat, low humidity or high dampness, which cannot be said about straw or wood. Fungus, bacteria, or insects eat wet biological materials, and dry heat causes wood frames and thatched roofs to dry out and crack.

In the construction of a house from natural materials, we use various building materials. These are stone, crushed stone, sand, clay, water, various herbs, reeds, straw, cheret, sedge, floor and trees. In the diagram (p. 7) they are shown in sequence with water, geologically on a descending scale, biologically on an ascending scale. Water connects the two components. Add small materials to this list: natural resins, resin, peel,

Wax, animal and vegetable fats, wool, skins, etc.

This is a complete palette of basic materials as well as a palette of tones. And yet the possible combinations of these basic materials are almost finished. We are still very far from the final result of compiling possible combinations even of the three elements of adobe - sand, clay and straw. Due to the constant desire to industrialize everything for profit, our society neglects even the simplest experiments with raw materials.

Primary and secondary processing

Primary processing has been part of the folk tradition for thousands of years. After primary processing, the material remains a separate element: square and shaped stone, baked clay tiles and bricks, lime, processed boards, sand melted into glass, sheaves of straw, iron nails, linseed oil.

A huge conceptual leap takes us to secondary processing, where elements are combined into synthetic amalgams that do not exist in nature. They are relatively slow to break down or break down into toxic offal. These are aluminum alloys, stainless steel, plastics, most preservatives, paints, varnishes, particle board, and mainly cement.

Materials combined in an unnatural way cause the deepest anxiety and fear. Because we don't have a proven genetic resistance to the damaging effects of material we didn't evolve with. While we have developed such a reaction to the natural chemical and physical combinations of our habitat. And, if for two generations we suddenly have to deal with pentachlorophenol, formaldehyde or dioxin, our body does not have a prepared defense, and we can easily get poisoned. It must be understood that any synthetic material is likely to be toxic to some degree to all life forms.

Assembly of components

Pre-assembled units are a quantum leap, not in a chemical but
socially, even after recycling. Natural materials offer us the opportunity to respect them and work with their different qualities, to see the texture, scale, color, strength and uniqueness. In the case of ready-made components, the main choice was made for us. We buy ready-made windows, doors, plastic kitchens. Prefabricated houses, mobile homes, are the highest achievement.

Since there is no incentive and strong desire to solve a difficult problem on our own, we are forced to constantly adapt to a variety of materials, simplifying everything to the point of absurdity. In the end, we become apathetic and inattentive, devoid of feelings due to boredom, squandering the priceless sharpness of perception of the world, which necessarily arises only during active creativity.

Natural materials, unlike pre-prepared components, are magnificent in their pristine beauty given to them by God. In this form, they fully reveal the structure of the building, demonstrate the miracle of resisting the force of gravity and exalt each individual component.

Natural materials in technology lessons

Nature is an inexhaustible source of creativity and inspiration. From time immemorial, people have drawn plots for works of art from it.

Can be distinguished several factors of the beneficial effect of working with natural material:

sensorimotor development. Consistency in the work of the eyes and hands develops, coordination of actions improves. In the process of making crafts, a system of special skills and abilities is gradually formed;

mental development of the child. Tracing the path of making crafts from natural material, you can see that at first the children examine the sample, analyze its structure, and then the child makes crafts according to his own design;

attention development. The stability of attention increases, voluntary attention is formed;

children's curiosity is satisfied. In this type of activity there is always novelty, creative search, the ability to achieve better results;

development of the personality of the child, education of his character. It is not so easy to make a toy: its production requires certain strong-willed efforts. When a child encounters difficulties, he should try to cope with them on his own.

Applique work on crafts made from natural plant material requires precise actions from the child, and if at first it happens that especially great perseverance is required during manufacture, then with the advent of certain skills, finger flexibility, grasping skills, fine motor skills, and imagination develop. There is consistency in the work of vision and actions of the hand, coordination of movements, flexibility and accuracy in performing the necessary actions are improved.

All natural materials can be divided into two large groups: vegetable and mineral. Plant materials include leaves of trees and shrubs, bark, flowers, straws, cones, acorns, chestnuts, etc. To mineral - sand, shells, pebbles, etc.

Plant natural materialsare used to make flat, convex and voluminous compositions at labor lessons in all classes. Even in kindergarten, preschoolers make applications from leaves and seeds, voluminous compositions from various fruits and their parts, twigs. In the third or fourth grades of the school, children can already include petals, flowers and inflorescences in applications - flores. Especially original works are obtained from the straw of cereal crops.

Natural materials need not just be collected, they need to be properly processed, stored and systematically replenish the existing fund.

Leaves,collected by children during the excursion lesson, they are sorted in the class by tree species and size, if necessary, wiped with a dry cloth and placed under a press for drying in special corrugated cardboard folders, shifted with pieces of newspaper. Newspapers are changed every two to three days until the leaves are completely dry.Small flowers, inflorescences and petalsCut flowers are traditionally dried in books, which provide strong compression on thin surfaces and dry them quickly. For the convenience of working in the classroom, finished materials are stored in folding paper boxes.seedsapple trees, pears, watermelons, melons, etc. are thoroughly washed at home from juice, dried on paper or a towel and then stored in a classroom in glass containers with a lid.

Once again, we will make a reservation: seeds grown specifically for food and sold in the form of cereals (rice, buckwheat, millet, peas, etc.) can be used only fragmentarily and very rarely (the eyes of a volumetric toy made of chestnuts or cones).tree fruits(acorns, chestnuts, nuts, cones) are collected and dedusted. Then they are dried and put into storage strictly according to grades in cardboard marked boxes. The prickly peel is removed from chestnuts, it is dried, stored separately from the fruit. The chestnut fruit itself (walnut) should be used in the same year, since it will inevitably wrinkle from drying out (which will not hurt to include it in a great composition) and it will be much more difficult to drill holes in it for mounting with other details than in fresh. Nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios) are rarely used whole. As a rule, only their shells are useful for our compositions. It is collected throughout the year. Store in glass containers with a lid.

Cones (spruce, pine, alder and other tree species) are collected from the ground in autumn, dusted and dried. It should be remembered that when dried, fresh cones change their appearance - they open. And you need to store them in a dry room, away from water, otherwise they will become moldy. If, in order to realize the plan in the middle of winter, a closed cone is needed, it will have to be soaked in a glass container for several days. As soon as it closes, it is taken out, wiped, dried a little and the form is preserved. To do this, the cone is dipped in wood glue and dried. If a fresh cone (closed) needs to be opened quickly, forced drying is used. The cone is placed on a hot battery for a day or two and the change in shape is observed. It is even easier to open the bump by drying it at home in the oven (children should do this under the supervision of their parents).

To work in a mug, cones of a curved shape may be needed. In this case, the fresh cone is boiled until the core is soft. Having taken it out of boiling water, it is cooled, bent with hands in the right direction and “bandaged”, fixing the shape. In this form, the workpiece dries completely. Then the bandage is removed and the workpiece is preserved in carpentry glue.Bark,as a rule, it serves as the base (main) part on which the volumetric composition is assembled. Fragments of bark are collected from stumps or tree trunks during their spring pruning. Of particular value is the layered bark of birch, birch bark. It is steamed in boiling water, stratified, then dried under pressure. As a rule, birch bark is used in circle work.thin twigspick up from the ground, dedust, store in cardboard boxes.Straw of cereal cropsleaves are cleaned, knots are cut out. The resulting internodal tubes are boiled at home for 20 minutes for disinfection, removed from boiling water and cooled on a towel. Part of the long tubes is split with a knife along the fibers and smoothed with a hot iron over a glossy surface, turning into a ribbon. The remaining tubes are thoroughly dried to prevent decay, then they are stored in cardboard boxes, divided by shades.Straws can be dyed if necessary (although it already has a rich palette). Boiling in a soda solution with the addition of onion peel enhances the yellow color of the straw, with alder cones or oak bark - gives it a brown color. If we want to get unusual bright colors (red, purple, green, etc.), the straw must first be bleached with ordinary household bleaches for cotton fabrics. Then it is thoroughly rinsed and immersed in a solution of aniline dyes for fabrics. Having obtained the desired color, the straw is removed from the solution, rinsed again in running water and dried.sculpting fine art sculptures

Properties possessed by natural plant materials prepared for work. What do you need to know to make durable compositions?

Leaves and flowers, when dried under pressure, slightly change color, fix their shape, lose their elasticity. They become hard and brittle. These properties dictate the technological methods of working with them. When assembling applications from leaves and flowers, PVA glue is used, which is applied pointwise.

Frommineral natural materialspebbles, shells, eggshells and feathers are available for work.

smallstones and shells,usually ready to eat. They are thoroughly washed, dried and stored in small portions in cardboard boxes, sorted by size.Whole eggshellthey cook at home, under the guidance of their parents, but students in the classroom carefully analyze the methods of working according to the textbook. First, a whole raw egg must be washed under running cold water, wiped carefully with an awl to pierce the shell from the poles and blow the contents into a cup. Then, closing one of the holes with your finger, pour some water into the shell through the other, shake it several times and blow the remaining water into the sink. Whole shells (three per student) are kept in a cardboard box in the classroom and used as semi-finished products for toys throughout the year. Shell fragments are stored separately, they will be needed for mosaic applications on clay flower pots.bird feathersused as a finish products with great care. As a rule, these are two or three feathers “extracted” from a pillow, or a bright feather dropped by a domestic parrot to decorate an Indian's hairstyle.

All products from these materials can be conditionally divided into flat, convex and voluminous.

Toflat products,collected on GTVA glue, include applications from dried herbarium leaves, flowers and inflorescences, petals. Tubular and flattened straw and seeds are also used. Leaves, flowers and inflorescences are fixed on the background part by drip gluing. Straws and seeds are glued over the entire surface.

The technology for performing applications from natural material by younger students provides for the following stages of work:

– preparation of material, its selection;

– choice of pattern for application;

– material position, sketch creation;

– selection of equipment tools, auxiliary materials;

– crafts in a variety of ways.

Forconvexappliqués, dried details from flat straw on tracing paper are used. They are folded on the fold in the same way as any paper parts. However, it should be remembered that the direction of bending must exactly match the direction of the fibers of the straw. Then the part will bend easily. If the direction is transverse, the ribbons of the straw will peel off the tracing paper. Glue curved straw fragments to the background part, as well as paper ones, at one point.

In the first grade, students use plasticine molding to connect bulky parts, in the second grade, the parts are glued with PVA glue (in some cases, preliminary cleaning of the joints with sandpaper or a file is required), in the third and fourth, they are connected with studs.

In addition to plant natural materials, some mineral materials of animal origin are used in primary classes. These are shells and eggshells. Such materials can be combined in products with vegetable natural, paper and polymeric materials, with semi-finished products.

A separate group among products made from natural plant materials is formed byChristmas tree pendants made of flattened straw. Since the straw has a natural sheen and a very elegant color, it can be flattened with an iron, cut off the ends, even out the length of the blanks and knit according to the pattern to make, for example, an eight-pointed Christmas star. The pendant will turn out to be especially elegant if its rays are intertwined with a Christmas tree rain.

More complex compositions are obtained from whole tubes of straw, which are strung on a Christmas tree rain, getting through volumetric pendants.