Start with a rectangular sheet of aluminium baking foil.
Any size roll.
A sheet from a small roll will make a horse about 3-4 inches high.
A larger sheet from a wide roll of turkey foil will make a horse about 4-5 inches high.
Making animals and other things out of aluminium baking foil is a wonderful basis for artistic expression, relaxation, team exercises, activities for young people, and simple entertainment.
See the baking foil exercises ideas on the team building games page.
Here's how to make a baking foil horse:
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Start with a rectangular sheet of aluminium baking foil. Any size roll. A sheet from a small roll will make a horse about 3-4 inches high. A larger sheet from a wide roll of turkey foil will make a horse about 4-5 inches high. |
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Tear or cut the foil where indicated by the red lines
on the picture. The side sections fold together to create the body. The corner sections become the legs. The top and bottom sections will be the head/neck and the tail. |
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Take care to avoid the foil tearing too far to the centre with the result that a leg is lost. That said, it is often possible to patch up problems with an extra piece of foil. At this stage decide which is to be the head and which is to be the tail. Choose the end with the most foil for the head/neck. |
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Work on each section folding it along its length to
create a rolled effect rather than a crushed or flattened feel. Expect it to look rubbish at this stage. The wonderful thing about foil is how much moulding is possible. You can keep compressing it gently wherever required in order to create an acceptable shape for each part of the horse (or whatever else you are modelling). |
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It still looks rubbish huh? All that matters at this stage is that you have four legs, a body, a neck/head and a tail. Detail in the shape is not important at this stage. Just aim to create a very basic structure. And then press and bend it into the shape you want. |
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This is the finished article. Some would say it's still rubbish, but I reckon it's not a bad horse, from a single sheet of baking foil and about five minutes folding, pressing and bending here and there. This design uses the tail to achieve a balance like a tripod. Bend and shape it until you are happy with it. |
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Expect it to look better at certain angles than others. The foil is still quite flexible and tolerant. Even enough to fashion an ear or two. Damien Hirst eat your heart out. |
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Send me your pics of foil horses and other animals (and anything else for that matter) and I will gladly display them on this page.
You can use the same principles to make a giraffe..
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Note that the sheet of foil is longer than the sheet used for the horse. Unlike the horse, you should prepare one end with longer sections for the head/neck and front legs. In the picture this is the top end. Cut or tear the foil where the red lines indicate. Great accuracy is not important. As with the horse take care not to cut too far as this will increase the likelihood of losing a leg.
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Gently fold each part in on itself longways to create rough tubular sections. Fold the two middle 'wings' towards each other to create the body. That makes me think - a unicorn would be fun.. |
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Continue gently moulding and crushing the foil. At this stage you should begin to establish the proportions of the head and neck. |
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While the foil is still relatively loose, tear two
small flaps at the top of the head to form the horns. Strictly speaking a giraffe has ears too, but the horns are sufficient to produce a basic giraffe effect. |
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Having created the basic shape and balance you can then concentrate on refining it. Bend, compress and adjust the limbs until it looks about right. |
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And again here's the finished article, with the
horse. This is the same horse as the one above, but bent into a different pose, which shows how flexible the foil is even at this stage. |
Send me your pics of foil horses and other animals (and anything else for that matter) and I will gladly display them on this page.
Some other useful motivational references on this site for motivational study and development. Some of these articles, models and theories provide great materials for motivational posters, and provide good references for coaching, training and motivational and inspirational speaking:
free motivational and funny posters
teambuilding tips and exercises
brainstorming for team building and problem solving - how to
free resources for download - diagrams and tools
games, tricks, puzzles and warm ups for groups
herzberg's motivational theory
johari window model and free diagrams
mcclelland's achievement-motivation theory
murphy's plough - positive thinking story
problem-solving and decision-making - how to
tree swing picture - for inter-departmental development
tuckman's forming storming norming performing model
businessballs main site (if you're not already there)
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© alan chapman 2007