Wonderful Weaving with Warm and Cool Colors!

My DragonWing Arts students recently finished some colorful paper weavings.  I posted some pics on Instagram and received some questions and comments, so I thought I'd share the (simple) details here.  It was an easy and successful project!

The students each were given three sheets of 12x18" white paper. They divided two of the papers into stripes lengthwise, and painted one with warm colors, and the other with cool colors.  The paints were fluorescent tempera, and they used one brush for warm and another brush for cool, but did not wash the brush between colors, so that they got some subtle color blends in their stripes.  The third sheet of paper was filled with shapes - the kids chose to use hearts, stars, and 'amorphous blobs' (random organic shapes).  The shapes were painted with warm and/or cool as desired.  Then everything was outlined thickly with black paint. Finally, we used Sax Tempera Gloss Varnish to paint a coat of shiny sealer on the paintings.  It really enhanced the colors!

The students each were given a 19" square of black poster board.  They cut the stripes from one painted paper, cutting right down the middle of the black lines, and glued down the ends of the stripes, side-by-side on the poster board, to create their warp.

 Then they cut the stripes on the second paper, and used them as weft, to weave through the warp.

When the weaving was complete, all the ends were glued down, and the shapes were carefully cut from their third papers.

I had been given a bunch of 3D-O's, and we decided to use them to make the shapes 'float' above the weaving.  Note the 'happy face' arrangement of the stars in the piece below! 

 I know it's hard to see the 3-D element in these photos; it definitely looks more effective firsthand.  But honestly? I'd never used 3D-O's before and the kids and I found it annoyingly difficult to peel the end papers off to reveal the sticky parts.  Next time, I'd prefer to cut little squares of heavy cardboard and have the kids glue and stack them under their shapes to create desired depth, in place of using the 3D-O's. 

The original motivation for this project was a pic I saw on Pinterest, using warm and cool colors to weave in contrasting directions, in layers of weaving.  There were no instructions, and I used the image simply as a starting point to develop my own project for my students.  I thought the floating shapes would be a fun enhancement for the basic weaving, since we weren't working with multiple layers.  I also thought the contrast of using fluorescent paints and black lines made the final images more lively. 

I can imagine lots of ways to further enhance the project - patterns in white on the black backing, perhaps?  Or black and white patterned strips woven through diagonally?   It's fun to imagine all the possibilities!!

Teeny Tiny Looms!

DragonWing Arts is my little business of after-school art enrichment classes for students grades 2-5.  We are back in session for the winter!  Our theme for this winter session is 'Wonderful Winter Weaving'.  My current 5 students (one 3rd grader, two 4th graders, and two 5th graders) have told me that they've never done weaving in art class, so I figured I couldn't be too confident about their weaving knowledge and skills.

I have an ambitious set of weaving projects I'd like to accomplish with them in our 7-week session, and I wanted to make sure they all understood the basic concept of weaving to make the projects move along easily.  So I made some teeny tiny looms - 2"x 3" - out of mat board scraps.  I cut notches ever quarter inch, and then strung the looms, wrapping the warp around the back and tying together the two ends.  The photo above is the back of the looms; you can see the front in this pic below.

The kids started weaving, using blunt big-eye needles and yarn.  I had them measure yarn from their nose to their fingertips to cut.  Longer pieces will tangle too easily.  Because the looms are so small, if a mistake is made, it can be noticed and rectified quickly.  In just a few minutes time, everyone had gotten the hang of the process and all 5 kids were rapidly weaving.  We put Popsicle sticks under the warp to make it easier to get their needles under the warp as weaving was progressing. 

When the weavings are complete, the kids will have the choice to take them off the looms or keep them on. (I'm going to recommend taking them off.)  We will cut the warp on the back of the looms, and knot them together in pairs.  I think they will make cute little woven pendants!  I promise to post pics of them on the blog when they are finished.

Meanwhile, we made some warm and cool painted paper for another weaving project, and everyone started weaving on looms made for little pouches.  I'll do full blog instructional posts on both of these projects when they are complete, but in the meantime, the pic below is an advance preview.

As per your requests - Wampum Weaving Planning Graph!

Over the years I've had this blog, my various posts about 4th grade wampum belt weaving project, using pony beads, have been among my most popular.   You can find these posts here, here, here, here, and here.  Yup, that's 5 different posts, some with samples, and some with instructions.

Often, people have landed at one of these posts via Pinterest, where the project has been shared many times and are therefore missing the whole story, since some of the posts are sequential.  So I've give you links to them all so you can find any info you could possibly want, I hope.

I've had numerous requests for the planning graph that we used for designing the wampum belts (that you see in these photos), and until now, I've been unable to oblige.  When I retired, I left all the files and copies with my replacement.  But I've finally snagged a copy, and scanned it, and you can now find a link to it in my Document Weblinks tab on the top of the blog.  Or  if you want even a more direct path to the doc, here's a direct link to it!  Poof!  It's yours!

Feel free to copy it, or as an idea how to make your own.  My students used them to plan their design, to count how many of each color bead they needed, and to follow the pattern row by row when weaving.  There's potentially a lot of math in there for those of you who struggle to incorporate math into your curriculum! Have fun!!

One morning, two workshops, loads of fun!

I serve as a region rep for NYSATA, my state organization.  A couple of days ago, we held our second annual regional "Summer Art Blast" professional development event.  We planned it on VERY short notice, and I am so happy it was a success!  The night before, I decorated an old ugly pair or orthopedic sandals with a white Sharpie paint marker to jazz them up.  Just in time to wear while teaching workshops!

At last year's event, our members asked if we could hold some region workshops on the Common Core.  So our goal was to comply with that request.  Our Common Core presenter is an art ed professor at the College of Saint Rose,and she did two workshops, one for elementary and one for secondary.  I didn't get to attend them (but I was told they were both fabulous) because, at the same time, I taught hands-on workshops to each group.  We agreed that math scares a lot of art teachers, but it doesn't scare me, so I agreed to present the hands-on workshops.

For the secondary workshop, I taught the participants how to construct a trihexaflexagon, a tetratetraflexagon, and a Möbius strip. We also looked at the more complex hexahexaflexagon and a kaleidocycle.  (Have I confused you yet?)  I've taught this many times before, so I'm really confident about it, and everyone was 100% successful!  If you don't know what a hexaflexagon is, I've seen posts recently calling it a "flextangle".  That's a newly invented name, I presume a play on the Zentangle craze.  The original name goes back to the origin of flexagons in 1939, and was made popular by an article in Scientific American in 1956. 

 Here, participants are examining trihexaflexagons and learning how to make them flex and change.  (A trihexaflexagon is a hexagon with 3 faces, but you can only see two of them at once.  You have to flex them to reveal the hidden face.  Flexing them also causes the designs to rotate and change.  Very cool.)

During the workshop I also demonstrated what you can do with a Möbius strip, which is simply a strip of paper that is twisted one and connected in a loop.  It becomes one-sided.  But when you cut it in 1/2, it changes into a double twist and becomes two-sided again.  Cut it in 1/2 again, and it becomes two linked loops, which is what I'm holding in the photo below!

Since I'm retired, I was not as familiar with the standards as many of you, but I pored over them while planning for these workshops and discovered something that helped me a lot.  The Standards for Mathematical Practice, which are basically the same at all grade levels, include (among other things) the following: using appropriate tools strategically, reasoning abstractly, attending to precision,  making sense of problems, looking for and making use of structure, constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others.

And here are my workshop participants, using appropriate tools (rulers/pencils) strategically.  We talked about using multiple contact points to keep the ruler from sliding.  I tell my students to make their hands into a rainbow bridge, and to anchor the ends of the bridge on the ruler.  We also always look closely at the rulers we use.  Often, there's an extra gap at the end of the ruler, beyond the first inch.  I discuss with my students the need to know where the "zero" is on the ruler, for accurate  measurement. 

 Here we are, measuring accurately (attending to precision), 

cutting, scoring, and folding (again, attending to precision). 

 Looking for and making use of structure, and making sense of the problem, too!

 And when we were done, everyone had met some CC Math Standards, 

everyone survived the process, and they were still smiling, too! (below)

 When the flexagon workshop (with secondary teachers) was complete, it was time for the elementary workshop, which was an introduction to assorted weaving activities for various grade levels.

We began (pictured above) with a "human weaving", to show how, if the weft has been woven appropriately, the warp will be all joined together.  It only takes a few minutes to do, is an activity that your students will enjoy, and will really help them to understand weaving. The people standing in line are the warp.  The person at the end of the line will hold onto a piece of rope, and another person will be the weft, pulling the rope in front of and behind the warp.  When the second row has been properly woven, if you ask one person to go to their seat, the rest of the warp will have to follow! 

In just an 80 minute workshop, we started a complex looking (but easy to do) paper weaving activity, began to make a woven pouch on a cereal box cardboard loom, learned to do Kumihimo and strung a loom, and learned about a couple of other weaving projects.  Busy, busy!  Participants again explored the math standards, and talked about ruler use and measuring.  And took home everything they needed to finish all the weaving projects they'd started!

 Above and below, the aftermath of two workshops all piled together in one magical mess! 

We held the "Summer Art Blast" at the Tang Museum at Skidmore College in beautiful Saratoga Springs, where I grew up.  The exhibit of work by Nicholas Krushenick, which I've written about before, was still there, so I got to take another look.  Then, before leaving, we viewed an odd exhibit of small painted books by Arturo Herrera, and finally, stopped at the "Sol Wall" - a piece of wall art conceived by Sol Lewitt, consisting of scribbles in graphite.

Above and below left, the "Sol Wall".  Below right, a piece from Arturo Herrera exhibit.

 Below, a piece by Nicholas Krushenick.

Views from an Art Show

A couple of weeks ago, I subbed in my former art room, so that the art teacher could set up the annual art show in the gym.  In other words, this is NOT my students' work, though the older elementary and secondary students were once my former students.  It has been three years (wow, that went quickly) since I retired. I thought maybe you'd like to see what was on display, even though they are no longer my students - perhaps you may see a project that was inspired by something you've posted or seen on a blog somewhere!

Below, a kindergarten project:

I took these photos in the gym at the end of the day, when the art teachers (my elementary replacement and the high school art teacher too) had almost everything hanging.  All of today's photos are work from the elementary art room, grades K-6.

 Above, grade 2, below, grade 4 tooling foil

 I guess one group of 4th grade students was given the choice of an alternate project at some point, and 3 kids selected to do this black glue and acrylic on burlap painting, below.  I really was intrigued by the idea, since I like playing with paint on textured surfaces, so I'll have store the idea for future reference!

These scratchboard vases below are grade 6.

 Woven pouches by grade 5.  We've all made these, haven't we? 

 Grade 4 Mexican bark

 Sharpie bugs on foil by grade 2

 Grade 5 tooling foil designs

Weavings by grade 3

 Grade 2 value studies in geometric shapes

 The display label says this 3rd grade project in the 2 photos below was inspired by Klee, but every time I look at these colorful pieces, I think of Kandinsky! 

 Just like last year, I think my favorites in the art show were these clay looms.  I only used air dry clay with my students, especially since clay is not my expertise or favorite.  But my replacement uses the 'real thing' and then ships them down to the high school art teacher, one floor down at the opposite end of the building, to be fired.  I suppose I should feel guilty I never did this?  But I don't, since we always made large papier-mache projects!  Anyhow, this year, she gave the students the option of giving their looms a 3-dimensional twist, as with the photo at the very top of this post.

 Finally, on a previous visit subbing, she had asked me to start a 'toothpaste batik' project with her students.  Yippee!  I love doing this!  This time, I saw that the students had completed the painting portion of the project, and now have to wash out the resist.  I'm curious to see the finished products.  I discouraged the use of yellow and didn't allow any tints when I did this project with my students, since they seemed not to 'hold' as well when washed out.  But maybe she'll have better success.

Meanwhile, I left behind my sample demonstration piece for the current teacher to show the next steps.  This time I found it completely painted (thoug hmaybe not with the colors I would have chosen!  I probably would have chosen black, reds, violets, and blues) and had been washed.  Here is the finished quickie sample.  I guess it is now a collaborative piece! The muslin it is painted on is beige, rather than white.  I think the beige could be interesting for autumn landscapes, perhaps, though I think I prefer the bright colors on true white.  One shape has been re-traced with a Sharpie marker in this sample.

I also found in her room a sample that I had made a couple of years ago and had searched for with no luck.  I had taken my other sample pieces with me, but I guess I had left this one for her and forgotten!  Here it is, below.