sew loved

The Sew Loved art show is here!


Where: New City School's Delano Gallery, Saint Louis, Missouri.
When: 2012 Winter-Spring show
Why: Sew Loved will feature artists from around the world who love to make softies. These artists will inspire the New City School children and community to create their own softies in a collaborative way. Create, Inspire, Love!



What are softies? Softies are huggable art! Also called soft sculpture, plush, or textile art, this kind of art is soft to the touch and made from any kind of fabric.



How does it work? Each of the softie artists have created a special little package just for you to help you get started making your own softie. You should have already picked up your package when you signed up for the show before Winter Break, but if not, you are welcome to still participate! Bring your softie to the art room by January 6th and it will by hung in the gallery to complete the art show. I can't wait to see what you create!

I'll also be introducing you to some of the artists featured here in the coming months. More from Sew Loved soon!

war weavings part 3

It was interesting to see how many of the third grade textile stories were related to war. Boys and girls created epic battle stories with ultimate destruction and rebirth, historical war references, or man versus some destructive element (robots, aliens, fires, etc).



Good versus evil is a part of any good storytelling, but I was struck by the number of stories dealing with death and destruction coming from my lovely third graders! I thought perhaps that this might be a way for some of them to process what they might be hearing or seeing on the news, in the media, etc. I thought of ways to relate these battle story weavings to the way another culture might retell their own battle stories in their textile art. While pondering these thoughts via a little googling, I found some interesting information. Athena is both the Greek goddess of war and weaving. Neith is the Egyptian goddess of war who wove all of existence with her loom. Or how about the Norse story of woman weaving on a warp of human guts and using arrows as a shuttle!



How amazing to think that this war and weaving relationship is so ingrained that it has become an intuitive part of human expression. These third grade war weaving stories are a primal retelling of our human story.

And one more connection to share, I found this video on the Penn Museum website featuring information about its show: Battleground: War Rugs from Afghanistan.

Notes from Afghanistan: War Rugs from Penn Museum on Vimeo.

third grade weaving part 2

The third graders have worked so hard on their weavings! I love when we get to take our time with a project- understanding, connections, and creativity are all intensified in a long process. It offers them the chance to persevere, to appreciate the time invested in making something, and to feel pride in a job well done.

I started using podcasts as a way for students to reflect on their art making process rather than just writing an artist statement. The kids LOVE doing this reflection piece! They are highly motivated to articulate their ideas in a meaningful way. Podcasting is a modern storytelling device and the perfect tool to share their textile art! I have some samples here but you can see them all on our vimeo page. Enjoy!

John from Shannah Burton on Vimeo.

third grade weaving part 1

Our third grade artists have created some beautiful textile pieces using the ancient art of weaving. The words "text" and "textile" come from the same Latin origin meaning, “to weave.” We have discussed how text implies a story or words and how storytelling is very much a part of textiles and weaving. With this in mind, our artists were asked to tell a story using color and pattern in their weavings. The third graders had some wonderful stories to tell!





I love this Doctor Who inspired weaving!






















Many students commented on how much they enjoyed the calm and quiet of weaving. This was the perfect project to take outside and enjoy in our school garden.










Shark Attack Ocean Story I'm glad this artist decided not to trim the edges of his weaving. It adds so much energy and movement- and looks like a jelly fish!








This artist did a beautiful job experimenting with the warp and weft.

CRAFT OUTLOUD

Come and visit us at Craft OutLoud this weekend! New City School is hosting what is set to be an amazing show. Again and again, New City proves itself to be a place where the arts are supported inside and outside of the school. Make sure to stop by and say hello- I'll be there too!

first grade faux bois

Each student was given a small wooden tree ring in pine, birch, cherry, honey locust, mulberry, or elm. They carefully observed the patterns of the tree rings and then created their own tree ring designs. The results ranged from beautifully abstract to carefully detailed copies of the original.





The students got to keep their tree rings and loved being able to hold the history of an entire tree in the palm of their hands!









We used a variety of techniques in colored pencil, collage, and watercolor.