2nd Grade - Aminah Robinson inspired Rag Doll Collages

Formally known as, Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson, Aminah Robinson has become one of my top 10 favorite artists I teach.  Her artwork is no narrative, students love to see it, hear the story and are ready to create after the incredible visual stimulation of a slideshow of her work.

Here are a few fun facts about Aminah Robinson along with some of my favorite original pieces of hers:

• Aminah lived her entire life in Columbus, Ohio
• Aminah decided one day, she was sick and tired of doing her hair, so she cut it all off.  She lived many years bald by choice.
• The elder women in her family had a huge impact on her art. They shared many stories of how their ancestors came from Africa as slaves, and then the road to freedom.  Aminah’s art is filled with these stories and stories of others she found in hundreds of hours of research in the library, one of her favorite places.
• Aminah’s dad also impacted her art, he taught her to see with deep concentration.  She would look at something until she could turn away and sketch it from memory in her sketchbook. He taught her how to sculpt out of “Hogmawg” – a made up clay, made from mud, sticks, glue and pigment.
• Aminah is most known for her “RagGonNon’s” – A work of art that took years to create and research. They reference the past, present and future.

After becoming completely motivated, my students jumped in with two feet to create these adorable Rag Collages.  Seriously, my favorite project of the year….maybe the toughest to teach, with the stitching, but favorite results.

If you have ever taught a fibers lesson to children, you know that it is impossible to have them cut into fabric with success.  So, knowing that, I precut with a rotary cutter all the pieces needed to build a person.  Circle heads, square body, rectangles for arms and legs.  I put them in boxes and had students choose the pieces they were interested in having.

Day 1 – Students choose a colored piece of burlap.  They glue the fabric onto the burlap with regular white glue.  Students put their names on a pice of paper and left the burlap on the paper to dry.  Next time, the paper gets ruined, has to be torn off, (so don’t use good paper), and their names are written on masking tape and taped to the back.

Day 2- We spent a few minutes using the oil pastels and drawing on the burlap and fabric.  And then…. we started to STITCH.  There are no pictures of stitching, because it is all hands on deck!  It is best to direct the first few stitches once everyone has their yarn taped on the back.

It took us 2 classes to do the stitching, which is the goal of the lesson, to get my students to master creating X’s by stitching. Several did master, some learned, some struggled.  The students who finished went on to help students who struggled.  Overall, all students did a great job of working through the struggle of learning something new.

Day 4 – Students glued their burlap to a white paper background and wrote their names on the front. Then, it was time to embellish! Aminah would have been proud!  We had buttons, sequence, and beads, anything we had laying around, just like Aminah.

Here are the Masterpieces!!!

6th Grade - Needle Felting

Did you ever have a lesson you taught a handful of times until you mastered it? I finally have mastered teaching needle felting to my 6th graders. Here is my favorite way, which results in very high level finished works...

 I encourage natural subjects, animals are the best, but then simple landscapes.  However, I can be talked into any subject if a student draws something that will translate well in wool. Not everything works... small details and tiny drawings do not work. 

First, I have students draw their ideas on a 8x8 square, the same size wool felt we will felt.  I always provide artists to be inspired by. This time, students views many works of Melanie Mikecz and Clare Youngs. Both excellent illustrators of animals. The next few pictures are my colorful zebra that I created inspired by Melanie Mikecz.

I should mention my wool supplier... she's the BEST! Sue Bunch from 

Back to Back Fiber ! It is the best wool and Sue is so wonderful to work with! You can find their kits and materials in the Nasco Catalog.

After the drawing is approved by me, mostly to verify that it will translate well in wool, students outline with black Sharpie marker.

Once traced, students lay on top of the drawing their piece of wool felt. It is easy to see the drawing through the thin felt. Students trace with Sharpie on to the wool felt.

Next, students start to needle felt the drawing with black roving. You could use black wool yarn, but I must say... I prefer the roving.  If the roving is thick, I show students how to divide it into thin sections, about the thickness of a piece of yarn. 

Then work your way around the whole design, outlining with the black wool roving.

Once finished, make a color plan! When students start filling in with the colored roving, stress thin pieces.  I always show students how my hand is able to be seen through the roving, such a thin piece it is transparent. 

Some students will need to fill in the whole background, some will not.  They can get a little roving heavy.  I will go by and pull some off it it looks a little too thick. But I don't catch everyone! :)

Here are some GREAT works by my students!!!