For this project, the 7th grade class at Lincoln Middle School learned about fiber art. No, we aren't talking about what you look for in breakfast cereals. Fiber art is made with cloth, string, yarn, or other types of thread. Some artists the students learned about were Jeanne-Claude and Christo. They are a husband-wife team of artists, and are well-known for creating art with fabric. They like to cover large buildings with fabric, and they also like to install fabric in nature. When you hear their names you might think of the Running Fence installation in California or of The Gates, which was 7, 503 gates that were made of saffron colored fabric and placed on paths in Central Park in New York.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Wrapped Reichstag
This was an easy lesson to integrate with social studies. I also talked about how baskets were a practical art for the indigenous peoples of California and the Great Basin region. They were known for their basketry skills and also used a "coiling" method that the students used.
For this project, students used jute and yarn to make their coil baskets. The students wrapped the yarn around the jute to make thick rows. The rows are attached together by stitching the yarn in a "figure 8" stitch.
I am curious as to how long this project took.
ReplyDeleteThis took students about 2 weeks. Some students really enjoyed it, and some students would do anything but work on their baskets during class.
ReplyDeleteStudents were allowed to take home the jute and yarn if they wanted to work outside of class, but they had to get their own needle. One student figured out that a bobby pin works as well as a needle for working at home.
Love this coiled basket.
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