n.c. arts part two...

Well we have moved on to the Mountains of North Carolina. And lucky for us... we are close enough to take a little visit to Asheville.We get to visit the Biltmore Estates and The Folk Art Center. This is super awesome because:
The Biltmore is AMAZING
The kids get to see two types of N.C. living at the turn of the century. (Richie Rich and Mountain Folk)
We go to the oldest and longest running craft store (Allanstand Craft Shop) in the country. The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!
We get to visit the mountains of N.C. in the fall - best leaves EVER!


I always struggle with which mountain craft to choose for this part of the unit. There are a few really cool choices: Face jugs, weaving, doll making, etc. But the kids really enjoy weaving, so this is what I go with.

We go over a few weaving terms that I expect the students to use while working on the project...

• Weaving — The process of forming cloth or fabric on a loom by interlacing yarn or thread.
• Loom — A frame for the weaving.
• Warp — Threads running lengthwise on the loom. The warp is placed on the loom prior to beginning the weaving process.
• Weft — Threads that are weaved across the warp threads to form the web.
• Web — The cloth or fabric produced by weaving.

I have cardboard looms that I reuse every year.  I make the students warp the loom. I have a variety of shapes and sizes of looms. Some are much faster then others.(This is always a struggle for the art teacher.) I try to encourage faster students to take the bigger looms.

 

I give students choice of colors of yarn and limit it to at least 2 colors no more than 4. They also must stick with a pattern of colors and number of wefts.

Students think they are almost due... but I walk around and push up the weaving to make sure they are nice and tight. MWHAHAHA.. I have now been dubbed by the students "The Shrinker"...

 

We have been so lucky to be having the most beautiful and warm fall... the students get to lay outside and weave. Ah thank you to my beautiful school and campus!

When finished students remove from the loom and attach a stick so the weaving can hang. Lastly, the student add beads.

Feast your eyes on these puppies...