What the Art Teacher Wore #129, More Weaving and Artsy Book Club!

 Welcome Back, Monday: Oh, don't let the smile fool you. It was so hard returning to school this week! Two weeks of staying up late, catching up on shows, hiking, eating a nightly popcorn snack and sleeping in 'til 10am was just so hard to give up. Thankfully, Monday we didn't have kids which was a nice ease back into art teacherin' land. Keith Haring jacket: DIY here; dotted scarf: Old Navy, maybe?; Betsy Johnson Dress: found at Buffalo Exchange; dotted tights: dunno, Target?; leg warmers and crinoline: Amazon; Frye boots: lucky $39 score at Journey's years ago. I know, sometimes, I hit the lotto. 

Well, howdy, kids! I hope everyone's return to the real world has been a good one. Mine had it's ups and downs to be honest. I'd have this great burst of energy in the morning but by midday, I was just spent. This coming week, my plan is to go to bed a lil earlier and start poppin the vitamin B like it's popcorn. What do y'all do when you hit that sluggish slump?

In other news, have I completely wore you out with all of my weaving posts? I sure do hope not as I've got more coming your way! Stay tuned this week for a simple weaving project for those early finishers and a project for your middle and high school kids. In the meantime, I thought I'd share my weaving prezi with y'all! I created one that showcases weaving from around the world. My students have really enjoyed it, I hope you and yours do as well. 

Just click on this link and it'll take you right to the presentation! I'm working on another presentation of contemporary weavers to share with my students next week. I'll be certain to post it here so you can borrow it as well. 

Now, let's talk Artsy Book Club! In case you didn't know, we'll be reading The Art Spirit by Robert Henri and I'd love for you to join the fun. Here's all I ask:

*  Get your kitten mittens on this book! I found mine used very cheap on Amazon. 

*  Read the first 51 pages! This book doesn't have chapters like your average book. Instead, it's full of commentary from Henri given during talks, articles and fragments of letters. I noticed that page 51 seemed like a good place to press the pause button.

*  Let's chat! I'll be sharing my thoughts (my apologies in advance) as well as posing questions here. Please do chime in, I'd love to hear from you! 

So, are you in? I'd love to hear who is reading this classic with us. It seems like the perfect art teacher read, dontcha think?

 A better glance at that Keith Haring jacket. You know, no one ever touts the benefits of pleather but I'm hear to tell you, a pleather jacket will keep you pretty warm, kids. It ain't gonna breathe at all so you will sweat your socks off but, by golly, you'll be warm!

 Orange You Glad It's Tuesday?: Whilst teaching kindergarten on this particular day, I felt a little tickle on my leg. I looked down to see a sweet girl just barely touching my leg. "It's so orange!", she said when I looked at her. "Too much carrot juice," says me. "OH! I hate carrot juice!" was her reply. "Good thing." I'm so gonna get fired one o' these days. sweater: Urban Outfitters, old; skirt: vintage, thrifted; tights: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

 Not Appropriate, Mrs. Stephens! Wednesday: I was informed by a fourth grader on this day that my attire was, "not appropriate, Mrs. Stephens! It's too cold out for tights!" I believe she was right, I nearly froze walking out to my car! blouse and sweater: vintage, thrifted; skirt: super old, JCrew

 Two Hour Delay Thursday: Temps dipped so I enjoyed myself a couple extra hours of sleep. Which was great because I'd enjoyed myself a couple extra hours of stay-up time the night before. I watched the movie Gone Girl while attempting to knit. Have y'all seen that movie? I'd not even read the book so I walked in cold. It was so good! I think I only got about five rows knitted and dropped about 10 stitches in the process! dress: ModCloth, last year; brown fishnets: TJMaxx; yellow tights: Target

Welcome, Visitors! Friday: So I vaguely recall my principal mentioning that the superintendent, a handful of board members, my administrators and a state representative where gonna be in the school on Friday and would pop in the art room. And by "vaguely recall" I mean I totally forgot! I had my lovely first grade friends in the room who had just finished learning about Picasso's Blue and Rose periods and there thusly painting with cool and warm colors. The kids did great but I gotta tell you, I was a nervous wreck teaching in front of all those folk! Whilst wearing this craziness, of course. blouse and shoes: thrifted; sweater: old, For-never21; skirt: DIY, details here; tights: Target; belt: Amazon

Until Tuesday, y'all!

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In the Art Room: Circle Loom Weaving

Wuz happening, my wild and wacky weavers?! I hope the return to art teacherin' (if that's your bag) has been a smooth one. Personally, I find it a cruel joke to return to school the week of a full moon but, once again, the powers that be neglected to ask my opinion. When will they ever learn?

So, show of hands, how many of y'all decided to go down Weaving Street this month? If you need a refresher, you can start with this paper weaving lesson then transition to this super fun straw weaving project. I just had my fourth graders start their pouch weaving and they were beside themselves with excitement. Like, they were all, "enough with the History of Weaving prezi, lady, let's weeaaavvveee." I'll be sharing that prezi with y'all later this week (still tweaking it) but you can find the complete steps for pouch weaving starting here. 

But let's talk Circle Loom Weaving, shall we? This lesson I do with my second grade kids but if you've never taught weaving to your students before, I recommend teaching this to third grade. Again, always start with that basic paper loom weaving as it teaches all the vocabulary and techniques making all weaving projects that follow much easier. 

Supplies:

Chinet Plates: When plate weaving, I always use these. They are the thickest and most durable plates. I like to use the smaller size.

Yarn: Any kind will do. Funky yarn is fun but only use that for the actual weaving portion. For warping, use regular yarn.

A Loom Template: I have two for each of my five tables so the kids can share. Each template has 19 notches on it.

Masking Tape: You'll need this to tape down the initial warp strand. And for closing the mouths of those "I Can't Do It" kids. Oh, I kid! Kinda.

Last year I typed out all the steps which you can find here. I'm hoping that you'll find the video even more helpful. If you still have any questions, please ask in the comments and I'll get back to you.

For those of you that don't like video, here's some pitchers and werds. Place the loom template on the painted plate. Trace and cut the 19 notches. I always encourage the kids to count and be certain they have 19 lines drawn before cutting (as some will end up with 190 which is not what you're going for).

NOT GONNA LIE: Warping is the least fun part. Especially when some of the kids stop listening and get stuck on repeat: I Don't Get It. When that happens, I have everyone put everything down, we stand up, we stretch, we shake it off. Then, I tell 'em that they are going to sit back down, not touch a thing, and listen to me. Again. 

I have also found that peer tutoring is priceless. These kids speak the same language. Have them help each other, they communicate much better with each other I have found!

Once you are beyond the warping hump (um, the whuh?), the weaving portion is much easier. That is WHEN you get beyond that initial confusion I mention in the second clip. However, if you do that little trick that I share with you, I think you'll find that the kids get it and will really take off with weaving. They love to sit on the floor and weave and chat. I let them sit with buddies, sometimes we go outside if the weather permits. It's just such a fun, relaxing project...once you are beyond the warping and initial day of learning to weave. Stick with it, you'll find that you and the kids will love the process! 

Granted, this weaving project does take time. However on Thursday I'm going to share with you a similar weaving project that takes have the amount of time for those of you that are limited. 

Until then, I do hope you found this helpful and will consider giving weaving a go! And I'd love to know, what weaving projects do you just love to do? 

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