Students weave own tapestries with grant
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on June 5, 2013 1:46 PM
North Drive Elementary School recently received a $2,000 art grant, which provided a one-week art residency with textile artist Victoria Sowers of Rocky Mount.
The grant was written by Amy Kennedy, art teacher at the school for the past eight years.
Shauna Skinner, third-grade teacher, also supported the project, and both educators incorporated visual arts and textiles into their curriculum.
Ms. Sowers brought a 300-year-old loom to the art room, where five third-grade classes learned about the assemblage of a loom, its function and all about the weaving process.
Students were also involved in weaving individual tapestries to take home.
Each student was introduced to the ancient art form, Mrs. Kennedy said.
"Weaving hand gestures included taking one finger and crossing it over, under, over and under the opposite hand." she said. "The children were able to visually see how yarn intertwines itself using a warp and weft procedure and/or method."
She said that the visiting artist also shared about the origin of clothing, how it begins from the seed to the cotton fiber, to an enormous piece of fabric.
Students also were asked to bring in an item from home that was meaningful to them. Then then wove their items into a tapestry. Cut fabrics were inserted in-between to help support the tapestry.
One of the finished projects, a time capsule tapestry, will be hung near the foyer entrance of the school, Mrs. Kennedy said.