Page 47 - Journal 89-3 Full

addition to dyeing other wool yarns. She also founded the Southeast Ohio Fibershed,
a nonprofit education and research affiliate of the main organization, Fibershed,
which works to organize sustainable textile ecosystems. Lisa’s lifelong passion for
fiber-arts began at 5 years old with crochet and has extended to the more recent
practices of tapestry weaving and spinning yarn.

Students
Students were recruited from the area middle schools with a focus on those
entering Grade 7. Special attention was given to students participating in available
after-school and summer-school programs due to both poverty and lack of academic
attainment. In addition to the seven lead teachers, seven additional teachers were
contracted to help with supervision. One building principal and one assistant principal
requested to be on staff. Nine middle school students from six school districts
spread across three counties were in each class discussed below. Each family took
responsibility for getting their student to his or her respective middle school, and the
ESC provided the 30-to-60-minute transportation to the camp site.

Offerings
The camp offered five classes, including Exploring the Wonders of Printmaking;
Needle-Felted Mushrooms and Flowers; Intro to Metals: Identity Brooch; Buckskin
Talisman Bags; and Weaving from the Heart. The students were assigned four
classes that consisted of a 3-hour morning session and a 2-hour afternoon session.
The students took their projects home at the end of the day, and pictures of the
students and the projects were displayed on social media at that point.
Arrowmont provided the following class descriptions:
Exploring the Wonders of Printmaking: Printmaking is the process of
creating multiple pieces of art—it’s kind of like stamping! Inspired by their
Central Appalachian heritage, students in this workshop will be creating an
original stamping “matrix” from a linoleum wood block using personally
created imagery. Students will use block cutting tools and professional
printmaking techniques to create multiple, unique prints.
Needle-Felted Mushrooms and Flowers: In this workshop, students will learn
a brief history of needle felting as an art medium and learn beginner-level
felting techniques through the creation of botanical-themed objects such as
flowers and mushrooms. Students will learn to felt basic shapes and attach
them together to build their finished, needle-felted pieces.
Buckskin Talisman Bags: People from Appalachia historically have turned
animal hides to make clothing, bags, and other utilitarian objects. In this
workshop, students will create a small bag from buckskin to hold their
precious treasures. Students will learn how traditional leather is tanned using
all-natural methods and compare that to modern tanning methods. Herbal
folklore will be discussed, and students will learn to sew using a leather awl
and strips of leather “thong.”
Intro to Metals: Identity Brooch: This workshop will go over various ways of
making a brooch using copper and brass with no soldering. Students will make
a “self-portrait” brooch, inspired by their passions and interests. Students
in this workshop will learn about jewelry design as well as a number of
metalsmithing techniques, including sawing, piercing, texturing, patination,

Educators’ Choice 45