Arts Learning

Fiber art and textiles are under-represented in visual art curriculum in schools. Most art teachers are not trained in textile art techniques and don't have access to bring the tools and equipment into their classrooms. For the two groups of students at our partner schools, participation in the residencies offered through this program was the first time they had exposure to fiber art techniques including embroidery, sewing, digital fabric design and dyeing. The six week residency period allowed students the unique opportunity to design every aspect of their finished project. The teaching artist was able to introduce them to digital fabric design, a cutting edge technique in the fiber art field, and teach basic sewing skills and provide access to professional techniques and tools for them to sew garments, wall art and accessories of their own design. 2: Textile Center has partnered previously with Sobriety High school and both students and teachers were enthusiastic about continuing the partnership into another school year. Teachers at Sobriety chose the poetry unit to combine with fiber art because in the past poetry has been very difficult for students to connect with. By adding the art component, the students were able to study poetry from a different perspective and increase both their engagement with the literature as well as the art component. The art teacher at Trio Wolf Creek approached Textile Center as a partner because she wanted to provide her students with a hands-on component to the art classes she was teaching, but lacked the resources and expertise to be able to do so on her own. Because Trio Wolf Creek primarily delivers content through distance and online learning, the opportunities for hands-on and live one-on-one instruction are not available to students.