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"A Faithful Attempt" is designed to showcase a variety of K-12 art lessons, the work of my art students, as well as other art-related topics. Projects shown are my take on other art teacher's lessons, lessons found in books or else designed by myself.
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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I acknowledge, with deep respect, that I am gathered on Treaty 7 territory. I acknowledge the many First Nations, Métis and Inuit whose footsteps have marked these lands for generations. I recognize the land as an act of reconciliation and gratitude to those whose territory we reside on or are visiting.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Woven Painting




This student chose to do a self portrait.
 
 It's no secret to my students that I love weaving projects.
There's something about the methodical over-and-under process that I find so relaxing and satisfying.

Here's a paper weaving project I did with a Grade 10/11 class. I've also done it with Grades 7 and 8.

They essentially did a drawing of the same image twice (they traced the first image onto the same sized paper) and then painted them slightly different colours. 
They could either go for opposite colours to create a high contrast checkerboard effect,
or go for similar colours to create a more subtle effect.

So here's a drawing of a falling over champagne glass- drawn exactly the same twice.
We used a tracing table- a window would work as well.

Then paint them both- we used acrylics and/or watercolours.
This student below chose a subtle colour change for her Egyptian piece.


Once both paintings are dry, you need to fold one in half and draw a line about one inch from the open end of the folded paper. This is the limit of cutting. Students could measure their cutting lines with a ruler or free hand cut them.  Most chose to measure.  The thinner the strips, the longer the weaving will take to finish. These strips are known as the 'warp'strips. The strips don't need to be straight but all my students made theirs straight.

For the second sheet of paper, cut the strips all the way through.  I suggest to students to measure and draw all the lines out first on the back, with a ruler, then number them, in case they fall down, or get mixed up.
You won't use the first couple of strips on both the top and bottom.


So here's the weaving at the beginning stages. The blue painting below has been folded vertically and cut into the 'warp' strips. Then the pink/purple painting is being cut across- the 'weft' strips (1 cm) and those strips are being woven into the blue painting.


So here's the back of the painting that's going to be cut into the 'weft' strips. Number them on the back just in case. You need to weave them in order so that the painted image lines up more or less. It won't be perfectly the same and that's ok.  Students stress over this part and try to get it all perfectly lined up and it just doesn't work. That's not the point of this project. So I found I had to continually emphasize that the drawings do not have to line up perfectly!!!



You can number the strips on the back to keep them in order.
Especially useful if a gust of wind enters the classroom and blows the strips onto the floor... yes, it's happened.

Over, under, over, under and so on.


Then start weaving- over, under, over, under- this takes time and patience. When you have a few strips in and it looks good, glue down the edges with dots of white glue to keep it all secure.  Students will find they don't need to use all the strips- the may take out some half-way through that don't line up and that's fine.

Here's a link to a very basic paper weaving lesson that may make more sense than mine did ;)


Here are some of the early finishers:
Ta da!






this student left a large, wide border which I quite like.
 

this student was going for a brocade look.




24 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this so much I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my elem kids. : ) Beautiful!

Nancie Kay said...

Wow - these are gorgeous! I too want to try a version for my younger kids. Every grade level does some kind of weaving so I'll just have to put my thinking cap on...

Mrs. Art Teacher said...

Great job! I have tried this with middle school students before and their lack of patience to carefully measure and cut the paper strips has lead to sloppy results. Your student's work looks great though. Shows how a few years of maturing can make a big difference in a kid's art!

Janis said...

Great idea, your students did a great job.

Unknown said...

I looooove this project! I am thinking I could do it with younger kids if we limit number of paper strips.

Dolunay -Alanayarts said...

süper olmuşlar.öğrencilerinizi tebrik ediyorum...

Miss said...

Thanks all! For younger kids, maybe have them do a really simple paintings, like, say, a simple shape, or something. Then, have them measure wider strips using the width of a ruler. Weaving wide strips would be much easier and take less time.

KidWorldCitizen.org said...

These are stunning- you are such a talented artist and teacher! What lucky students:).

Miss said...

Thanks so much Kids World Citizen- what a compliment!

Anonymous said...

This is so creative! The weaving part is like an abstraction process for the painting.
What kind of paper did you use?
What would you recommend for 8th grade?

Miss said...

Thanks Anonymous!
The paper we used was basically just a heavier weight white drawing paper. Anything like tagboard/cardstock also would work well. It needs to be fairly sturdy to hold up to the weaving process.

This project works well for Grade 8- I did the exact same steps- their paintings were just simpler, though, in terms of overall composition. You might suggest a simple landscape, for example. Good luck!

Melissa @ The Chocolate Muffin Tree said...

Hi there! So glad I stumbled on to your blog! You are an AMAZING ARt Teacher! You have so many great ideas and will definitely be filing your blog away for future use when I am teaching again! Thank you for all your hard work!

Mrs. Skojec said...

As usual, your posts are wonderful! I really like this one! The wine glass...perfectly woven. This is a tricky process and careful measurement is a must. I've done it with a simple fish for some of my 6th graders, but they were in a small group. Nice post, Miss!

Miss said...

Melissa: thank you so much!

Mrs. Skojec: Thank you! Yes, the wine glass artwork was amazing. I kept asking the student who made it before she started: "Are you sure you want to do something this detailed and intricate? It's going to be REALLY difficult." But she insisted and managed to do it through time and patience which is key to this project.

Anonymous said...

quick question that might be a silly one. let's say i cut my warp strip drawing horizontally. does that mean for the second drawing (weft strips) i cut those vertically? or do i cut both in the same direction?

Miss said...

Anonymous- not a silly question at all! Yes, you're exactly right- the two sheets need to be cut opposite- one vertically and one horizontally.

Anonymous said...

Another variation of numbering the strips to keep them in order is to cut the weft strips almost all the way through, but leave them attached by about 1/2" and then when weaving them, just tear off each strip in the same order. If they need to take them out, or unweave them for some reason, then have them number those particular strips. If a large sheet becomes unruly to handle, they can break these into smaller sections of 4" to 6" and number these sections.

Anonymous said...

GREAT! I have stamps that I bought at a place called Art Walk that was in Kenosha Wi.(not in business anymore). They are large and and are used for weaving. I stamp them twice and then weave them together. The same concept but smaller. I love them!

Miss said...

Anonymous- love the idea of large rubber stamps- sounds cool- I'll have to try it!

FirstYearArtTeacher said...

Hi! I'm a new art teacher and have trouble reaching out to all my students high school students. I have a few that are special needs such as autistic and others. I tell them to "draw a memory" and the first thing I receive from them is an eye roll. Once they do their drawing and its not colored, I tell them to color it and then I get another eye roll. They will constantly sit next to their friends and talk. I believe I will have to move students and give them assigned seating because I am so tired of telling students to get back on task. They can then finish their art piece in 10 minutes, which is just a little scribble on their paper, and say "DONE!" I am just lost for words on what to do. I have already called students parents at home. For the students who don't want to be in art whatsoever and who are in athletics, they need to pass all of their classes, including art. I am constantly seeing ideas online, and I get so excited! Like your assignment. I am trying it now to get my students focused on something besides each other. I hope I can give you some positive results. Anyway, thanks so much for posting. And would you happen to have advice?

Miss said...

FirstYearArtTeacher- sounds like you're in a tough school. I tend to give quite a bit of direction and structure to my high school art classes. Use examples, give them visuals to refer to and teach them techniques so the weaker students actually know how to complete a project.
Give them the projects in stages and tell them they have to show you each stage before they can progress onto the next. Give them a rubric beforehand and explain clearly what you'll be looking for when you mark them.
Definitely have a seating plan. Tell them it's so everyone can learn.
Most importantly, be excited about the projects- show them your enthusiasm and it will rub off on them. Use positive encouragement- it really works! Make your class is fun place to be- I play the radio in my room and keep a serious but relaxed vibe.
Keep positive- the first year teaching is HARD but don't give up. Make sure you have a support system at school- a mentor or a teacher you can talk/vent with.
And please try this project out with your kids and let me know how it goes :)

Vilma said...

I don't know if you are still posting (Mar 2022) but here goes nothing! I have an 11 yr old grandson and when he comes to visit we do different art projects. He has done some amazing stuff at school but I always try and do something that he hasn't done at school. I know that this will really 'tickle' him and I just want to thank you. You explained it brilliantly. Thank you from NZealand

Miss said...

Thanks for your comment Vilma- I hope your grandson enjoys the project!

Paint by Numbers Australia said...
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