Clay Loom Weavings, 5th grade

Check out these stunning clay loom weavings! I was out on Friday but left one of my 5th grade classes to finish their weavings. I just loved coming back to these colorful creations.     It’s been fun watching each stage of this lesson from start to finish. The inspiration for this lesson came from my colleague, Kathleen Belton, Art Teacher at SB. I saw these beautiful clay looms in her art room and knew I needed to share this lesson with my 5th graders. I’m so glad that I did! Thanks again, Kathleen!

I love this lesson because it intertwines clay and weaving. Two mediums I love teaching for their tactile qualities. We began this lesson by creating our clay looms. Students rolled a slab, no larger than 7″ x 9″. Next, students created imprints in the clay, with texture tools. Using our needle tool, students cut their clay looms shape. It was neat seeing such a variety of loom shapes both organic and geometric. Lastly, we used a 4″ x 5″ template to trace and cut a center hole. With our center slab removed, we used our stylus to create a few holes in the clay near the top (for our hanger) and near the edge of our clay. With two visits to the kiln, once to fire our greenware clay, two for glazing, our decorative looms were ready to string (warp) and weave on . We were introduced to the weaving process, through the use of an AWESOME youtube video. Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbtKnvc_9No. Students always want to know, “where  the hands are!” It’s true our hands are our best tool when creating a weaving and interlacing our materials. I was really impressed with how quickly our 5th graders prepared their looms for weaving. Our 5th graders had a lot of fun with this lesson. It was neat seeing students interlace weaving techniques, create patterns, play with yarn textures and color, and even try to create landscapes out of their weaving.

Take a look at 5D and 5L wonderful weavings! I could seriously look at these all day! Hangers are the only thing left to add!

We used three weaving techniques, Over Under, Rya, and the Closed Slot Weave.  Ask your 5th grader what they learned and enjoyed about this lesson! They know many new weaving terms!

5th Grade Color Identity Weavings

5th Grade color weavings are on display now! 

Students chose colors based on their identity.  Using their post-it notes, students went to work choosing color yarn in multiple textures and patterns. 

Molly 5D

Chloe 5D

       Jacob 5L 

Annie 5L 

    Anand 5D

Inspiration for this project came from mrspicassosartroom.blogspot.com. Here you can find resources to make your own coat hanger weaving. A special thank you to the families that donated their coat hangers to the art room. 5th graders enjoyed turning these into beautiful works of art.

Terms:  color symbolism, weaving, warp and weft, loom

Wire Hanger Weavings

5th graders have been busy turning old wire hangers into beautiful weavings.  It’s been so much fun watching our 5th graders quietly interact with their looms. Students are using color to explore emotion and identity. They are really loving the texture and pattern that each piece of yarn provides. Here is a sneak peak. 

 

Color Symbolism

Our 5th Graders are learning about color symbolism! To introduce students to color as an emotion, we watched a fun animated and interactive video that explores each color and its meaning. On a Post-it students were asked to write the colors that best symbolism who they are. For example, we learned that the color red symbolizes joy and fun. Using a wire hanger and colored yarn, students will be creating a weaving that visually explores color as a symbol.

My 5th Graders just loved this website so here it is! Enjoy exploring color in a whole new way : )

Colors- COLORS IN MOTION Maria Claudia Cortes

http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/ (Flash presentation)