Quilling

"Quilling is my favorite because it’s something I can do by myself and I’m proud of that. When people go on tours of the school they say, ‘That kid is working by himself and that is amazing!’ And the more people who compliment us the better we get until we’re the best school in the country!" He wasn't the only visually impaired student who I won over last week with my quilling project. There is a 10 year old who has alway come to Art class grumpy. It's amazing to me because I am almost always right in my assumption that kids love art. Not this one. He always lets me know right off the bat that he doesn't want to make anything. Quilling, however, was a game changer.

Quilling is taking thin strips of paper and wrapping them around something thin like a quilling needle or a tooth pick. We used thin paint brush handles. Then You let it spring back, just a little bit to form a spiral before gluing the end so it keeps its desired size of circle. You can pinch it on one side to make a tear drop, a pinch on either side for an almond shape, three pinches for a triangle or 4 for a square. These shapes in various colors can then be used to pictures. Teach shapes can become petals on a flower or wings on a bug, for example. These can be glued to paper to make a card, or glued to each other for jewelry or an ornament. Our quilling projects were mounted on paper.

"Can I make a maze?" my non-art appreciator said.

"You can make anything you want to make," was my reply. And he was off and running. He didn't even use a paintbrush or toothpick to roll his paper because he thought it would slow him down. While everyone else was finishing up he was only half way through, but that didn't stop him from picking up where he left off. We pushed buttons through the maze at the end of class to see if it worked, and sure enough, he made something he was so happy with that he came in the door the following week with a smile on his face.

Inspired by Origami

The Museum of Art and Science in Macon, GA currently has a wonderful exhibit of New York artist, Gloria Finklestein's work from the 80's and 90's. The pieces have titles related to Japanese culture, such as "Obon" (the sash one wears around a kimono) and "Hanabi" (which literally translate's into "fire flower" and means "fireworks"). The title of the show was "Origami Interpretations," so to prepare my students for our field trip, I had them make several origami objects. We started very simply with a cat and/or dog and tried to use tactile methods of making it more believable and meaningful for my blind students. They then chose whatever they wanted to make: boats, cootie catchers, balloons, boxes. We also watched Robert Lang's Ted Talk "Flapping Birds and Folding Telescopes" about new origami methods. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNdD5Kxdkpg

The museum was so accommodating, in terms of our visual impairments, offering tactile swatches for students to feel, and a template of the obon shape since the actual canvas could not be touched. Several of Finklestein's pieces were meant to be touched, however, with circles that spin and panels that flip. While we were there we attended a planetarium show, animal show, explored the Discovery House, took a nature walk, and had a picnic before coming back for the last three periods of the day.

The follow up assignment was to create a sculpture or collage in the style of Gloria Finklestein. In other words, to make something inspired by the artwork that was inspired by origami. Students used cardboard triangles, glue sticks, and origami paper, or colored copy paper with their own pattern. Some of the collages had cardboard shapes under the paper to help it become easier "see" with their hands.

When a relationship is formed between a teacher and a museum, it can take education to the next level, and make a learning unit more memorable for the students who experience it.