Residency Description
THE FELTED MURAL RESIDENCY
Felting, a centuries-old art form comprised of sculpting loose wool into solid shapes, is an ideal, hands-on medium for broadening your student's perception of visual art. Students, working with both wet and needle-felting techniques, will develop individual elements of a larger, multi-paneled scene to be hung in the school upon completion. Students learn to take loose, dyed wool fibers and combine them with soap, water and friction to create a cohesive piece of fiber, and they'll use specially-designed felting needles to refine the fiber into a recognizable form, add detail and eventually work it onto the shared background.
Grade Level: 4-8 //////////
THE FELTED VESSEL RESIDENCY:
In this workshop, students felt wool around a tennis ball using soapy water and friction to create a solid structure. Once the shapes have dried, they'll be cut in two, leaving a small wool dish with a lid. In subsequent classes, students use embroidery needles, decorative thread and beads to embellish and create hinges, handles and feet.
Grade level: K-8 Reference
Name: Clare Grizzard
Title: The Felted Mural
Phone: (410) 396-6420
Email: claregrizzard@earthlink.net
Residency Location: Roland Park Elementary - 5th grade students created felted murals based on the novel The Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. This project was thereby integrated with the language arts curriculum.
Materials Needed
Wool (from recycled sweaters), soap, needles, tennis balls (for vessel project), and a water source.
Travel
To which regions can you travel for only the day?:
Eastern Shore
Central MD
Greater Washington
Southern MD
Western MD
Which regions can you stay overnight?: Eastern ShoreCentral MDGreater WashingtonSouthern MDWestern MD
Travel Requirements: TRAVEL: N/A
TECHNICAL SPACE/NEEDS: An open room is needed with space to prepare the felt and to stage the murals. Materials Needed: Sheep wool, soap, needles, tennis ball (for vessel project), and a water source.
