Assignment Description: Create an image, using yarn, that is symbolic of something that interests you or is important to you (family, music, reading etc)
Materials:
- Cardboard square 9x9
- yarn (all colors)
- Elmer's glue
Students began the project by completing a sketch assignment in which they had to come up with four different ideas for their yarn painting. They were encouraged to be clever when creating their symbols, trying to stay away from what might be expected or easy.
Below is an example of a student sketch worksheet. He wanted to focus on his interest in movies, choosing the Batman series in particular. I was more than apprehensive to allow him to take on something so challenging, but as you will see later, he proved me wrong...oh so wrong. Not that I am complaining.
Once students had conferenced with me on which design they wanted to use for their project, they were given a 9x9 cardboard square to draw the picture on before adding yarn. After drawing their symbols, students began the tedious task of gluing the yarn to fill in the "painting."
yarn painting suggestions:
- start with the small details first and work around them later
- for details and shapes, work from the outside inward towards the center
- for the background, start from left to right, or top to bottom
- make sure to use enough glue, not enough will cause it to not stick, but too much can cause a bit of a mess...as you can image
- use lots of bright colors, especially in the background
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| Working on a Percy Jackson inspired yarn painting |
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| I mean...just look at that. It was such a "proud mom" moment. |
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| A student that shares my perfectionism really did a beautiful job on her ballet shoes dancing on an infinity sign. |
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| Finished Percy Jackson yarn painting completed |
Overall, I was overwhelmed by how well my students did with this project, and how much they enjoyed it! It was awesome to see what their clever minds could come up with and their intense dedication to such a tedious project.
