work

We don't think our art teacher is letting our students work up to their potential.  So my lead teacher (Louise) said, "Ellen...go.  Teach art."  So I am.

We're going around the globe with art, starting in Africa.

1) we read the story of Anansi the Spider - and African folk tale.

2) then we read Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters - and African version of the Cinderella Story.

3) then we read about adrinka cloth

4) then we MADE adrinka cloth - but instead of using wooden stamps, we used fruit and vegetables.

  1. cut plain, colored fabric into the size you want - some of us made wall hangings and some of us made over-size pot holders
  2. choose firm fruits and vegetables to use as stamps - we used carrots, broccoli, lemons and apples.
  3. choose 2 or three bright colors of fabric paint and put a little bit in plastic bowls (I save the plastic tubs from frozen lunches)
  4. put the fabric on a piece of construction paper (to blot the vegetables before you stamp the fabric)
  5. Have fun making patterns on the fabric.

 

The finishing is easy - just sew a pocket along the top and glue ribbon along the sides.  Put a dowel through it and hang it up.

Our class went to a restaurant today - we had a very nice tour of the kitchen, we got to eat lunch (complete with ice cream) and we all had a very nice day.

The really great part is that the management is open to having our students (one or two at a time) come to do job training. A staff member would take students to do either food prep, dish washing or table "prep" (filling bowls with sugar packets, washing menus, wrapping silverware). This is all stuff that our students can do, but we don't have very many placements. To be able to get into this restaurant would be a really good thing.