CENTERING WITH FIBER: Saori weaving giving back to the local community : teaching weaving to children in the schools

Monday, October 26, 2015

Saori weaving giving back to the local community : teaching weaving to children in the schools

This past week I finished at Pacific Elementary School teaching Saori weaving to the 2- 6th grade classes I want to share mine and their incredible weaving experience.

The two art teachers Joye and Barkley these last few weeks Learned right along with the students and they were very helpful cutting threads and helping advance the looms and handing out unspun fibers to the weavers...

This was the last weaving class with them till the spring. The students were so excited to return to the looms again this week ! The intrest level very high!

They remembered what to do...

The pumpkin patch showed up on one of the students section !

While the remainder of the students waited there turn at the saori floor looms I brought round looms I had warped ahead of time so that they could learn a different type of weaving ! They really enjoyed weaving on those as well! In the spring I will over the round cirle looms to be taken home so that the students can continue to weave ..it was quite sucessful too!

I heard feed back a few days later.. from the head teacher MS B ,plus Joye an Barkley, " Even the few older rowdy boys who are typically disruptive were so engrossed during these classes that there were virtually no problems what so ever", AND THIS , " a few of the students have trouble because of birth defects, and have spacial problems BUT they all did really great with no problems , THANK YOU SOOO MUCH."

Saori weaving is for all ages and abilities

Class was almost over time unfurl the Saori loom woven fabrice woven by every student over the past few weeks classes .

The excitment was that of christmas morning! Once the weavings were untethered from the looms the children instinctively all joined in and got into a line and danced around the class room making up songs and saying with each new pice as it emerged from the loom" we are a dragon " they scintillated round and round and up and down touching and loving every piece!

" That is my section I wove there ! see!"

More Dragon parades!

Rather like kittens or puppies playing they rolled around on the 5 banners ecstatically !

then….

quiet time …..reading away peacefully….

I left the weavings down on the floor till they went to lunch. some students read on them .
Joyful but a feeling of accomplishment and fullment with each and every student including the teachers ! I held back tears of joy.
I took the weavings home mounted them on branches twisted the fringes sewed on some Saori lables (they were a gift from from another saori studio owner that brought back from japn for me this summer ) I sent the finished weavings back to the class room where they will be hung . I will ask someone to take a photo and I will post it when i get it …. the plan is they will be auctioned off in a fund raiser this spring ..