Journey into

Wetlands

Fiber Arts by 5th Grade Students at

Cedar Ridge, Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion, Eden Lake

and Prairie View Elementary Schools

This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the State’s arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

A Fiber Art Journey into Wetland Ecosystems

Integrative arts learning program and curriculum developed by Kimber Olson ©2012

Artists in residence:

Kimber Olsonwww.peridotfiberart.com

Gail Katz-Jameswww.gailkatzjames.com

Exhibition catalog photography, design and production by Kimber Olson

Journey into Wetlands

From late September 2012 through early January 2013 the 5th grade students at four Eden Prairie, Minn., elementary schools embarked on “A Fiber Art Journey into Wetland Ecosystems,” a 12-week art residency that integrated textile arts with earth science. During the program four fiber art techniques—and their associated cultural and historical contexts—reinforced lessons on wetland ecology. Through a series of hands-on art projects stu-dents were introduced to the ancient tradition of wet-felting; adin-kra block printing from Ghana; batik resist-dyeing from Indonesia; and mola reverse applique from the San Blas Islands in Panama.

Through the program students learned new art skills; they learned about the role of wetlands in the natural environment; and they gained an awareness and appreciation for enduring cultural traditions of people who live around the world.

Students created collages using their fiber arts. The collages were combined into large-scale, collaborative artworks. A public exhibition of the art, “Journey into Wetlands,” was mounted at Eden Prairie Art Center from January 13, 2013-February 19, 2013, in conjunction with the community’s Art on City Walls program.

Students wrote reflections about their experiences after complet-ing the program. Some of their thoughts about wetlands and fiber arts appear with the images on the following pages.

“Wetlands are complex and home to SO much life!” Cedar Ridge student

CEDAR RIDGE

Mrs. Anderson’s Class

“I learned a lot about wetlands in

this process. I really liked learning

new things in fiber arts.”

“In my collage I used images from wetlands including turtles, lily pads and a sun.

I hope you will see that wetlands are important.”

CEDAR RIDGE

Mrs. Faris’ Class

“Marshes are important to

most birds because when they

are traveling south for the win-

ter they need a spot to rest and

eat, and wetlands do that.”

“You will see a dragonfly, beautiful leaves, and a symbol that resembles water. Plants, animals and wonderful creatures all live in wetlands.”

CEDAR RIDGE

Mr. Isaacson’s Class

“I liked learning about how the wetland food chain worked and how wetlands help our lives. I went to the Florida Everglades and it was awesome seeing all of the cool plants and animals. Wetlands really are interesting.”

“The tradition of the Kuna people

is the mola. I think it is important

for the women’s clothes, the profit

of the people and to keep their

natural heritage alive.”

CEDAR RIDGE

Mr. Rice’s Class

“My favorite wetland project was wet felting because I loved the part where you got to put the wool in the water and the soap and mix it up!”

“There are a lot of different ways to make art,

not just paint, crayon or marker.”

“I used flower designs on my fiber art project to let audiences see and learn that there are lots of different types of flowers in wetlands.”

“When the sun gives energy to a plant,

the animals that eats the plant takes

energy from the plant and it goes into

their system.”

CEDAR RIDGE

Mr. Zeeb’s Class

EAGLE HEIGHTS SPANISH IMMERSION

La Clase de Sra. Asuquo

“Wetlands are good nurseries, and they can hold a lot of water.”

“When people look at my collage

they will see that there are lots of

plants and animals. I put flowers,

a frog, a fish and fiber with lots of

colors representing the different

colors you can see in wetlands.”

EAGLE HEIGHTS SPANISH IMMERSION

La Clase de Sra. Chepokas

“I liked the adinkra because I’m going to hang it in my

cabin. The process is you draw a thing on a block, then

you cut it out and put ink on it, and paint it on a fabric.”

“Some animals that you might find in the wetlands are deer, butterflies, snakes, beavers and more.”

EAGLE HEIGHTS SPANISH IMMERSION

La Clase de Srta. Hellen

“My favorite was the mola because I like my design and it has a lot of color and I learned to stitch.”

“Wetlands are important

because they’re home for

animals and there’s food for ani-

mals in the wetlands too. They

help humans because when there’s

a lot of rain they absorb it.”

EAGLE HEIGHTS SPANISH IMMERSION

La Clase de Sra. Kinsella

“I learned adinkra is important to the people of Ghana because when they put the symbols on the adinkra they are special symbols to represent the people who died.”

“On my adinkra I used a design of a bird feather to represent

animals; and weather, sun and moon to show nature. On my batik

I used a dragonfly to represent the importance of even the

smallest organisms. On my mola I used a bird to show the

beauty of nature. I think audiences will see the importance of

respecting nature and how beautifully it will reward us.”

EDEN LAKE

Mr. Baker’s Class

“I learned about the food web, animals, plants and landscape in the wetlands. I learned about the reasons people make mola, batik, adinkra and felt.”

“Wetlands help keep the climate stable.”

EDEN LAKE

Mr. Busch’s Class

“I learned blue herons live in wetlands. They eat fish.”

“Batik was my favorite project. It was nice drawing

the design. First you draw the design on the cloth.

Next you trace the design with glue. You wait for the

glue to harden. Then you paint the cloth. Then wash

off the glue. Finally you have got a batik.”

EDEN LAKE

Mrs. Smith’s Class

“I learned what animals eat others in the wetlands (food chain).”

“Wet felting was my favorite fiber art. To

make felt you pick two to three colors and

flatten your base color, then put your other

colors where you want them, then put it in

soapy water and mix it around, then wash it

out and let it dry.”

EDEN LAKE

Mrs. Taylor’s Class

“I used to think wetlands were just wet. But now I know that a lot of stuff depends on wetlands to live and eat.”

“I used all four fiber arts in my collage. My mola

is green and grey. Green is the turtle and grey

symbolizes dusk. The adinkra is frog and wind.

The batik is dragonfly larva.”

EDEN LAKE

Mrs. Wolf’s Class

“I learned about the plants

and how the wetland ecosystems

work, and the animals and how

they live in the wetlands.”

“I liked the mola project because I learned how to do stitching.”

PRAIRIE VIEW

Mr. Flom’s Class

“I’ve learned there are wetlands all around the world.”

“My adinkra design has a

pattern of marsh grass. I used

butterflies in my batik. My mola

has the silhouette of a loon.”

PRAIRIE VIEW

Mr. Lindlief’s Class

“I liked the collage because it was fun how you can combine all of the projects and put them into one. My main design is a dragonfly. I picked a dragonfly because that’s a type of bug that lives in wetlands.”

“In my work the adinkra and the mola are

wetland plants, and my batik has a water snake,

a snail and a couple bacteria specimens. It shows

a lot of stuff living and growing in wetlands.”

PRAIRIE VIEW

Mrs. Lohan’s Class

“I liked batik because it was fun to watch the glue make a design after we put the dye on. The first step was to put glue on. Then we had to wait for it to dry. Finally we put on the dye.”

“What I learned about wetlands

that I thought was really cool

was the fact that they’re used

as a sponge for flooding.

They suck up a lot of water.”

PRAIRIE VIEW

Mr. Skarp’s Class

“Every group of people has different traditions. They have fiber art to express or show their beliefs.”

“Some wetlands don’t look like

they have water but they do. “

Many thanks to the parent volunteers who supported the residency program

and teaching artists by devoting time and energy in classrooms.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the State’s arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.