Nature Weaving

A student-driven assignment in organic sculpture

​I try to give my students a broad exposure to different media and as autumn hits our area of the country the foliage reminded me that nature offers a lot of possibilities. We have explored the art of Andrew Goldsworthy in the past, but I wanted to try something different. This year a landscaping crew came through our campus to take down some dead trees and branches, and I saw that as an opportunity I wanted to take advantage of. I also had several boxes of yarn we have not used since the pandemic, so my challenge for my students was to combine both to create an organic sculpture that could stand on its own. They were encouraged to add embellishments from my supply of craft items or could bring in their own.
 
I created a Google Document and gave my students editing access with the following guidelines:
 
Gather samples of sculptures that use twigs and sticks
Get the names and websites of artists who work with these materials
Insert links to weaving and fiber tutorials
Add your name to the document to get credit for your contributions
 
Our PDF is below, and they were given a classwork grade (participation) for their work.

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Our first step was to gather materials. I found a few saws, some students brought sticks from home, and I found a few bamboo trees in my own backyard to add to the mix. We pulled our materials together, reviewed our Google Document, and created rough thumbnails for what we wanted to potentially create. While students did this, I was quickly creating a sample sculpture that would use as many techniques as possible.
 

• Circular net weaving
• Traditional weaving
• Stick wrapping
• Macrame
• Tsikuri, wrapping several sticks

​Students did peer pair-and-share sessions to offer suggestions on their thumbnails and we began the process of construction. After a week we were about half-way done. We paused again, and gathered in a circle. Each student took turns explaining what they were doing, what they liked, what they may be having trouble with, and 2 or more students offered feedback/suggestions.
 
I like…
What if…
How about…
Why not…
 
(As the teacher, I made sure everyone had participated twice in feedback.)
 
After considering feedback, students returned to their work to complete their sculptures. These are the results.