Theme: Bringing Art
to Life in Schoolyards
The Art Garden
Visual
arts teacher Kati Towle finds the natural world to be a tempting
toolbox. In fact, she envisioned a garden where her middle school
students in Alexandria, VA, could find plants and flowers for
fibers, decorations, and dyes. Once administrators gave the
concept a green light and a local Boy Scout troop agreed to
clear out construction debris and turn in topsoil, the canvas
was set. Now, what was once a 25'x15' maintenance dump site
has been transformed into an oasis of color, art materials,
and clever creations.
Kati invited students who signed up for a special summer course
to plan the garden, brainstorm ways to use it to support arts
education, and begin to design and plant it. After looking at
several examples of garden plans, the group explored the types
of plants they could use on the basis of their art ideas. Next,
they made a chart listing the colors of different flowers so
they could plan their palette. Finally, the students walked
around the site and discussed planting options and locations.
"Everything we planted that summer had some functional use
as an art material," explains Kati. "Certain flowers produced
dyes, grasses provided fibers for weaving and making paper,
and selected plants could be dried for decoration and fragrance."
In subsequent years, as fertile new ideas emerged, the site
evolved into a theme garden that incorporates art in many forms.
During art classes and recess, youngsters explore color design
with plants; paint creative images on benches, hubcaps, tiles,
and banners; and use the garden space for activities such as
poetry readings and musical performances. (Visit the Art
Garden Web site to see samples of their creations.) They
also established the Art Garden Club, which meets weekly throughout
the school year.
Fall finds club members planting bulbs and collecting flowers, leaves,
and stems to make natural dyes for coloring wool yarn for weaving projects.
Each spring, the group creates a decorative work of art, such as mosaic
stones or a mural. In the summer art course, students cut foliage from
various plants (pampas grass, daylily, and iris) for making handmade
"art" paper, and then color the paper pulp with dyes made from yarrow,
marigold, and coreopsis (tickseed) flowers.
How They Grew
Kati cautions that this type of project needs a lot of adult
support (particularly for summer maintenance), but she also
sings its praises. "The students have grown by working together
on this project, seeing their ideas come to fruition, learning
new ways of making art, and knowing they have created a beautiful
space." Proof of their pleasure, she explains, is how much they
love hanging out in the garden with friends during recess and
after school.
A Sampling of Art Plants and Projects
Dyeing with Yarrow
Gather leaves and/or flowers and stems anytime from spring to fall.
(A dozen plants will sufficiently dye about 4 to 10 ounces of yarn.)
Put plants in a large enamel or stainless cooking pot. Cover with water
and simmer for one hour. Strain off the golden dyebath. Make sure your
cooking area is well ventilated; the odor can be strong. Add wool or
cottton yarn, simmer for one hour, and rinse. (Students can experiment
with dye color by adding different amounts of vinegar to the original
dye bath.) (Adapted from A Dyer's Garden, by Rita Buchanan.)
The
Art Garden is one of the twelve school gardens featured in our
just-published book Schoolyard Mosaics: Designing Gardens
and Habitats. It features brilliant detailed school garden
maps — from butterfly oases to history gardens — along with
how-to advice and companion stories on how students made decisions,
built community support, and achieved learning goals. You'll
also find scads of useful resources — Web sites, Listservs,
books, articles, videos, and supplies. Click
here to learn more or order. (Members
save 10%.)
Author: Eve Pranis
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© 2008
National Gardening Association