Teach-Primary-Issue-19.7

Introduce pupils to felting – and develop teamwork skills – with this collaborative project MANDY BARRETT www.teachwire.net | 31 Show the children the size of the tuff tray and look at samples of felted fabrics. Explain that they are going to work collaboratively to create a piece of artwork using felt tops. Look at the fibres and use the senses of touch, smell and sight to describe the material. Discuss that natural felt tops are from a sheep fleece. The children can work together in groups to design a picture they would like to create, carefully considering colour choices. Once the base layer is complete, use different coloured felt tops to create the desired image on top. Gently pull the fibres apart and layer to create the desired image, overlapping colours and twisting shapes where needed. The children can work in smaller groups to work on the detail in the image, looking carefully at the designs. We have created landscapes linked to geography topics and flowering plants linked to science. Test that the fibres have successfully felted together by carefully peeling back the netting and pulling the felt. It should feel firm and the fibres should feel bonded together. At this stage more rubbing may be required. If it feels ready, remove the large felted piece from the tuff tray, along with the netting, and rinse under cold water, until the bubbles disappear. Gently roll and rub the felt in a sausage shape until the water runs clear. Remove the netting, roll out the felt and leave the artwork to dry. Add another layer of netting to the top of the felt pile (which should be around 15cm tall, springy and fluffy) and gently add warm water and washing-up liquid to the felt, ensuring all the felt tops are wet. Gently begin rubbing the felt to agitate the fibres. The children will notice foam and bubbles appearing on the surface of their image. They can work together to rub the felt in different directions, which can take up to an hour (they can listen to music while doing this). The net on either side of the felt will help the fibres to fuse together. Line the bottom of a large tuff tray with netting. This creates a rough surface underneath the felt, which will help to fix the felt down, once pupils are happy with their pictures. Use a layer of felt tops to create a base for the image. We used a layer of white. Pull the fibres apart and gently layer the felt in different directions, this will help to give it strength. Ensure even coverage all over the tuff tray, creating a bouncy, fluffy layer approximately 10cm thick. Children took it in turns in small groups to do this part of the process. O ver the past few years, we have developed our textiles offer in school and linked this to mindfulness and wellbeing. Often, textile work is incredibly tactile and lends itself to contributing towards calming classroom moments, particularly with peers. It’s with this in mind that we have made large-scale felt pieces using a tuff tray as a base for creating. These lessons have succeeded in teaching our children about the tradition of felt-making and collaboration, as well as the joy of making with your hands. F EATURE S AR T Mandy Barrett is an art specialist teacher working at Gomersal Primary School in Cleckheaton. gomersalprimaryschoolart.blogspot.com @arty_mandy @GomersalArt