Craft in Schools: Home and Inspiration Winter Reflections  

As we welcome Spring, our Craft in Schools program proudly reflects on all that we accomplished earlier this year. Thanks to ongoing partnerships with K-12 LAUSD classroom teachers and various teaching artists, we were able to host several on-site field trips, virtual gallery talks, and hands-on craft workshops based on our recent Home and Inspiration Exhibition. 

In these educational programs, students were conversationally guided through Visual Thinking Strategies, and journaling and sketch pad prompts as they explored fiber, ceramics, woodworking, and sculptural art. Students ages 8-18 were encouraged to share their curiosity, ideas, and critiques of how they viewed craft and art practices both past and present. 

photo of 6-10 teens in an art gallery watching a screen slideshow about featured artists. There's pedestal stands for various art around them and a big window of walls looking out to the screen everyone's facing towards.
Van Nuys High Schoolers reflect on artist interviews at Craft in America’s Museum.
Rosewood Elementary Field Trip Human Loom, Craft in America
Rosewood Elementary Schoolers enjoy a collaborative “human loom” weaving activity during a Craft Center field trip.
ArTES Magnet Paj Ntaub, Craft in America
ArTES Magnet High School art students learn Paj Ntaub embroidery via virtual workshops with teaching artist Mandora Young
Two fourth graders proudly show their multi-colored yarn-weavings. Both of them smiles at the camera, while the boy on the left holds up a cardboard loom now empty of fiber

Talented 4th grade weavers proudly show their yarn-weavings

Several classrooms hosted on-site teaching artists, such as Paj Ntaub artist Mandora Young and textile artist Victoria May. Together, we learned about the significance of Paj Ntaub’s mesmerizing embroidery within the Hmong diaspora, while learning the foundations of cross-stitch embroidery. Our neighboring Rosewood Elementary 4th graders enjoyed a dynamic “human loom” weaving exercise as pictured above! And, several classes explored hands-on weaving as seen in Diedrick Brackens’ Kente-cloth inspired weaving. Our Craft in Schools program hopes to continue collaborating with and would like to thank the engaging classes at: Rosewood Elementary, Palms Middle School, Van Nuys High School, ArTES Magnet High School, and Fairfax High School. 

Stay tuned for more family and Craft in Schools programming!

Rosewood Elementary 4th Graders Paj Ntaub, Craft in America
Neighborhood 4th grade students continue to thread their needles…
Rosewood Elementary 4th Graders Paj Ntaub, Craft in America
.. as they continue their embroidery Paj Ntaub projects!
A classroom photo shows students looking ahead at a screen with colorful Hmong embroidery patterns near a whiteboard. An asian lady with long hair and glasses expressively gestures to them as she speaks and they listen

Teaching Artist Mandora Young leads a hands-on Paj Ntaub workshop with elementary schoolers