Through the Eye: Personal Connections with Needle & Lens

In this lesson, students are introduced to artist Bisa Butler, known for her expressive fiber arts illuminating stories rooted in Black history, celebrating identity, and showcasing everyday life within the Black community. The artist’s work honors individual stories suggested through vintage photographs and engages the viewer with expressive narratives found there. Students learn how photography, especially documentary photography, can provide insight into the lives of individuals as well as ideas about what life was like at a particular time and place. In the studio, students select a vintage photograph to feature in a mixed-media artwork. They imagine the story of the people depicted along with what Bisa Butler calls, “the circumstances of their lives.” Through the investigation of and use of color, pattern, and symbolism, students attempt to accentuate the expression and character of individuals in their own art making. Students work with assorted plain and patterned papers, embroidery and sewing techniques to tell the story of the people captured in the photos, elevating them into their expressively designed mixed media portraits. The lesson provides opportunities for students to interpret meaning in photographs as well as in their own artworks and those of their peers as they curate an exhibition of their completed artworks.

Grade Level: 6–12 

Estimated Time: six 45-minute class periods

Craft In America Theme/Episode: EAST