3074
Whitney Ave.
Bldg. 2, 2nd Floor
Hamden, CT 06518
phone: 203-230-8101
fax: 203-230-8131
CLAUDIA MATHISON
Historic and Multi-Cultural Crafts
An artist and educator, Claudia Mathison has brought her unique blend of traditional crafts and culture to the Wadsworth, the Mattatuck Museum, the New Britain Museum of American Art and numerous schools and libraries throughout New England. She holds a masters degree in art education and is a faculty member at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford, CT.
Sandra Pavkov from Montowese School in North Haven stated:
"Thank you all for your help. Claudia's visit was a great success. The children enjoyed making the copy books and baskets. A number of them asked to take ink home to work some more on their calligraphy. It was a wonderful way to culminate our colonial America unit".
"When is a Square Not A Square?" NEW (Grades K-8)
Students will begin the two sessions by becoming familiar with
the achievements of quiltmakers past and present by viewing
antique and contemporary quilts.
Students in grades K to 2 will use colorful craft paper or easy to
cut fabric to design their own
square. The shapes will be glued to individual oak tag boards and, when completed, they can be placed together to form one quilt.
Students in grades 3 to 6 will use a fabric square to create new shapes such as triangles, smaller squares, rectangles. Working with
a partner, both students will create the same design in a different color, creating a two color quilt square by sharing their piece. Students in grades 7th & 8th will work on a project similar to 6th grade project but the lesson will involve more measurement,
geometry, fractions, and tessellations.
LITTLE GLOBE TROTTERS NEW (Grades PK & K)
Native Rainsticks
Native tribes created rainsticks from desert cactus and used them
during rain making ceremonies. The children will learn how to
construct a simple rain stick from heavy weight cardboard tubes,
paper, tinfoil and dried beans.
Adinkra Cloth
The Ashanti people from Ghana, West Africa, create symbolic
Adinkra cloth, beautiful fabric patterns are made from symbols
that are stamped onto long strips of cloth in squares and patterns.
Chinese New Year Dragons
Your class will create their own moveable dragon using cardboard
tubes, colorful papers and bamboo sticks. Music, stories and
authentic cultural artifacts will be introduced to the class.
Japanese Carp Kites
On May 5th of each year, brightly colored streamers and carp
shaped kites fly all over Japan! Using fabric, markers, and
ribbon your class will create their own carp kite while learning
about life in present day Japan. Kimonos, Japanese stories and
music
The Colonial School House
Your students will take a trip back to the 1700's to discover life
in a one room school house. Dressed in colonial attire, Claudia will
show the children how to make and decorate their own "copy
book" and how to write with a goose quill pen. Each child will create a book of their own and will experiment with a feather pen.
There will be time to play with colonial toys, view authentic
artifacts and maybe dance a traditional jig!
Also available are programs for Grades 3-8 including:
Colonial American Crafts
Native American Crafts
African Crafts
2 Workshops: $475
4 Workshops: $765
Supplies for Basketry: $5 per student for materials
Curriculum Links:
Visual Art, Social Studies, Language Arts
WRT