Weaving Through Words

This book is an in-depth look at the effects of using multiple art forms as a methodology for teaching comprehension to elementary students

Weaving Words raises important questions about the impact of 21st century practices of education upon human creativity and joy in making meaning through writing. It questions how writing is experienced and valued as a process and product of research; as a means for personal and professional learning; and how it is taught and experienced in the classroom and in teacher education. Weaving Words brings together a range of critical perspectives upon writing within global agendas for education and research, and considers the capacity for writing and reflection to disrupt and transform personal and professional understandings. The parallel traditions of spinning and weaving and the sharing of stories through the spoken and written word shape the structure of this book: its warp is constituted by chapters written by researchers in education; its weft by the poems, plays, short stories and reflections of pre-service teachers. Both researchers and pre-service teachers consider the challenges of becoming writers, and the contradictions they encounter in transferring their understandings of being a writer to the teaching of writing with younger authors, and in conducting research as writing. Weaving Words engages with emerging debates around what forms of writing are valued and supported within 21st century teaching and research; it demonstrates the power of writing for personal expression, suggesting that writing that is creative opens spaces for making meaning and for constructing the world that are important for practices of education and for research.

Step back in time to seventeenth-century Paris with Thérèse, a talented young girl who lives and works at the Gobelins Manufactory, where Europe’s greatest artisans make tapestries and luxury objects for King Louis XIV. Even though girls are not trained on the great looms there, Thérèse practices on a small one at home and dreams of becoming a royal weaver someday. This charming story follows Thérèse as she carries out an ambitious plan with the help of family, friends, and the artisans of the Gobelins. The intricate craft of tapestry weaving is illuminated, and surprises await Thérèse, her parents and brothers, and even the king himself. Children’s book author Alexandra S. D. Hinrichs here breathes vivid life into a delightful tale full of fun twists and an appealing cast of characters. Original paintings by award-winning artist Renée Graef playfully illustrate the book, as well as the many steps involved in the creation of the famous Gobelins tapestries, from dyeing wool and making silver thread, to painting and copying the elaborate designs, to the delicate art of weaving. Thérèse’s fictional adventures are inspired by real people, the actual Gobelins Manufactory, and a beautiful tapestry that hangs today in the J. Paul Getty Museum.

"Through an analysis of specific weaving stories, the difference between a text and a textile becomes blurred. Such stories portray women weavers transforming their domestic activity of making textiles into one of making texts by inscribing their cloth with both personal and political messages."--BOOK JACKET.

Every story has a beginning. Childhood experiences shape lives toward decisions, placing individuals in situations that determine choices. For Mary of Bethany, the beginning of her story was in the alabaster box she lavishly poured on her Lord, expressing the joy of her salvation and new life. Mary Magdalene wasted too many years fighting her demons, until she was rescued by a man from Galilee who gave her answers instead of questions. Who was the woman at the well and why was she shunned by her entire community? When her well was empty, her Savior came to fill her with living water. Their stories have been told for two thousand years leaving audiences pondering their circumstances and choices before Jesus came into their lives. Tragedy and trauma are redeemed when divine appointments bring hope and new beginnings. Weaving Though Lives is the story of three young girls who grow into women and learn to trust again in spite of their beginnings.

References to weaving and binding are ubiquitous in Anglo-Saxon literature. Several hundred instances of such imagery occur in the poetic corpus, invoked in connection with objects, people, elemental forces, and complex abstract concepts. Weaving Words and Binding Bodies presents the first comprehensive study of weaving and binding imagery through intertextual analysis and close readings of Beowulf, riddles, the poetry of Cynewulf, and other key texts. Megan Cavell highlights the prominent use of weaving and binding in previously unrecognized formulas, collocations, and type-scenes, shedding light on important tropes such as the lord-retainer "bond" and the gendered role of "peace-weaving" in Anglo-Saxon society. Through the analysis of metrical, rhetorical, and linguistic features and canonical and neglected texts in a wide range of genres, Weaving Words and Binding Bodies makes an important contribution to the ongoing study of Anglo-Saxon poetics.

Art can be a critical tool in helping students develop and refine reading strategies. This book provides classroom and art teachers with an overview of six different reading strategies and integrated reading and art lessons that they can implement in their own classrooms and schools.

This glorious book is a modern guide to weaving, an ancient craft that is reaching new heights of popularity, from acclaimed contemporary weaver and textile artist Rachna Garodia. It contains a wealth of practical advice and tons of inspiration for every aspect of this endlessly adaptable craft, from gathering materials to making and exhibiting ambitious woven masterpieces, bringing in a wide selection of mixed media. Meditative and calming, a session at the loom is a great way to relax, and create something beautiful in the process. And you don't need expensive equipment: you can start your weaving journey on a small wooden frame or even a piece of cardboard, and it's now easy to book time on larger looms outside the home. The book includes: Choosing a loom, from the simplest small frames to sophisticated table and floor looms. Design and planning: taking inspiration from the natural world, sketching, photographing, making moodboards and exploring colour. Gathering materials: from natural straw, grass, flowers, feathers, bark and seedpods to more traditional yarns and threads and even paper and photographs. Personalising your work by incorporating well-loved old fabrics and precious sentimental items. Unusual techniques: weaving with photographs or directly onto handmade paper, three-dimensional sculptural weaving, non-loom techniques such as looping and netting. Gorgeously illustrated with work from the author and other artists from around the world, this book is an engaging and beautiful introduction to weaving for established textile artists or those coming to the craft for the first time.