Objective:

Students will learn about Contemporary African American Artist, Faith Ringgold's story quilts and make their own quilt using acrylic paints, muslin, and recycled fabric scraps.

Read the rest of the lesson after the jump. . .

Materials

• 16" x 16 " muslin fabric for each student
• Scraps of recycled fabric
• Heat 'n' Bond strips
• Iron
• Acrylic Paint
• brushes

Resources

• The Last Story Quilt video/DVD
• Faith Ringgold (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists)
• Faith Ringgold Art Prints
• Exploring Tar Beach 2 website
• Tar Beach

Activities

Introduction to Faith Ringgold

The book, Faith Ringgold (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists), is a good way to introduce students to the life of Faith Ringgold.  I only read the first several pages to the students, and then switch to a clip from The Last Story Quilt.

Here is a short clip from the video that discusses Ringgold's love of stories:

Making the Quilt

Discuss family stories and memories with the students.  Have them draw a sketch of a memory from their life or a family story that they have heard.

Each student will be given a 16" x 16" piece of muslin.  They should measure out a 2.5" in border around the edge of the muslin.

After the students transfer their sketch onto the muslin and paint it with the acrylics, iron on heat and bond around the border of the piece.

Students will then cut fabric swatches and arrange them around the edge of the muslin.  You can run a hot iron over the fabric to active the heat and bond and the students will have a colorful border around their painting.