The fourth grade students enjoyed a week of storytelling, map-making, and discovery with visiting artist Judy Dow.
Judy is an Abenaki artist, storyteller, ethnobotanist, and teacher. She is a master basket weaver whose work has been exhibited nationally, including at The Smithsonian Museum and The National Museum of the American Indian.
With Judy’s guidance, fourth graders learned stories about Montpelier through research, art making, and exploring our community. We went on guided walks of the city and mapped our personal stories through basket-making, woodburning on leather, plaster relief mapping, watercolor painting, and embroidery.
Our big question for the residency was: “How can the stories of the past help us to understand today and direct tomorrow?”
Check out this video with some highlights of our week together!
This artist residency was made possible by an “Artists In Schools Grant” from The Vermont Arts Council, “The Creative Schools Initiative” by The Community Engagement Lab, and a generous donation by The Pyralisk Arts Center.
We had a wonderful show of the student work and stories last week! There will also be an opportunity to see them on display this Sunday, April 10th at The Barre Opera House at this special event with Evelyn Glennie.
