I teach soapmaking at the John C. Campbell Folk School 2-3 times per year, and I love the creative energy than comes out of a weekend there. Luckily, the Folk School doesn't just provide that outlet for adults. Each summer, they host "Little Middle." Campbell and I just returned from days of crafty, folky fun.
Each day, she took four classes. You ranked your top four out of 13, and the choices ranged from Recycled Art and Puppetry to Primitive Skills and Clay. Campbell took Cartooning, Cornhusk Dolls, Eco Printmaking, and Fiber Arts.
I felt like kids were able to be kids at Little Middle. They played in the creek, built fairy houses (Campbell indoctrinated the entire camp into the magic of fairy houses, and they built massive villages-even the boys), stayed outside until dark, and caught fireflies. There was no TV, no computer, no video games. It reminded me of when I was a kid. One of the things I heard the teachers say is that many of the kids did not have the patience/attention span for crafting. In this world where everything is instant gratification--texting, internet, instant TV (no waiting for Saturday morning cartoons; you can just Tivo it or find it on Netflix), we've created children who don't understand methodical approaches and that things take time. They are so used to fast-paced images, something that takes time isn't natural to them. It's a Wal-Mart world. Why knit a scarf when you can go get one for $4.99? It really scared me. But I was also hopeful because I saw children light up at learning something new. The creativity of all these "little-middles" blew me away. I almost cried the last day when they did their crafting exhibition. One group actually made a canoe!
I plan to post a few pictures each day, but for today, I'll show fiber arts, which was Campbell's favorite. She learned to knit with a "knitting Nancy," and she carries her knitting bag around everywhere she goes. Talk about patience....knitting will make you have patience. And I must say, it does this Mama's heart good to see her carrying that bag around.
Hand dyed yarn (with Kool-Aid)
Knitting Nancy method
Weaving class
Felting Class
