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TOWER- Vermilion Country School’s environmental education focus this year is on water quality, and while students in science class have been exploring the science of water and the environmental …
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TOWER- Vermilion Country School’s environmental education focus this year is on water quality, and while students in science class have been exploring the science of water and the environmental impacts of pollution and mining, they also just spent two days exploring art, poetry, and music, and its relationship to water.
Fire in the Village outreach artists Annie Humphrey and Shanai Matteson worked with students earlier this month, doing art projects and making music about our relationship to water.
Students learned to make dyes using plants found in area bogs, dying fabrics with tamarack, birch, and swamp marigold. They carved linoleum-style blocks into shapes from nature like flowers and insects, and they printed the dyed fabrics, as well as making small notebooks.
Singer-songwriter Humphrey said she does a lot of work with students.
“Schools want more art,” she said, noting that many schools have cut the arts from their curriculum. “It’s messy and fun and kids love it.”
Teacher Rebeca Gawboy, who helps run the Stronger Connections grant program at the school, was impressed at how many students were completely immersed in the projects with Humphrey and Matteson.
“Some of these kids don’t usually want to do art projects,” she said. The same happened with the music time, with students who don’t already play an instrument, stepping up and getting introductory lessons.
“We had a lot of great group work,” Gawboy said.
Some of the student’s artwork became part of their year-end environmental expo projects, which were on display on May 23.
Besides block printing, students learned how to print fabric using leaves and flowers.
Students learned about plants from the water-rich bog environments that can be used as natural dyes. They learned about how the pH of the water affects the dyeing process, and watched as yellows, tans, browns, purples, and pinks came to life in the fabric patches.
Students then used the images they created on the ink blocks to create patterns on fabric, and then the patches were sewn onto jackets and bags. They also created haiku poems, using prompts of colors, taken from paint chip samples.
Humphrey also worked with students interested in music, teaching how to play a flute, and working on songs with other students. She also performed a concert.
The program was funded by the school’s Stronger Connections and Northland Foundation grants. Gawboy said the school hopes to get the two artists back again next year, to work with students, as well as possibly doing a workshop for school staff.