Frieze Symmetry Patterns, introduction #1

I call them borders. For decades I've been creating lessons for young kids on ways of creating geometric borders in the books that I make with them in the classroom. Kids love these lessons. They sit quietly, raptly attentive, and can't wait to get to work. Long overdue, I thought I'd take a closer look at…

Books, Symmetry, and Students

I'm in the busy part of my art-in-ed, itinerant artist season. The challenge is to keep what I do relevant to the students, to the curriculum, to the teachers, and to myself. Most of the work that I do in schools is done with teachers I've worked with in previous years. Usually I repeat a…

Five Days of Summer Workshops with 3rd and 4th Graders

In the summertime, when school is not in session, I'm on my own in terms of deciding on what kinds of projects that I want to teach in workshops. Last week I taught for five days  at the local community center.  My sessions with the kids were 40 minutes long, and although I prepared for…

Exploring the Language of Patterns

News Flash: A Codified Language Exists to Describe Patterns. I've been so excited to discover the way to speak about patterns. I've been teaching decorative techniques for a long time now. I've started trying to use more precise terminology in my teaching, and I suspected there was more to know. I started out looking at artistic and graphic design…