Weaving A Cross Cultural Tapestry: Collaborative Art With Children and Their Families

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Last month I had the pleasure of presenting a visual art installation at the Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education (RECE) in Toronto.  Conference proposals are usually submitted many months before the actual conference, so I had been dreaming up this installation for a long time!  Lately, I have been thinking a lot about community, diversity and early childhood education; specifically how they all weave together to create unique ‘tapestries’ of learning in local neighbourhoods and school communities.

It was really important for me to involve our students, their families, members of our community and input from First Nations elders in our visual art installation because they all contribute to quality early childhood education that is democratic and inclusive. As an educator, I believe we are just one piece of fabric in a beautiful tapestry.

We asked our Kindergarten and Grade One families to send in a culturally meaningful piece of fabric – simple!  We had over 30 families participate in our quilt, and at by the time it was finished, it was over 6 ft long and 5 ft wide!

A fabric store with colorful rolls and hanging garments.
We decided to source our fabric from Ann’s Fabric – a local fabric store/sewing studio in Stouffville.  Ann was extremely helpful and gave us lots of advice on how to sew our quilt together. 

 

Rows of colorful embroidery floss organized by shades on white cards.
So many pretty colours of thread! At times we felt like we bit off more than we could chew, but with Ann’s guidance, we kept on pushing through. 

 

A vibrant yellow fabric being sewn on a sewing machine.
Including the First Nations wheel of life colours (White, Yellow, Red, and Black) as our borders – including these colours was our way of communicating that we acknowledge our community’s Indigenous heritage.

 

A calico cat lying on its side on a patterned surface.
The cutest helper!  

 

A collection of colorful cloth squares with various patterns on a table.
Pinning our fabric pieces together … almost at the finish line! 

 

Patchwork quilt with various colorful fabric squares and patterns.
Pinning on the finishing touches! We used a deep red fabric which had an indigenous inspired print to accentuate the fabric squares.  It added a lot of dimension to our quilt.

 

A colorful patchwork quilt with various patterns and designs.
On display at RECE 2017!  Can you recognize some of the cultures present in our quilt? 

 

A whimsical tree with orange leaves and a white cat beneath it.
In awe of the creative details on our quilt! Each piece was so unique and meaningful!

 

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