Wood and Water Unit — Arts In Education

Woods + Water Unit

Explore the connections of wood and water in this unit. Students will consider Maine industries such as logging and fishing as they consider the importance and interdependence of these natural resources in our community in the past and present.

This unit is inspired by the work of students, educators, museum educators, and teaching artists in the Stories of the Land and Its People program.

Curricular Connections:

Sensory Writing + Poetry
Observation + Documentation
Boatbuilding + Woodworking
Balance + Measurements
Marine Industry / Maine History

Vocabulary:

Composition
Shape
Foreground / Middle-ground / Background
Line / Form
Color

Activity: Stitched Mural

Notice: Notice the lines and shapes of water. Visit a waterway in your community or look at works of art to sketch what you see.
Create: Draw water-inspired lines on a small canvas. Follow your guides and sew your water shapes using yarn. After practicing on this soft material, drill holes into a wood panel and sew your water shapes onto wood.
Notice: Notice shapes of wood, such as a branch or a tree. Sketch what you see.
Create: Inspired by your drawings, create a large tree shape on wood panel. Drill holes along the branch lines. Collaborate as a group to weave marine lines into the tree shape.
Curricular Connections + Reflect: Reflect on the connection of wood and water in your community. How are they intertwined? Research and share your findings.

Gallery of Student Work:

Farnsworth collection:

Notice these works of art in the Farnsworth Art Museum collection. Consider the connection of wood and water in these works of art.

Activity:

Create: Create a boat out of an old buoy. Divide the buoy in half and cut a slit in the bottom of the boat so that you may insert a stone weight.
Reflect + Create: Reflect on your sewing skills in the previous activity to embroider a unique sail. Stories students studied symbols of different cultures as inspiration for their designs.
Curricular Connections: Check the balance of your boat by adjusting your counterweights. Test the seaworthiness of your craft in a bucket of water.
Curricular Connections: Study the history of boatbuilding. What skills could you use to help build your sculpture?

Stories students visited a local boat builder and practiced steam bending wood. The blue “water” elements in this display were created from wood scraps and bent with steam. Students used old maritime techniques to rivet the wood together.

Resources:

Guided Noticing Activity: Notice this work of art by artist Marguerite Zorach. What can we learn about this place and the people who live here? After noticing the work of art, follow along with museum educator Andrea Curtis in a guided noticing activity to learn more about the painting and the artist.

Curator’s Choice Film: Follow along with registrar Angela Waldron as she explores the connection of wood and water in this work of art.

Stories of the Land and Its People

The Stories of the Land and Its People program encourages student participants to learn about people and places in their community. For more student project examples, visit our Student Exhibitions page.