Unthings Winter 2018 session
Ages: 9+
When: March 1 - April 19 (skipping March 29 for Spring Break)
Day/Time: Thursdays 12:30-3:30
Where: RhizomeDC, 6950 Maple St. NW DC
Cost: $270 (please email us if the cost is an obstacle)
To register: Email lbumstead at mac dot com
(Note: We don’t have space for parents or siblings to wait, so this is drop off only.)
If you are new to Unthings, come visit! You can pay for one day ($45) and then register for the session if it’s a good fit for your child. Please email Leslie at lbumstead at mac dot com if you would like to do this.
Unthings provides children with the opportunity to explore, create, and learn — in groups and individually. Each week a team of two to three artists/mentors will provide materials, ideas, and guidance in a supportive and creative environment. Kids will have the space and time to engage with and explore their own ideas and questions, while learning and creating collaboratively.
In previous sessions we painted with mineral earth and plant pigments; made gesture drawings with homemade black walnut ink; made collaborative sculptures using materials such as wire, small objects, lids, magazines, and words; collected natural objects to make mobiles; made sound circuits and light boxes; harvested and planted crops at the nearby urban farm; wrote collaborative stories; made poems from creating art on pages from old books (erasure poems); worked with natural/local materials to make eco-prints with steam bundling; made sushi; made a harp; composed and performed graphic and text scores for vocal music.
Other past/present/future activities could include:
- Puppet making with crochet and scrap fabrics
- Branch weaving using driftwood as frames for plant-dyed yarns
- Spinning on the wheel
- Doll making
- Sound-making circuits
- Making music together
- Musical instrument-making
- Cooking projects
- Permaculture in theory and practice
- Audio recording and editing
- Art projects
- Urban farming
- Experiments with words
- Collaborative choose your own adventure story
- Word sculptures
- Tinkering
Please feel free to email Leslie at lbumstead[at]mac[dot]com with any questions.
Philosophy - the name "Unthings" foregrounds our intent to undo the current educational model which believes learning can be measured by test results or an end product. We believe learning occurs when a person is engaged in a process of questions, collaboration, and experiment. Learning is not always represented by a tangible thing or measurable outcome, but is instead a process marked by complexity and curiosity. We do not think of ourselves as teachers, but rather guides with materials and experience to share. We invite our students to participate in activities that promote exploration and deep learning.
We each bring expertise in our fields, but we are always ready to abandon our intentions in order to follow the curiosities of the students.
Ann is an urban farmer. Kerstin is a fiber artist. Layne is a musician and instrument builder. Leslie is a writer and poet.