Residencies With Nancy

The first day is a 45 minute Native American storytelling session for the whole school. Serious history is covered quickly with insight and humor. Students see both her buckskin and calico dress. Nancy brings her turtle shell pocketbook and explains how things were done back in the day. She could even bring her blowgun and shoot a target box!

The same day, Nancy teaches the 5 classes. Classes may have to be shortened the first day only. Class length depends on what is best for the school but may be an hour long. In schools with block scheduling, an extra day may be worked in so all A B classes have equal time with the artist.

In larger schools, two storytelling times may be arranged, or Nancy can appear on in-school TV stations. Storytelling may be taped for future reference or other classes not included in the residency.

Schools have the option of scheduling an after school workshop for teachers/parents on basketry, papermaking or Native cultures, storytelling.

Residencies can be based on:

Basketry: Free form baskets can be as simple as bird nests or as complicated as sculpture. Split kudzu vine is used. Baskets will hold jelly beans at the end of the week. Coiled baskets are made with 5th graders and older. They use materials found close to the school including kudzu, wisteria, honeysuckle, pine needles, broom sedge, cattail leaves, bull rush, sedges and palm fronds. All baskets made will look different allowing students to exercise their own personality.

Kudzu Papermaking: Processed kudzu leaves are brought to school and turned into assorted projects using recycled paper from your school. Ellison diecut machines along with art teacher scrap boxes afford colorful construction paper recycling opportunities.

Younger students learn to read better if they are allowed to tear paper. Six studen ts at a time make paper. The others are drawing pictures of the Native American stories told earlier. The second day, students make another colored sheet of paper to reinforce their skills. Seasonal flowers and herbs may be used as well. The third and fourth days involve trading half their paper with others to get four different colors. Various projects result including: tessellations (quilt designs teaching math, Pythagorean-theorem and pact test results), Carolina Parakeet/extinct unit, or three dimensional masks or bowls.

Storytelling/Literature/History: Ten different classes can participate in a two day workshop where they learn how to make/write their own legend. They participate in a brief ceremony where sage is lit, sing Native American songs, dance in couples, hear the artist tell stories and then act a story out in groups.

Artist needs a room for students to come to her.

Artist furnishes all materials. Fees include workshop, materials, hotel and travel.

Fees availible upon request.