Kids Get Arty: Textile Art for Kids with Janet Bolton

Welcome back to Kids Get Arty! I can’t believe we only do ONE Art project every two months and yet the time whizzes by and it is time to do and share our next Great Artist art project with you. This month we are looking at Textile Art and a British Artists called Janet Bolton. We choose her for two reasons, firstly, my son always asks about artists that are “still alive” and secondly, I wanted use “different materials” with him this time round. And I thought a textile art project could be just the thing. Janet Bolton hand stitches all her work, but we simplified it and decided to glue our textile art project – to make it easier for my 5year old!

About Janet Bolton and her Textile Art

Janet Bolton composes textile picture using the simplest of hand sewing techniques. Her inspiration comes from experience, memory and imagination. The placement of each element within the composition and the feeling this evokes are an important factor of the work.

Janet has been on the Crafts Council selected index of makers since 1985. Her work appears in many private and public collections including the British Council, the Crafts Council and the Embroiderer’s Guild Museum.

Our Textile Art Project inspired by Janet Bolton

I have to begin by saying how much Red Ted enjoyed the process. He loved it so much, that we straight away made a second picture (entitled “Our Street”). The project we did first however is called “Play Time” or “My School” (he couldn’t decide which). He decided to depict his (porta cabin0 classroom with him and his best friends playing football outside of it. On the side you have a strip of grass. To the left you have the teacher watching them play. The boys in the picture are Red Ted himself, and his best friend G and D. I confess I can’t remember who the fourth boy is. So this, is a VERY special picture for us. Especially, since G moved to America shortly after we did this.

This the process we went through:

We designed our Artwork

This step teaches the children, that a lot of thought goes into a final piece of Art. It isn’t “just” slapped onto a canvas and artist may draw several sketches before creating a final piece of art.

Using our sketches we choose fabrics that match the different parts of our art.

I LOVE that we used REAL school uniform “bits” to create the children. We had some fleece from the school jumpers and some cut offs from the school trousers.

We then prepped our “Canvas”.

In our case re decided to recycle some toy boxes. Great bit of thrifty artwork! We stuck together two pieces of card, so that the coloured/ pattern side is on the inside. To smooth down the edges, I added some masking tape for Red Ted.

Red Ted sticking down the background fabric.

Then Red Ted set to work, cutting out the details of what he need for his textile art project. I let him use “big” scissors, as they cut better through fabric. This is a great for cutting skills.

As mentioned above, we used REAL parts of an old school uniform to cut out the children. Red Ted did ALL the cutting save for the circluar heads as he found these too tricky. I helped with those. But the rest is all his own artwork.

Aren’t the different textures of the fabric here simply wonderful?

He then glued it all on. The two doors show the two different classrooms for “Year one”. His class is on the left, the other on the right.

The football in the middle, has some bubbe wrap underneath, so it is “3D” which Red Ted LOVED. He also then added bubble wrap under the grass section….

He adores feeling his textile art project and loves all the different effects of the different fabrics used and of course the 3D effect of the bubble wrap.

So.. now it is your chance! We would love to see what Great Artists you have been exploring with your kids and how you approached your arty projects! Come link up. 

Disclaimer: by joining the Kids Get Arty linky – you give us permission to highlight any projects on Red Ted Art or share your art ideas on Pintrest – we will always link to your site! If you have been arty with your kid’s please link up!

I have added some of our earlier projects for you to explore!