Memories come to life in intricate yarn works inspired by Annie Lucille Greene.

Dr. Kathleen Petka

Years ago, we had artist Annie Lucille Greene come to an art teacher preservice meeting, and I fell in love with her yarn paintings. She gave each teacher a book on her work, Georgia Farm Life in the 1940s: The Farm in Yarn, and I treasure mine. The book has beautiful yarn paintings and short stories based on the artistʼs childhood visits to her grandparents’ farm in Georgia. Her work celebrates her memories and culture and educates viewers about what life was like in the 1940s as a young Black girl in the South.

Inspired by this, I challenged my students to choose a positive childhood memory to illustrate and share with the class. They were told that they would also create a narrative based on that image.

I created a slideshow presentation on Greene’s work and shared her book with students. I pointed out the different ways she used yarn to create her beautiful works.

Students were asked to use five colors and make an interesting composition based on a childhood memory. They also needed to cover the board completely. Cellphones were not allowed during this project, so students had to bring in a reference photo if they had one.

Students drew on 18 x 24" (46 x 61 cm) newsprint paper for their rough drafts, and after they received my approval, they created their final work on 18 x 24" chipboard. For their rough drafts, they labeled the colors they intended to use and mapped out the direction and application of the yarn. This would guide students when they were creating their final board.

Some students chose to draw specific memories with people, and some chose to depict scenes or locations from their childhood.

Students were challenged by this medium because they had never used yarn to paint with, and they overcame the struggles that accompanied the assignment. They learned to control the glue because if they used too much, the yarn would look crusty. Many students chose to use old paintbrushes to apply the glue, giving them better control. A few students used embroidery thread for specific or detailed areas and some added layers of yarn. The results were wonderful.

Students did a great job sharing the yarn, and since I wouldn’t allow them to use their cell phones for this project, they learned a lot about themselves and their peers while they worked. I was amazed at the complexity of some of their compositions, and I was beyond impressed by the skills they demonstrated.

Our learning objective was to depict a childhood memory using yarn and words. I was amazed at studentsʼ writing skills, and I enjoyed reading the short narratives that accompanied their paintings. We shared the paintings and their inspiration behind the art in a class critique.

This is a strong lesson because it shows students that they can create art with any medium and take risks with what they are making. Although yarn art appears to be an easy medium to work with, it is very challenging, and they realized this on the first day of the lesson. They really enjoyed exploring this technique and challenging themselves.

I have done this lesson three times in my sixteen years of teaching, and the finished pieces were the most successful by far. I think that is due to the fact that I had students create a rough draft, planning the colors they would use as well as the application of the yarn. They did such a great job with this lesson that I plan to collaborate with our Graphic Arts department and create a book using all their images and narratives.

Dr. Kathleen Petka is a visual art teacher at Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia. kathleen.petka@cobbk12.org

Yesterdays with Yarn: “Painting” Childhood Memories