Cary Meehan will facilitate this 12 week programme. The wall hanging will contain images from different cultures using felting. Felting is a technique using raw wool, water and soap.

During the initial brainstorming session ideas included cocoa harvest in Cameroon and Ghana, windmills, buffalo, traditional African costume, bridges, bogland, oak tree, sugar cane, the Polestar and River Swilly.

Then it was down to work and the group were busy sorting the raw wool into colours and making a ‘practice piece’. Some 6th Class pupils joined the parents for this workshop.

The finished masterpiece will be displayed outside ‘The Port’. We hope to have a special event to celebrate the project, but more on that later. There will be weekly ‘on-line’ diary charting the progress of this project so check out our web page for weekly updates.

We are very grateful to the Donegal VEC Community Education Support Programme and Donegal Education Centre for their sponsorship of this programme.

We talked about the overall image we want to convey.
David has done a lovely plan with a river running through it. A. suggested a faded in world map as backdrop.
Fadl measured the space 160cms x 102cms.

With this in mind we started by each choosing as plant or flower image 13x13cms with white background. These will help us understand the technique and may also be used as a border. We discussed various backgrounds for this border and decided all the same would best show off the main images in the hanging.
C.

5th February WEEK 2

We still have the image of the river running through a landscape incorporating all our images but we now, thanks to A., also have a world map on which to place it if we choose.

Everyone brought back their images for the border and began on more detailed images for the main piece – images as varied as Croagh Patrick and a camel and a tractor. It was a smaller group today as some people were needed elsewhere but we still managed to get a lot done.
C.

5/2/10
Made a tractor, thoroughly enjoying this, very interesting. J.C.

26/2/10
Making acorns and oak leaves, its coming together and will be very colourful - very enjoyable. B.

As everbody brings their pieces to the bigger picture it’s beginning to take shape. We now have a bright and shining sun to go with the bright red tractor and traditional Irish cottage as well as a number of three dimensional figures to add texture and hopefully child appeal.
Every week, each person learns a little more about felting techniques: needle felting, dry wrapping etc… we have discussed making March 19th a longer session to try and put it all together. We’re hoping to include the Polestar and bridge to place the school within Letterkenny and even this part of Letterkenny.
C.

5/3/10
I made sunset with orange, yellow and dark yellow. I am also making a man
from Ghana wearing traditional wear. I enjoy this. K.D.

12th March
We laid everything out together and the effect is wonderful! We started thinking about how it would look on the background and where everything would be placed. Everyone is still working on more images and D. and D. have painted a background so that we can start carding the colours for it and experimenting with placing each piece. P. has finished a castle and S. some sand castles and we have hens and horses, swans and a buffalo! We will try for a double session next week for those who can stay.
C.

a little helper prepares
the background