A beautiful setting for crafting in nature; a grove of Ponderosas next to the rambling Tumalo creek. Students from kindergarten through 5th grade each wove part of a giant god’s eye on 8’ lodgepoles. This change in scale was an idea that came to me while I was researching ideas for a collaborative, kid-friendly project. Most children (and adults) have made a small god’s eye at some point. In native cultures, a god’s eye is used as a connection to the spirit world through the very center of the weaving. Outdoor school provides an opportunity for the kid’s to connect to the spirit of nature. Changing the scale of the god’s eye to GIANT made it a collaborative project rather than an individual craft. And the large scale emphasized its presence in nature – an amplification of the spirit of the earth. While weaving, children were also looking through the god’s eye to the creek and cliffs in the background. It was a magical experience.

The children chose their weaving yarn from a large collection of thrift yarns as well as several colorful t-shirt yarns I hand cut from thrift T-shirts. Denim “yarn” that I made from thrift jeans separates sections of the kid’s weaving and helps tie together the otherwise diverse collection of yarns. At the end of the day, the god’s eye was only have full. Given the scale of the weaving (and the small population of the school) I’ve invited faculty and staff to add to the god’s eye after the summer break.