New Year and New Items in our Etsy shop!

"Purple Taffy" hand woven scarf.

Hand woven scarf.

"Lavender Meadow" hand woven scarf.

Hand woven scarf. 

It is 2014 and the students of Hope University are looking forward to another fun filled year.  Field trips, performances, parties, and fun with friends top the lists. 
Our Etsy shop has some new items for purchase.  We have listed a new item, our hand woven scarves.  The students do enjoy creating these one of a kind pieces.  Using a rigid heddle loom is a new skill that we were able to add to the fiber arts classes in 2013, and it has proved to be very popular. 

New Happenings in Fiber Arts at Hope!

Christie learns to weave.

Ana has caught the weaving bug.

A warped and woven Cricket loom.

Crystal shows off a weaving shuttle.

Tanette loves to weave.

A point of view of weaving view.

The weaving station is attracting a lot of attention.

The Hope University Fiber Arts program has expanded into WEAVING!  We have acquired 4 new Cricket rigid heddle looms for the students to use.  As soon as they were warped and ready to go several students jumped at the chance to weave.  They are enjoying it so much and are feeling very successful creating beautiful fabric on the loom.  You can look forward to seeing new items appear in our Etsy shop and at our various Boutiques during the year to come as we explore the therapeutic fun of our new rigid heddle looms.  

Felted Wool Barrettes!

'Autumn Sunset' hand felted wool Barrette.

'California Desert' hand felted wool barrette.

'Blueberry Summer' hand felted wool barrette.

We now have our colorful felted wool barrettes available for purchase in our Etsy shop!  They make wonderful gifts for your self or others.  Perfect for teachers, teens, girls or to tuck into a spa basket.  The students here at Hope make the felted wool beads  in the Boutique class with teacher Lisa LoRusso.  100% wool roving is formed into loose spheres and then submerged into warm, soapy water.  The students then rub them between their palms in a circular motion to 'felt' the wool into a solid bead.  After they have been left to dry for several days we use them to make broaches, barrettes, pins, earrings and ornaments.  We also have a few new uses for them in the works, so you can look forward to many new items created by the students. 
We can make the barrettes in a variety of colors to suit your color pallet, so if you want a custom item created, please send us an email or give us a call!
Remember that all of the proceeds from our Etsy shop and other sales go directly to enrich the students day program.  

Medium Diversity

Hope University's curriculum is art centered.  We offer many different ways to learn with and through the arts.  We offer several music classes, poetry and writing along with visual arts such as drawing, painting, printmaking and fiber art.
Some of the students favorites are:
"I like to do mosaics and sculpture."  Fred M.
"Using the knitting loom." Ana P.
"Designing products for us to make and sell in our Boutique." Margaret K.
"Drawing and carving linoleum block prints."  Tanette T.
"Knitting and creating things with yarn, like purses and products for our Boutique." Lori Slikker.
"Performing on stage, doing drama and learning how to play the drums. " Chris F.

Darren in the cabin of his helicopter sculpture.

The helicopter sculpture.

Darren explaining how things work in his interactive helicopter sculpture

Here we have some photos of  Hope U student, Darren P.  He is showing us his large sculpture of a helicopter.  Darren's favorite medium is cardboard and masking tape.  He creates his large sculptures over a wooden frame and includes electronics.  He likes to do the wiring and circuits so he can see things light up and move.  Darren has created many sculptures, one being the 'Robot' which we use in the 'Beau Monde Float' performances.  Darren's abilities are explored here at Hope U. with visual art as well as the written word.  He has written several poems, including 'Cleaning up the Drive-Thru at Taco Bell' featured in the 'Very Special Arts' exhibition and the CORE 6 show.