Students create macramé art while learning through ArtsSmarts P.E.I. program

It's easy once you get the hang of it.

Eighty-five students from East Wiltshire School in Cornwall, P.E.I., learned how to create some macramé as part of an ArtsSmarts P.E.I. project.

Their artworks were not just for class: The students' final creations were on display at Charlottetown's Confederation Centre earlier this month.

Home economics teacher Jody MacDonald came up with the idea. 

She said there is a multicultural aspect to macramé, and she was able to develop it into the social studies program. 

"It would have been for household use — making mats, making blankets — and later it comes into an art form. Then, we learned how it went from Arabic culture and how it trended into North American culture in the '60s and the '70s," she said. 

As part of the ArtsSmarts P.E.I. program, local artists collaborate with Island teachers to engage students in new and creative ways. 

The students were taught the techniques of knotting and beading macramé cords by Kaitlin Lawrence.

MacDonald said Lawrence was really great with the students, and has lots of experience making all kinds of macramé pieces, including purses, clothing and wall hangings.

She said the feedback from the students was really positive and the students enjoyed working independently — once they got the hang of it. 

"Whenever the instruction first started and they were first starting to make their knots, they're like, 'Oh no, I'm not going to be able to do this' or 'This is going too fast.' Then, after probably four or six knots, you can hear the talk change amongst themselves. They're like, 'Oh, I got it'. And 'Look at this. I can do this on my own,'" MacDonald said.

"That was the biggest thing: Your hands come off and their hands go on. And then they're proud of what they've made because they've done it independently." 

MacDonald said another goal is helping students learn to appreciate art. 

"So whenever they're walking by something or they're looking through a magazine, they'll stop and they'll think, 'Oh, that's macramé. Look at that detail. That must have taken a lot of time to do,'" she said.