fake fur

When I asked the kids at the beginning of the year what materials they wanted to work with in art club, many answered "fake fur". Fake fur can be expensive, and I didn't have a stash in my basement, so it took me awhile to come up with a plan. Over spring break my family was in New Orleans for Easter and we came back with a garbage bag full of stuffed animals that the kids caught during the three different Easter parades we attended. After picking out a few special stuffed animals, Jimmy and Henry agreed to donate the rest of the animals to the art club as fake fur fodder.

Also, the art club received a generous donation of inspired fake fur and other special tactile delights from our favorite stuffed animal artist, Anna Chambers. Thank you, Anna. A few months ago I emailed Anna about the club and shared photos with her of the art club's felted creatures (directly inspired by her work). She packed up this box of materials for future fun. Check out the pink and red leopard spot fur. What a dream!

I told the kids they could cut apart the stuffed animals for materials and create new objects inspired by the fake fur. Many of them were delighted at the idea of cutting into a stuffed animal (I guess they hadn't been allowed the pleasure previously) and also a little disturbed. One student let out a strange yelp the first time she cut off a bunny ear.

Linnea is a real animal lover. She always wants to draw her pet gerbil or puppy, and dreams about horses. She is extremely gentle in all her dealings with other people and creatures -- by the end of the day she was engaged in pink bunny decapitation.