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Craft in America – Paul Stankard

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Swarming Honeybee 2006
Swarming Honeybee 2006

Paul Stankard is a glass god. That is a fact. I have been fortunate enough to have met him years ago at the Gathering of the Society of Glass Bead Makers that was in Corning. He was the keynote speaker. His glass work is so incredible and radiates his love of nature and glass. You can watch him work in a clip from the most recent Craft in America episode that’s on You Tube. I found this last night and was just mesmerized by his work. And of course check out his web site for all of his work and even a tutorial. So amazing!

Four Seasons
Four Seasons

Check out the root formations in the larger piece. They’re people…root people. When Paul was in Corning he made a bead. He was very proud of the bead. Us bead makers were stunned at how happy he was to make a bead. It had a root person inside it. A little naked man. On the other side there was what looked like a bean, from the outside…but when you looked through the bead you saw that it spelled fertility on the bean. We were in awe off this man. He donated it to the silent auction to help the Society of Glass Bead Making’s fund raising. It went for $3100. Enough said…I wish I had a picture to share with you. Just go to his web site and enjoy! And check out his poetry too!

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Moss and Lichen Unit Study

I guess moss and lichen are more things that you see in the spring than in the summer, but there are some deep shady parts of our yard that stay mossy all year, and summer is a fine time to look for plants that like to live in shady, wet areas.

Raising Up Wild Things has a really pretty set of printables to use for a moss and lichen unit study.

And just in case you’re like me and don’t really know the difference, moss is a plant that grows in damp wooded areas, while lichen is a combination of fungus and algae that live together. Lichen can live in different environments but are often found in places where you would find moss, too.

The printable includes drawings of some common moss such as sphagnum moss and wood moss, as well as common lichen shapes (crusty, leafy and shrubby). There are good sized images you can print out and laminate to use to compare to specimens you find when you are exploring nature.

There’s also a forest floor coloring page and a printable journaling page where kids can write or draw their observations and there are a few questions older kids can answer.

You can use these when you go on a walk in the woods (or the back yard) to talk about what you are seeing, or combine them with other resources to talk about things that live in the forest. Check them out at Raising Up Wild Things.

This PDF from the Morton Arboretum has a bunch of pictures of different kinds of moss and where to find them, which could also be helpful in your studies. Learn more about lichen, including what they are and what they are not, in this article from the US Forest Service.

[Photo: Raising Up Wild Things]