Patchwork quilting is an original folk art in the United States. Pilgrims first used worn out scraps of cloth to make bed covers in an age of scarcity. Featured here are stories on East Texas Quilts, their origins, the love and hard work which goes into the making of a quilt (Ira Barr and others). The techniques needed to construct a quilt are…

This student activities booklet, "Quilts of Alaska," contains historical and educational information on quilts. It is colorfully illustrated with examples of different types of quilts. The booklet describes album or signature quilts, which from 1840 to the 1890s, were a U.S. fad, such as were autograph albums. As the name suggests, these…

"Marketing Folk Art" is a special section (pages 43-89) of this serial issue addressing the folklorists' role in developing marketing strategies to improve the lot of folk artists and protect their traditional forms of expression from commercial exploitation. The following six articles, introduced by Rosemary Joyce, focus on these…

Presents a simplified version of the commercial papermaking process as an activity for students to make new paper from the recycling of used paper. Describes the necessary equipment and ingredients and the steps in the papermaking process that extend over several days. (MCO)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Rural Electrification Act changed farm life dramatically. The miracle of electricity in rural East Texas is examined in "Electricity Comes to East Texas" (Brandi Anderson and others). Chronicled is a description of life without electricity and how everyday chores were done in its absence. Local citizens…

This work presents a collection of craft projects that can be created by children. Necessary for completion of each craft is an IBM-compatible computer running Windows, "Word for Windows 6.0," with a mouse, a printer, and plain white printer paper. Simple craft supplies, including glue and scissors, also are needed. In each activity the child is…

Panola County, Texas Sheriff Corbett Akins wrote a weekly column for the "Panola Watchman" in which he chronicled the adventures and mishaps of his force. He provides a wealth of information about East Texas life on everything from making fiddles, to running bloodhounds, to finding moonshine stills. The columns reprinted appeared from…

An activity book presents arts and crafts projects for the special events and holidays occurring during November and December. The section includes class activities, student activity pages, and directions for making several kinds of bird feeders. (SM)

Activities and a narrative which focus on Delaware's seashore are contained in this book for elementary school age students. A graphically illustrated story is related and activities are interspersed throughout the narrative account. Several marine organisms are identified and beach phenomena are highlighted in the story. Student exercises…

Developed for elementary students, the booklet explains how Winnebago people weave baskets from the bark of the black ash tree. The booklet begins with a poem about Grandma making a basket and a story about how basket-weaving came to the Winnebago people. Both are illustrated with line drawings. The following section uses black and white…

This bilingual instructional text, one in a series of six texts covering various vocational and technical topics, provides secondary level English and Spanish instruction in industrial crafts. Addressed in the individual units are the following topics: plastics; laminating acrylic plastic; thermoforming plastics; sawing, shaping, and finishing…

Written by history students at Gary High School, Gary, Texas, this volume presents several diverse pictures of life in East Texas. The first article, "Jim Driver, Panola County Oil and Gas Boom," (Bobby Kelly and Billy Anderson) talks about drilling for oil and gas and the concerns of an employee of the drilling company. "When I Was…

This resource suggests that to study India without experiencing the life of the people as represented through their folk craft traditions would be a hollow venture. History and geography are conveyed in the symbols and figures that decorate Indian crafts. Basic beliefs, ancient symbols, and religious traditions are conveyed in recurring visual…

This elementary school unit on wetland ecology consists of 12 activities and activity packets containing data sheets, activity sheets, flash cards, game cards, and other materials needed to complete the activities. The first activity is the text for a slide-tape show which provides an overview of the entire unit. Each of the remaining activities…

Native American languages have no equivalent for the word "art." Yet the objects Native Americans have used and still use suggest that they are a highly spiritual people who create objects of extraordinary beauty. In Native American thought, there is no distinction between what is beautiful or functional, and what is sacred or secular.…