Felted ElephantThe IUP community is invited to the culminating Open House event of an artist residency that took place this semester in the College of Education and Communications for teacher education candidates in ECED/ECSP 314, a creative experiences course. The Open House takes place this Thursday, April 4, from 12:45 to 2:00 p.m. on the first floor of Stapleton Library.

There will be cookies and snacks, and you're invited to view the multiple displays of felt puppets the students created, as well as their group presentations on the history of felting, the benefits of using puppets in curriculum and curriculum integration, and the process of creativity.

This partnership of creative student-centered arts integration learning between the College of Education and Communications and ArtsPath at Indiana University of Pennsylvania goes back 16 years. 

The completion of this residency marks the twenty-fifth residency, with the 2018–29 academic year marking the beginning of both a fall and spring residency.

Felting ClassThere have been multiple artists and disciplines over the years, but arguably the most successful—and the resident artist for the past three years—has been fiber artist Sandy Trimble. Her years of experience as a public school teacher, professional artist, and arts administrator have proven an invaluable combination to the students.

There have also been a number of professors who have taught the course, with Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran, chairperson of the Department of Professional Studies in Education, being the most recent.

Through the support of ArtsPath, one of the 14 Arts-in-Education organizations in the state that partner with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in presenting arts residency experiences, and the College of Education and Communications, the students received a hands-on experience in creativity, the artistic process, and arts integration.

Sandy Trimble assistingBe sure to drop by to view some amazing work by our future educators! For more information on this residency, contact the coordinator of Arts-in-Education Services for ArtsPath, Jeff Wacker, at 724-357-4565 or jwacker@iup.edu.

This residency was made possible through the AIE Partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency. It is funded by the citizens of Pennsylvania through an annual legislative appropriation and administered locally by ArtsPath through the College of Arts and Humanities at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The PCA is additionally supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.