A dramatic description of the struggles of a female webster is packed with historical information that brings the Scottish Tartan to life as an artistic statement.

Tartan As An Art Form

"Weaving is the process by which two sets of threads are interlaced at right angles to form a continuous web. Using different threads, whether animal, vegetable or mineral and mixing different colours and structures, different cloths are achieved." says David J Currie, Lecturer in Woven Textiles, Glasgow School of Art as he describes Tartan as "the brightly checked, woollen cloth synonymous with Scotland."

If you would like to teach your art class about Tartan, the audio book A Web of Dreams, is laced with long eloquent descriptions of how

• Tartan is made
• dyes are created
• looms function
• how the Tartan industry functions
• Tartan cloth developed
• Tartan patterns were influenced by the colours of countryside
• the Arts played a part in the life of the royal family of Queen Victoria's era
• artforms become situated within a political, religious and cultural atmosphere

A Web Of Dreams

Webster is a Scottish name for a weaver because they sit at the loom and weave a web.

It is a narrative about the struggles of a young female webster. It is a highly dramatic love story sporting many elements of feminist analysis that cause the reader to think.

Versatile Audio Books

Audio books are becoming popular time saving alternatives for teachers who want to

• use travel time to prepare lessons
• use excerpts to play to the class
• give audio samples to students to show them how one would talk about art
• link audio clips to printed worksheets
• encourage students to think about using audio in their own presentations
• move the class towards the production of PodCasts

Challenging Assignments Related To The Story

Jenny is asked to create a Tartan for the Kilts of the Royal Regiment of Prince Albert. This is a great honour but a daunting task. Listeners companion her as she draws on her strength, courage and emotional maturity.

• Readers empathise as Jenny struggles to handle the stress of the task.
• The audience gains insight as she acts on her artistic intuition and follows her inner guide.
• Listeners share her sense of adventure as she goes into the countryside to take inspiration from the colours, forms of nature and the culture of the people who live in the area for which the Tartan is intended.
• We get a feel for artistic process as she takes the time to familiarise herself with the needs of the regiment who will wear the Tartan.
• The reader shares her sense of relief as together with the man she later marries, she solves the challenges of a dye just won't stay true to the colour she has promised the Queen of England.

Set imaginative tasks for the class using passages from the book as inspiration.

Art Class Possibilities

• create a Tartan of original colour and design
• draw or paint an abstract guided by nature in the way that Jenny did
• compare and contrast Tartans to the work of Bridget Riley
• write an essay about the Art of Designing Tartans
• create an intuitive abstract pattern

Keeping The Fun In It - For The Teacher

Teaching Art can be time consuming and laborious. If your teaching resources include audio books such as A Web of Dreams, [Soundings, Jan 2002], lesson preparation becomes fun, interesting and rewarding. You may find you are inspired to paint, draw, or even write your own romance. Good luck!

If you have used audio books as resource material for teaching the Creative Arts please post about the experience on the discussion boards.

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