These three pictures show the entry which Mary Sue Foster and Nancy Squire selected for a KAWS Award at Scholastics 2016 at the Center For The Arts.
“Paper Plate Dress” was created by Taylor Martens of Buhler High School, Buhler, Kansas. His art teacher is Sheryl Smith.
Several years ago the members of the Kansas Alliance of Weavers and Spinners decided to promote learning fiber and textile techniques to create art by secondary students from all over the state.
The members voted on giving two $25 to two secondary art students who had entered their fiber art pieces in the Kansas Annual Scholastics Art Competition. At that time it was judged to be excellent artwork created by using traditional techniques such as weaving, spinning, felting, stitching, embroidery, knitting, basketry,crochet and lacing.
Later, it was decided to be too limiting for artistic license, so it was changed to include fiber that was manipulated to create art. This meant that it could include dye painted textiles, molded and sculpted paper fiber, collage with fabric/lacing or leather, etc. It was hoped that that this award would also help encourage art educators to teach the use of fiber and fiber processes in student art work.