GIFT #1

Froebel’s Gift 1 consists of 6 soft yarn balls, approximately 2” in diameter. The balls are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. They have a string, approximately 6” long) with a loop on one end so they can be dangled. For me, I wanted to continue using primary colors and instead of yarn balls, I made knots in the yarn, which still closely resemble the idea of a ball, but with my own twist.  And for me, as a photographer, I also wanted to find an interesting way of photographing my gift and how I saw it being illustrated. 


- Adena

GIFT #2

Gift #2. This "stress relief" drawing was completed during the time of our initial exploration of Mr. Froebel's gifts. As an afterthought it reflects a management of the multifaceted gift collection, which would later be paired down to a few symbolic monuments. The narrative of the drawing is a figure's submersion in physical objects as information, and an identification of the fluidity and immateriality of simple, blockish forms.


- Casey

GIFT #3

Froebel's 3rd gift, blocks, is the simple yet elegant first in a series of lessons using blocks. This gift presents a larger cube made from a symmetrical stack of 8 smaller wooden cube blocks. With these 8 cube blocks a child is supposed to gain an understanding of part and whole and fractions, and also explore symmetric patterns. As I pondered this gift, I thought a lot about how to further convey a part of a whole. I also thought about asymmetrical patterns that I am more drawn to as an adult and about early childhood drawings. I felt that if this set of 8 blocks had one colored one, then that might focus a child in on the part of the whole concept and perhaps he could use this block to influence form of compositions created with the blocks. After making one set of the colored blocks I considered how a change in color would possibly affect a change in composition. So I created 3 more. Here is my Gift 3, "Eighth Chromes."

- Rebecca

GIFT #4

WO ONE by Casey Glover

This is a sound piece I constructed similarly to the graph paper drawings. It uses cubic repetition and gradual morphing motion to evoke the feeling of tumbling blocks. Some of the frequencies and timbres I associate with the scorching color of the drawings in a Froebel "slot machine."

-Casey

GIFT #5

The 5th gift is a set of 27 3 inch blocks, some of these are halved. The goal of the set is to enable the child to figure out a triangle can be made from the sides of three squares, it is an example of the Pythagorean Theorem. I attempted to prove the Theorem using household items instead of blocks. I had an alarm clock, an Internet Router, and a Nintendo Wii Video Game System. Though these three things do not have the same dimensions on each side they still have right angles and are able to make a triangle.


- Catharine

GIFT #6

Froebel’s Gift 6 divides the 3-inch cube into 18 oblong blocks: 12 flat square blocks (caps) and 6 narrow columns. With more of an architectural feel to this gift, I found myself a set of blocks similar to the blocks in the gift and created my own architectural structures.


- Adena

GIFT #7

The 7th gift of parquetry is the bridge between the preceding 3 dimensional gifts and the following 2 dimensional gifts. After thorough experimentation with the prior tangible forms students would be presented with flat geometric tiles to continue exploring ideas of parts to whole and the interconnectedness of all things. My personal exploration of parquetry actually began with paper folding (gift 18) which led to dividing colored squares of construction paper into smaller shapes. After arranging and rearranging these shapes into abstract designs and simple representations they began to have a life all their own. Stop motion animation seemed like the perfect way to show the inherent liveliness present in this gift.
-Liz

GIFT #8

Hi. These drawings represent to me working within two major restrictions: the geometric gridlock of graph paper, and the regimented palette of a 24 unit crayon box. This was certainly an exercise that coincides with Froebel's emphasis on discovering freedom and creativity through the implication of simple geometry. I found faces, highways, doors, etc., in a depth of pictorial space.

-Casey

GIFT #9

The 9th gift is made up of whole, half, and quarter metal circles with diameters of three inches, two inches, or one inch. I made my own circles and half circles and used them as a guide to make a drawing. The intention of this gift is to illustrate the diameter and radius of a circle. I assigned a color to each size circle in order to better see the variations and colored the circles in to illustrate their volume.


- Catharine

GIFT #10

When researching Froebel's 10th Gift, drawing, I discovered similar images from parquetry only these images were drawn on graph paper and were described as a tool to develop vocational skills. Children would fill in the sections of graph paper in combination to form images. In my experience with Froebel, I found that at times I grew frustrated with the rigidness of some of the tasks as wondered what effect that might have on creativity. So for this I piece I wanted to take an image that already existed that I had no creative impulses over and translate in on to graph paper with filled in sections. In my research I found myself drawn to portraits Froebel. I thought 'what better way to convey Froebel, than with a portrait of him drawn in his own vernacular.' This was no easy task as I had to reduce complex curvilinear parts into smaller rectilinear parts and I found myself failing to complete the task to perfection. However, in its whole I feel that this is a portrait Froebel would have appreciated. Rebecca Bersohn's Gift 10, "Froebelgraph."


- Rebecca

GIFT #11

Pricking, Gift #11, uses a sharp tool called an awl to prick holes into paper to create designs. These designs were placed on windows and light sources to observe the full effect. It serves two main purposes in the sequence of gifts: first as a bridge between drawing and sewing, but also as the finale in the progression from physical objects deconstructed into lines and flat shapes and concluding with insubstantial pinpricks of light. I chose to use my pinprick art as a lampshade in my bedroom.

- Erica

GIFT #12

Gift #17 is sewing. According to Froebel's pedagogy, sewing in the context of the occupations is a form of drawing that allows a more physical tactile experience for the students. As the early gifts began with solid geometric forms that progressively became more etherial, the later occupations work in reverse: evolving from flat planes once again into dimension and weight. Sewing is one of these first steps off of the flat plane into the 3rd dimension. The use of sewing as my medium has allowed me to create a veil through which the image can be observed. I have superimposed a visualization of a mathematical solution onto this photograph of a woman and flower in an attempt to highlight the symmetry inherent in the natural forms.

- Erica

GIFT #13

The 13th gift is cutting.  The purpose of the gift is to carefully cut paper which has been folded and then unfold it to create patterns, silhouettes, or vignettes. Paper Cutting falls into Froebel's Occupations and are a set of skills to learn which lead towards innovation and creativity. I made a short video of how to paper cut.


- Catharine

GIFT #14

The 14th Gift is cutting, weaving, and folding. The occupations furnish materials for practice in certain skills, lead to invention and give the child power. I focused on the weaving aspect of the occupation and used primary and secondary colored paper, as well as black and white paper – cut in ½” strips – to construct patterns with the paper.

- Adena

GIFT #15

Froebel used slatwork, Gift #15, to introduce the concept of structural elements in a two dimensional form. I decided to raise the slats to create a 3D form. The slats are also woven to bring in the idea of structural integrity.

- Feyi

GIFT #16

When researching Froebel's Gift #16 I found that this was a sort of nebulous gift in the community of Froebel investigators and enthusiasts. Clumped in with the other 4 sticks, rings, slats, jointed slats and interlacing gifts. All definitions for Gift 16 seemed to be intentionally vague explanations of the group as a whole. What I was able to glean from everything was: that some of the forms were intentionally stiff to create geometric shape, some of the sticks/slats could be used to convey images from life, within this group was an introduction of curved line. When discussing this with Catharine Maloney she suggested that I make a question mark with the materials, which I thought was the best possible summation of my experience with gift 16; it has curved lines, stiff lines, slats and rings and it deals with my overall confusion. This is my Gift #16, "Froebel's Question Mark."

- Rebecca

GIFT #17

Gift #17 Paper Interlacing was used by Froebel to teach children to create sophisticated patterns. I used the the paper interlacing in a circular pattern to create a three dimensional form.

- Feyi

GIFT #18

The 13th, 14th and 18th gifts of cutting, weaving and folding are often grouped together because they all share the common material of paper. At the onset of this particular exploration I mistakenly thought that the 18th gift was paper weaving and immediately began to fold pieces of paper into even sections. I meant to use these sections as both a grid to plan out the weaving and to make the paper strips to weave with. Somewhere during this meditative process I realized that the 18th gift was in fact paper folding! I also realized that folding is often the first step I take when working sculpturally with paper (the exploration of gift 7 started with paper folding too). The top picture is of the grid I created by exponentially subdividing a large piece of paper through repetitive folding. The bottom image is of a folded oragami fortune teller, created in a similar subdividing manner. Each form is made up of smaller forms and like previous gifts further develops the idea of parts to whole. 

- Liz

GIFT #19

The 19th gift is called peas work because back in Froebel's day peas were actually used as the joining material. Being the second to last gift peas work draws on the earlier learning of  prior gifts as they relate to point and line (parts to whole) through an introduction of volume. My exploration of peas work started small with toothpicks and gumdrops, which grew to wooden skewers and larger gumdrops and finally ended with straws and brads. In each activity I found similar ideas of exponential growth, repetition and parts creating a whole that I noticed while working with the other gifts, only now the product was much more spatial.

- Liz

GIFT #20

After working with the previous 19 Gifts kindergarteners were finally allowed to put all of their lessons to use with modeling clay in the 20th Gift. In my experimentation and play, kneading molding and shaping, I made my own spheres and cubes, that turned into houses, faces, creatures, and flowers. This one ball of clay could be many things, but I finally I decided to make a little flock of birds. Each one slightly different and unique, yet together they form a neat cohesive group. It seemed to me a fitting metaphor for not only the collection of Gifts but also our own group working together. 

- Erica

Building Blocks and Constructing Carpet

Brainstorming with the Gifts