Laura Obon from Joseph Clarke School is an outstanding craft educator whom the judges felt embraced the spirit of Make First. She successfully enabled her students to experience the joy of making, develop their voices as makers and build skills and knowledge through hands-on engagement with materials, the physical world and collaborative learning
“The students’ resilience in overcoming obstacles, joy in making and being creative were clear triumphs.”
- Laura Obon
Nature is Everything by Aimee and Nyla Aimee and Nyla's making journey
Amand's making journey Universal Cutlery Pouch by Amand
Anything is Possible by Aqsa Aqsa's making journey
Isaiah's making journey Untitled by Isaiah
Bag by Reece Reece's making journey
Laura Obon's statement:
The students’ resilience in overcoming obstacles, joy in making and being creative were clear triumphs. Each student demonstrated incredible determination and enthusiasm. Their willingness to engage with the materials and participate in the creative process was remarkable. I love how the Make First approach encouraged me to focus on the process, experimentation, and the pure enjoyment of making.
Judges' comments:
The judges felt that Laura Obon fully embraced the Make First approach, empowering her learners to take creative risks, enjoy the process, and develop their ideas and skills through hands-on making. She achieved this by:
- Supporting learners to experience making as a whole journey and not just the final outcome
- Creating a safe and supportive environment where failure was welcomed as part of the learning process, which enabled her learners to be braver makers
- Encouraging open exploration of materials to evoke emotional responses, nurturing creative thinking and deeper engagement with the work.
- Bringing deeper meaning to the project by linking it to personal history, local community, weaving traditions, and other makers' work.
