Art from other times and places...

It's my favorite time of year in the classroom - time to start our multicultural units!
Don't get me wrong, we study art history all year long from lesson to lesson, but these units are in depth studies of a specific culture or era, involving a number of different activities. It is exciting to think that by the time students leave Dolvin as a middle schooler, they have had art history experience that truly crosses the world and thousands of years.
Here is the list of topics by grade level and as seen on our world map - check back soon to see our progress!
K - Prehistoric art
1 - African art
2 - Asian art
3 - Art of Ancient civilizations
4 - Mexican art
5 - Medieval/Renaissance

Here's a sneak peek... which culture are these students learning about?





More Fun with Yarn!

Fourth and fifth graders are spending our last art lesson finishing up our yarn weaving activities. As a part of their "Art of Mexico" unit, 4th graders made circle weavings representing Native American suns and moons, a common motif for the ancient Aztec and Mayan cultures. We used warm color schemes for the suns and cool for the moons, and either could use neutrals. Last year we finished these off with a mosaic background, seen here, but unfortunately we ran out of time this year, getting out of school a week earlier.

***Update: my weaving handout & prep sheet for the project below is now available on Teachers pay Teachers - see if it might come in handy for your cardboard loom weaving - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Knights-Smartest-Artists ***
Tapestry weaving has been on the minds of my 5th graders for the past 5 weeks, and we researched some tapestries from the Middle Ages to prepare.  These can be used as bookmarks or wall hangings after removing them from the loom. We learned how to make a loom, how to add our warp strings, and how to weave 4 different patterns, as seen here:

we use a packet to keep our definitions and diagrams with our looms and weft strings

this example shows tabby weave at the top, then dovetail, then a 2-color stripe

this shows the checkerboard pattern in complementary red & green

vertical stripes and other patterns can be created during "free weave" -
once all 4 patterns have been demonstrated

Tapestry Weaving, 5th grade

***Update: I have a new weaving handout & planning sheet available on Teachers pay Teachers - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Knights-Smartest-Artists***
We begin our project by looking at examples of woven tapestries from the Medieval and Renaissance periods of art history.  Weaving was at its pinnacle during these years, because tapestries provided warmth and insulation in a house made from cold stone walls.  They were often decorated with folkloric stories or historical scenes.  Tapestries fell out of favor after the Renaissance, when easel painting became a more popular medium and houses were being more efficiently built.

We begin by warping the cardboard loom - the warp acts like the "bones" of the weaving, holding things in place but invisible in the end

The warp ends on the back of the loom for easy removal when complete

A tabby weave uses a long piece of string that goes over and under the warp

We can make vertical or horizontal stripes, using shorter individual pieces of yarn amd following a pattern

A checkerboard is formed when alternating the order of vertical stripes

Make sure to push the yarn toward one end to keep it properly in place

Here's an example showing a number of different patterns, including dovetail weaving at the bottom

Using contrasting colors is a good idea to show off your patterns

A completed weaving, showing off many patterns and techniques