In class today we talked briefly about the Spanish explorers and their connections to the Aztecs, Incas, and Pueblo Indians of present day New Mexico (Zuni and Navajo). The fabled tale of the seven cities of Cibola that Coronado searched for landed him amongst the Peublo Indians of the southwest. They did not find gold but did find pottery. We looked at examples of gold artifacts representative of Pre-Columbian South America. We then looked at three rugs, two Navajo and one Peruvian. We compared the styles and use of line, shape, and color. We looked for symmetry, repetition of patterns, and unity.
Each student was given a small rectangular piece of cardstock to design a rug pattern for a bookmark. They were to choose a linear pattern, more like the Navajo or one with symbols like the Peruvian. I did ask that they work on these and complete them at home. Colored pencils or fine tip markers will work best. Please have them bring their work in. We take a few minutes at the beginning of the class to look at each others artwork. We were able to see with the compass rose that even though everyone was given the same instructions for the basic outline, each rose was very different and done in its own creative way.
For next week we are going to work on a Navajo Sand Painting. Please take a few minutes to look over this website. http://nativeamerican-art.com/navajo-sandpainting.html There is a one page summary and picture. There is also a link for Zuni Art on the sidebar. One other way to get your child familiar with sandpaintings is to do a google or bing image search for Navajo Sand Painting. There are hundreds of fantastic examples.
I will be in need to two TA's next week and a little extra help during timeline for clean-up. Please email me if you are able to help next week. jjkamerman@live.com
Janelle Kamerman
