VirtualClubPelican

Project Title:Kumeyaay Willow WallHanging Theme:Archaeology   AgeRange:7-12years  

PROJECTINTRODUCTION: Studentswill createaworkofartpayinghomagetotheindigenouspeopleoftheland,theKumeyaayTribe. TheKumeyaaylivedoffthelandutilizing its resourcesin everyday living. Studentswillbrieflydiscusstherolearchaeologyplaysinhowwelearnaboutpeoplefromthepast. Studentswillcreateawallhangingworkofartusingfoundobjectsandmaterials,that is inspired by thewillowtreeandotheritemsfoundinnaturethatwereessentialinthelifeoftheKumeyaay. 

PROJECT MATERIALS: 

• CardboardDisk• FoundDriftwoodorStick• String (1-3' piece and 3-1' pieces)• FoundDecorativeItems;leaves,feathers,sticks,shells,driedflowers• WhitePaper(8.5"X 11" forpracticedrawing)• Pencil• Beads• ColoredPencils• WillowTreeShapeInspiration(attached)

PROMPTQUESTONS:  1. Whodoyouthinkwerethefirstpeopletoinhabitthelandwherethe Batiquitos Lagoon is?2. Howdoyouthinkweknowaboutpeoplewholivedinthepast?3. HowdoyouthinktheKumeyaayIndianslived?Whatwastheirlifestyle,whatdidtheydoeveryday?4. WhydoyouthinkitemsinnaturewereimportanttotheKumeyaay people?

DISCUSSION(discussorread):

WhatisArchaeology?Archaelogyisthestudyofhumanhistory;itisawaytolearnaboutpeoplefromthepast.Archaeologistslookatthesurfaceofthegroundorexcavate (digintotheground)tofindartifacts.Artifactsaretoolsandothermaterialsusedinthepast. Artifacts, whenstudiedtogether,givecluesabouthowpeoplelivedinearliertimes.

TheKumeyaayIndianTribeInitiallyreferredtoas Diegueño bytheSpanish,weretheoriginalnativeinhabitantsofSanDiegoCounty.TheKumeyaayIndianshavelivedinthisregionformorethan10,000years.Historically,theKumeyaaywerehorticulturists,huntersandgatherersoftheland.TheywerethefirstpeoplewhogreetedtheSpanishwhentheyfirstsailedintoSanDiegoHarborwiththeJuanRodriguezCabrilloexpeditionof1542.

TheKumeyaayhadlandalongthePacificOceanfromOceanside,CaliforniainthenorthtosouthofEnsenada,MexicoandextendedeasttotheColoradoRiver. TheKumeyaaytribealsousedtoinhabitwhatisnowapopularstatepark,knownasTorreyPinesStateNaturalReserve (Fig.A).

LivingoffthelandwasawayoflifefortheKumeyaayTribe.Kumeyaaymenwerehuntersofgame,rangingfromrabbitandquailtoantelopeanddeer.Mencraftedfishhooks,arrows,bows,axes,nets,andotherhuntinggearbyhandfromnaturalelements.Whenhunting,themenwouldrubtheleavesoftheblacksageplantallovertheirbodies,sothattheysmelledliketheirsurroundingstohelpdisguisethemselvesfromtheirprey.

Kumeyaaywomenhadtheirshareofdailyhardworkaswell.Theymadefunctionalbasketsusingacoiltechnique,theymadepottery,clothing,preparedfood,andtheycreatedtheirshelter,whichvariedwiththeseasonsandenvironments. Theywouldcollectshells,typicallyclam,abalone,orOlivella(snail)tousespecificallyfortrade.Shellbeadnecklaceswerealsomadeandfrequentlyworn.

Nativeplantsplayanimportant role inthelifeoftheKumeyaayIndians.Specificnativeplantswereusedfor medicine,food,bodydecoration,hunting,andart.TheKumeyaayusedtheindigenouswillowtreeforseveraldifferentpurposes.TheymadewillowIndianbows,clothingitemslikebarkskirts,willowbaskets,willow-tulleshelters,andfishtraps.Thewillowtreewascommonlyusedtocreatefoodstoragebasketsanddomedshapedsheltersspecificallybecausewillowleavesandwillowbranchescontain salicin,whichisanaturalinsectrepellentthathelpedkeephungryinsectsawayfromfood,seedstorageandhomes(Fig.B).TheWillowtreealsohadmedicinalusesasithasanaturalingredientfoundinaspirin,andtheIndianswouldmaketeafromthebranches.

FoundartifactsconfirmthattheKumeyaayIndiansonceinhabitedtheBatiquitosLagoonarea.TherearestillKumeyaayinSanDiego todayandtheirtraditionsandcustomsremainimportantandcentraltotheirwayoflife.

ARTPROJECTKEYTERMS:  Balanceistheuseofartisticelementssuchasline,texture,color,andforminthecreationofartworksinawaythatrendersvisualstability.

Shapeisaflat,enclosedareaofanartworkcreatedthroughlines,texturesandcolors.

Spaceisthedistancesorareasaround,between,andwithincomponentsofaworkofart,itcanbepositiveornegative,openorclosed,shallowordeep,andtwo-dimensionalorthree-dimensional.

VisualTextureisthewaysomethinglookslikeitfeelstothetouch.

ARTMAKINGPROCESS:STEP1:First,notice that your cardboard disk has one side that is white and one side that is brown (cardboard).The cardboard side of your disk is the front, this is the side you will be working on. Poke(make)oneholeatthetopandthreeholesatthebottomofthedisk(about½”-1”apart),largeenoughforstringoryarntofitthrough(Fig.1).STEP2:Takeamomenttoexaminetheshapeanddesignofthewillowtreefromtheinspirationimagesbelow.

• Whatdoyounoticeaboutthewillowtree?Namethepartsofthewillowtree.• Doyouthinkyouwouldseemovementifthiswerearealtree?Why?

STEP3:On the whitepracticesheet use your pencilandtraceacirclewithyourcardboard disk.Practicedrawingasimple,roughsketch ofawillowtreewithinthecircle.Thinkaboutthetreeshape,dimension,foreground,background,movement,thebranches,andtheleaves(Fig.2)

• Howwillyoucapturethetextureoftheleavesandrepresenttheshapeofthewillowtree?STEP4:Onceyouarehappywiththepracticedrawingofyourwillowtree,useyourpencilto lightly re-sketchyourwillowtreedesignontothecardboarddisk.Useyourcoloredpencilstocolorinthewillowtreeandthebackgroundareaifdesired(Fig.3). 

• Howwillyoushowtexture inyourwillowtree onaflatsurfaceusingcolor?STEP5:Youwillnowbuildyourwallhangingstartingwiththetophanger.First,use the three-footpieceofstringandthreaditthroughthetopsingleholeofthecardboarddisk.Tieaknotwiththetwosides of the stringatthetopofthedisk.Use beads or any found decorative items you have and incorporate them into the design of your hanger. To secure your piece of found wood or stick at its center, tieaknot,wrapthetwostringsaroundtheobject2-3timesinbothdirectionsandtieanotherknotontopoftheobjecttosecuretheobjectinplace.This can be done with any other object. Whenyouarehappywiththehangerpartofyourartpiece,tieaknotatthetopandcutofftheexcessstring(Fig.4).STEP6:Use the 3 one-foot pieces of string tocreatethedanglingpiecesatthebottomofyourwall hanging.Usethesametechnique;threading,stringing,wrapping,andknottingwithfounddecorativeitemsforthebottomareaofyourwallhanging(Fig.5).

• Consider,howwillyoucreatebalanceinyourwallhangingwiththedifferentitemsyouarechoosingtouse? Thinkaboutthebalanceoftheobjectsasyousecurethemintoplace.

• OPTION:Insteadofusingfoundobjects,youcanalsodrawKumeyaayinspiredobjects(feathers,shells,bonecarvingsetc.)tocutoutandhangfromthestringsofyourdisk.Besuretodrawandcoloronbothsidesincasethedanglypiecestwistaround.Lookonlinetoseeobjectdrawingshapesandinspiration.

STEP7:Holdupyourwallhanging,onceyouarepleasedwiththeitemsyouchose,howtheyworktogether,thebalanceofhowithangsandhowitlooksoverall,yourartworkiscomplete!

POSTPROMPTQUESTIONS(reflectandshare):1. Whatdoyoulikebestaboutyourartwork?2. Howdoesyourartworkmakeyoufeel?3. DoyoufeelyourartprojecthonorstheKumeyaayTribe?Why?

4. Whatdoyouwantpeopletonoticeaboutyourartwork?

ARTPROJECTSTEPBYSTEPEXAMPLE:

FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 3 FIG. 4

FIG. 5

Fig.A:KumeyaayLand

WILLOWTREEINSPIRATION:

DRAWINGRESOURCES:

Howtodrawafeather:https://www.wikihow.com/Draw-a-Feather

Howtodrawashell:https://dragoart.com/tut/how-to-draw-shells-4711

Howtodrawaseashell:https://easydrawingguides.com/how-to-draw-a-seashell/

Fig.BWillowTreeUses