Since we've been studying Canada's first nations in social studies, I wanted to do an art project based on aboriginal art. I did a lot of research on different types of art from different times through history, and came across the website Urban Aboriginal, a site that showcases aboriginal artists in the Vancouver area. I pretty quickly fell in love with the art, and when I showed it to my students, they were so excited to have a chance to work within that style.
We did a lesson on aboriginal art features - colors used, style, and meaning of the animals. We also talked about the balance that the artists create in their drawings, keeping in mind space around the drawing, and space between shapes within their drawings. Students were then given a thirty minute period to research artists on Urban Aboriginal. They were allowed to print photos as reference, but couldn't actually copy the photos.
They drew first in pencil, then traced in Sharpie (thick or thin, depending on the style they were going for.) Then, they used carefully selected markers to color in their drawings, keeping in mind to maintain a balance between color, black and white.
There's a lot of complexities in this project, and I just can't say how impressed I am with how they turned out!
