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Detail, Wall Fountain
Made between 1800 and 1850
Persian, Qajar Dynasty
Molded glazed composite body with polychrome
underglaze painted decoration
Gift of Mrs. Wilson W. Mills (54.194)
Click the image for more information. |
Description:
Inspired by works of art, students investigate and symbolize their heritage in colorful mosaics of cut paper.
Grade level: 8th grade
Activity:
As students learned about cultural diversity in their American History class with
 An American Mosaic: Web Quest
project, they were also able to investigate and create expressions of their own culture in this art project. The lessons were presented to my colleague’s American History students after we had visited the Detroit Institute of Arts. For more information see Preparation and Resources. The lesson lasted a little over a week. Our class periods are 49 minutes long.
Materials:
- Mosaic Quilt Investigation Worksheets (see below)
- Objectives sheets (see below)
- 4" x 5" paper for sketches
- pencils
- Colored pencils
- White Pencils (from colored pencil sets)
- Sketching paper
- Black railroad board (black matte poster board) 12" x 18"
- Glue sticks
- A variety of colors of construction paper
- Scissors
- Envelopes
Introduction
I came into the American History Class for the last 15 minutes to introduce my ideas to the students. We reviewed our visit to the DIA, and discussed the art we viewed. At this time students were given my Mosaic Quilt Investigation worksheet (see below). If students didn’t know their heritage they had the opportunity take the sheet home to ask their families about their ancestry that night for the next day. Since students were excited about the opportunity to share information about themselves, they had no trouble meeting this deadline.
China |
Ireland |
Mosaic Quilt Investigation worksheets
(click either image for a larger version). |
Library Research
The next day, I began by reviewing Quilting Time, Native American Man’s Shirt, and Islamic Tile Fountain which we had seen at the DIA, and discussing how art can show us history and culture. I tied in what they had learned about the many cultures of America and how their families at some point came from another country, too, unless they are Native Americans.
Students were given 2 days to investigate where their ancestors came from in the library using the Internet and books. The Library Media Specialist at Page Middle School prepared a list of Web sites for students (see Preparation and Resources). I also asked them to think about their own family’s traditions and celebrations. What do they celebrate, and how?
Before we went to the library, I distributed my Objective Sheet to students. Students referred to the Objective Sheet during the project to if see they were on track.
It was important for the students to combine as much information as possible from their parents and the museum visit (primary resources) and the library research (secondary resources). This helped them when it came time to create a design for the mosaic. The history teacher and I monitored students’ research to encourage them to think of symbols beyond the flags of their ancestors. Students were encouraged to think of activities unique to them and think about American symbols as well.
Brainstorming and Sketching
We brainstormed how we might tell about our culture or ourselves in our mosaic. We listed ideas. For example, one of the students has Irish heritage, so we listed things she learned about Ireland (religious beliefs, green landscape, it is an island, music, and legends). I gave the example that for my daughter’s birthday (she is Polish) we sing Stollot (a traditional Polish birthday song) and plan a Polish meal.
At this time I introduced the elements of design and how artists use them. We referred back to what we saw at the DIA and looked at different reproductions that I have. We also looked at examples of mosaics from the book "Handmade Tiles". See Resources. In works of art, we looked at how artists can make a flat image appear to have dimension by using different shades of a color. Students used pencils to sketch individual ideas on 4" x 5" paper. This sketch was the basis for their final design which was drawn in colored pencils on another sheet of paper.
Student creating paper mosaic
(click the image for a larger version). |
Creating the Mosaic
Students were given a piece of black railroad board (12" x 18") to enlarge their sketch using white colored pencils. It is a good idea to draw lightly, because eventually we want to make sure all of these lines are erased or not noticeable when the work is done. I demonstrated the process of making a mosaic and discussed the different materials used to create one. We used a wide variety of colors from construction paper. Students were encouraged to cut uniformly small pieces. I constantly reminded my students that mosaics are several pieces that eventually make one picture. I was afraid that they would want to use large pieces for their project and I thought the finished project would look better if they took their time and used many smaller pieces. Some students still used larger pieces.
Students selected their colors and cut them. They used envelopes to keep their work in. I did not want them to glue down their pieces until they had them all cut. This way they could place them all and make changes if necessary, before they were glued. We used glue sticks to adhere the pieces to the railroad board. This helped the students to be neater in their work.
They were given a week to finish the assignment at home. We gave them all the supplies they needed. We ran into a typical middle school homework problem, many didn’t have their work finished at the due date. We extended the assignment for another weekend, and students were able to finish their mosaics.
The mosaics were allowed to dry overnight; and students erased any white pencil lines that were still showing. Also, if they had not incorporated their name in their design, they signed their work.
Presenting
When we finished students took turns briefly explaining their mosaic and how it represented them. This allowed us to learn about each other. I think it would be fun another time to expand this activity into a cultural festival with food and music.
finished paper mosaic: Chinese culture
(click the image for a larger version). |
finished paper mosiac: Irish Culture
(click the image for a larger version). |
Displaying the Mosaics
Mosaics were displayed together at our annual art exhibition.
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