Culture Craft
Crafts to inspire curiosity about the past, the present and human expression.
A look at our many and varied cultures though craft and art.
Inspirations for the projects span the globe, history and prehistory.
Humans create such a variety of material cultures but there are so many things we all have in common.
Culture Craft PROJECTS
Stand Alone projects inspired by a wide variety of times, places, and cultures. Projects take about 45 minuets and provide basic information about the time and place that sparked the idea.
Culture Craft in Depth
Introduction to world history through arts and crafts. This class includes an academic aspect, including timelines and information about each culture . Created with homeschooling or as a addition to an existing curriculum in mind to add a hands on, arts based, dimension to world history and social studies.
Examples of Projects
Lunar New Year:
Dragon Dance puppets, rattle drums and Red Envelopes…..a few of the many traditions of this important, vibrant, family focused holiday. These crafts look to both the past and the present. The Lunar New Year’s Celebration brings family and friends together throughout Asia and around the world.
Goblins Teeth and Fairy Wings:
Create your own mythical creature with roots in Iron Age Europe. Tolkien’s iconic Lord of the Rings Trilogy is among the many tales that spring from this rich soil. Learn about the stories and the storytellers whose tales are still with us today.
Rangoli: decorative sand paintings
Images created using a traditional grid and often passed down through generations. Rangoli bring good luck and prosperity and are used in many celebrations throughout the Hindu the calendar. Though they are meant to be temporary pieces of art we will create ones you can take home.
Scarabs, Cobras, Vultures and Dung Balls:
Cartouches (royal name plate), ritual headdress and a scarab necklace; dress like an Egyptian and in the process learn a bit about what these symbols meant and meet a few of Egypt’s leading citizens. Or prepare for the Land of the Dead with canopic jars used for mummification.
Aztec Ritual Calendar:
Working calendar with moving parts that can track the days according to the traditional ritual Mesoamerican calendar. Versions of this calendar have been used from ancient times from the Olmecs (or before) to Aztecs.
Storyteller figures:
In 1964, Helen Cordero, a ceramic artists at Cochiti Pueblo created a figure of her grandfather telling stories to children. She became famous for her storytellers and started a new tradition with roots in the older arts of Puebloan ceramics.