Art and Culture Center of Hollywood Distance Learning

Transcription

1 Art and Culture Center of Hollywood Distance Learning Integrated Art Lesson Title: Description and Overall Focus: Length of Lesson Grade Range Objective(s) Materials: PLEASE NOTE: Some materials must be acquired prior to this lesson Calavera Sugar Skulls This project will allow students to learn how to create a volumetric (3-dimensional) calavera mask from flat media, based on the native Latin American tradition of Día de los Muertos. 45 minutes Elementary Students will learn about the holiday called Día de los Muertos and the beautifully colorful art form of calavera candy sugar skulls. Students then will learn how to use paper folding techniques to create a 3-D object from flat paper. Teacher Provided Handout Templates and Examples: Mask Template (1 per 2-3 students) Paper Punch Art Supplies: Markers, crayons and/or colored pencils Scissors Liquid glue String, yarn or twine (or colorful ribbon) Paper Plates (9 inch, inexpensive type with fluted edge) Introductory activity Core activity Closure activity Assessment Students will begin by discussing the upcoming holiday and how it relates to other traditional days at this time of year. They will then learn a brief history of the art of the calavera and its meaning. They will also discuss how cutting and folding can change a shape to a form, for example a circle into a hemisphere. Students will focus on creating a mask form by cutting and folding to change the shape. They will also interpret the traditional ideas of the calavera into their own colorful representations of the folk art. Students will have learned about the methods used to create a 3-D sculpture from a 2-D medium, beginning with base folds and cuts in flat geometric shapes. They will have created their own personal calavera. Students will have learned about the origin of the

2 calavera: the folk art represented on the Día de los Muertos. They will also have learned how folding techniques work to create volumetric and dimensional form. Teacher follow-up idea Student follow-up idea Book/Web references The classroom teacher can use the books and websites below to present more of the information surrounding the artistic world of the native North and Latin Americans. Students can continue to create progressively sophisticated mask sculpture based on animals, nature elements or other objects, using other forms of media, such as papier maché. Magic Windows/Ventanas Magicas by Carmen Garza Math Art by Carolyn Ford Brunetto Art and Culture Center of Hollywood Lesson plan prepared by Traci Petersen, MFA

3 CALAVERAS Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is an interesting holiday celebrated in central and southern Mexico during the chilly days of November 1 & 2. Even though this coincides with the Catholic holiday called All Soul's & All Saint s Day, the indigenous people have combined this with their own ancient beliefs of honoring their deceased loved ones. Calavera can also refer to any artistic representations of skulls, such as the lithographs of José Guadalupe Posada The calavera is a representation of human skull made from either sugar or clay, which is used in the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead. An illustrator and political satirist, Posada s prints of skulls and skeletons left their mark on Mexican popular culture and have become a fixture of Day of the Dead imagery. The Día de los Muertos occurs every year just after Halloween! EXAMPLES and TEMPLATES ON THIS and NEXT PAGES:

4 Inexpensive Paper Plate with fluted edge Calavera Mask Design Ideas (8 ideas below):

5 Mask Template, next page: Mask should measure across the widest part of the face as close to 8 ½ inches as possible.

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7 ENJOY!