Adinkra Cloth Printing

Submitted by: Meghan Yarnell
Art teacher at Perrysburg Junior High
Title of Lesson: Adinkra Prints
Grade level: 5th-7th grade

Goals / Objectives:

1.) Students will learn about Adinkra cloth from Ghana by completing a moodle lesson.
2.) Students will learn the difference between a hue, shade and tint by mixing the colors for their projects.

Materials Needed:

Tempera Paint, Construction Paper, Brushes, water containers, Styrofoam Sheets, Drawing Pencils, Adinkra symbols handout , Oil Pastels

Lesson Description:

Day 1
-Go over the rubric with students.
-Pass out the Adinkra Symbols worksheet and create a symbol together as a class. When the students are finished with this worksheet, they will have it initialed by the teacher.

Day 2
-Demonstrate how to create a stamp by carving the Styrofoam with a pencil.
-Have the students finish their worksheets.
-When they are finished, give them three foam squares to carve.

Click on the images for full size.

Day 3
-Have the students pick out a square of construction paper for their background. Demonstrate how to print the squares in the background by painting a Styrofoam square and pressing it onto the paper. They should print 9 squares (corners first).

Day 4
-Show the students how to make a layout by planning where they will print each stamp. Refer to the rubric for requirements. Demonstrate how to print the stamps by painting a thin coat of paint on them with a dry brush and pressing them to the paper.

Day 5:
-Demonstrate how to carve a potato into a stamp and print it. Have the students create potato stamps if they want to.

Day 6:
-Demonstrate how to create a pattern in the borders with oil pastels. Have them practice in their Sketchbooks and then on their projects.

Assessment(s):

See rubric

Resources

Book: African Symbols - From Adinkra symbols to the symbolic script of the Ashanti, symbols play an important role in all aspects of African life. These sacred items come in a breathtaking array of styles, and here, divided into six areas of cultural similarity, are some of the most beautiful, along with explanations of their meanings.

Book: The Adinkra dictionary: A visual primer on the language of Adinkra - Adinkra is the name given the colorful, hand-painted and hand- embroidered cloth used for mourning by the Akan people of Ghana and Cote D Ivore. Stylistic symbols called adinkra symbols are printed on these cloths. The cloth and symbols express the wearer s feeling and sentiment about the deceased. The symbols convey a parting message to that individual. When a person wears this type of clothing, one knows that the person is in mourning.