“Native American Symbols and Crests play an important part in the culture and history of First Nations in North America. Each animal, spirit and supernatural being represents and symbolizes different stories, traits, personality and values.
The close relationships with animals, spirits and supernatural beings are well represented in many First Nations Cultures, by stories that are passed down through generations. Many Northwest Coast First Nation families have their own distinct stories…” - Spirits of the West Coast Art Gallery
Native American culture places an immense amount of importance on the welfare of nature and animals. Therefore, it is only natural that their art reflects that as well. Native Americans were renowned masters of art mediums such as jade, turquoise, shell, metals, stone, milkweed fiber, birch bark, porcupine quills, deer hair, llama dung, sea lion whiskers and more, all of which contributed to amazing textures and unique techniques. Our Little Ashcan artists got to explore and create their own Native American art this week and learned about texture and geometric designs. Each little artist began by selecting his/her animal and drawing its outline. Our instructor, Jackie, then guided them to fill each animal with geometric patterns, instead of coloring them in. Once drawn, each Little Ashcaner then painted their animals onto handmade paper that was toned using coffee to contribute to the artistic aesthetic, which mimics the animal skin that was often used in Native American art. This resulted in truly outstanding results from our Little Ashcan talent, wouldn’t you agree?
