Cultural Diversity

New Zealand Totems

Suitable for:

Upper Primary and Lower Secondary levels

Materials:

Balsa Wood Sheets, Pasteboard A4, Wooden Geometric Shapes, Beads Wooden 16 mm, Cover Paper A4, Artline 70 Markers, Hessian, Raffia, School Colour Paint by Zart and Sandpaper

How to Make New Zealand Totems:

1. Cut a body and head shape from a sheet of cardboard.

2. Use a pencil to trace and score the outline of the head and body shape a number of times across a piece of Balsa Wood. Cut the shapes out and sand the edges to a smooth surface.

3. Use Wooden Geometric Shapes to create eye shapes and paint these white. When dry glue on a Wooden Bead to create the pupil.

4. Paint a large white mouth shape on to the Balsa Wood head shapes.

5. Glue on the eye shapes to each head shape above the mouth.

6. Decorate both the head and body shapes with black and red markers in a pattern based on research of traditional Maori designs.

7. Decorate a length of Balsa Wood with a pattern that complements those of the figures.

8. Glue the head shape on to the body and then the figures on to the panel of patterned Balsa Wood.

9. Add knotted lengths of Raffia to the panel for extra decoration.

10. Glue the panel on to a piece of Hessian, fringe the border of the Hessian to create an interesting edge.

Dreamer Step: Research

Use the Internet to research the history of totems not only in New Zealand but worldwide. Why were they made? What do they represent?

© Copyright Zart Art 2009. Activity and teacher notes written and designed by Zart Education.

Key words: Art, craft, activity, activities, children, kids, school art activities, culture, cultural, year of rapprochement, textiles, 3D, construction, tradition