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Dreamtime paintings by NC kids
Ever hear of Aboriginal artist Clifford Possum? I had not heard of him until a few months ago when I started looking for ideas for classroom art projects. Two of my art classes are working on projects related to the culture of Australia. They've made tag board boomerangs (which I forgot to photograph, but will try to remember to do that this week) that are for show and cannot fly like a proper boomerang, and they're working on paintings based on the style of the Aboriginal Dreamtime paintings.
It's never proper to try to copy an artist's style, or a culture's style, but I do believe it is permissable and even encouraged to take elements from that style and make something new with it. That's where Clifford Possum comes into this story.
Clifford Possum lived from 1933 until 2002 in Australia. He is among the most famous of Aboriginal artists, if not the most famous, for having started a painting style called Dreamtime painting.
He discovered the art form for himself one day in the 1970's when a teacher, Geoffrey Bardon, gave him some brushes and paints and told him (and some other men) to put their stories on canvas. Prior to this historical moment, Aborigines drew/painted their stories on the ground, on bark, and on their bodies. About as permanent as painting in the sand at the beach. The way I understand it, once Clifford learned how to paint on canvas, he encouraged other Aboriginal artists to put their dreaming stories on canvas as well.
This sparking event took place in a "rundown settlement called Papunya Tula".
Clifford soon became recognized in this style of painting which came tobe called the Papunya Tula School, also known as dot and circle painting because of the use of both in abundance throughout the sacred paintings. It took many years for dot and circle style of storytelling to become appreciated by the greater art community.
A dreaming story is a like a creation story, of a family or a tribe of people. Dreamtime stories are individual and personal, and it isn't acceptable for one person to tell another person's dreamtime story.
You can read more about Clifford Possum and other Aboriginal artists at this website called Making Tracks.
What I took from Clifford's circle and dot painting was the circles and dots, and other lines. The students were told to think about the animals they see in their own backyards (North Carolina backyards) and to draw them on brown paper (to simulate the former Aboriginal style of painting on bark) using oil pastel crayons. They had to incorporate the dots, circles, and lines, and any other design element they were familiar with, into their painting. After they had drawn enough to fill their paper, they had to pick one color and paint watercolor over the entire picture.
The one above is mine, the teacher's model. If you've been reading my journal over the past two years, you know we used ot have a koi pond, and turtles, frogs, and all sorts of wildlife were subjects for me to write about. The painting represents a portion of "my Dreamtime story."
But as you can see in the pictures that follow, the students did a far better job with their dreamtime stories than I did.
Now kick back and just enjoy the color and the shapes. The students haven't written their stories to go with the painting... I wanted them to paint first, then write.
Yes, these are the work of children. In 3rd-5th grades. Special Education.
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Dearest Bea,
those paintings are very beautiful!
Can you imagine how nice they would be if someone painted htme on clothes too?
thanks Bea!
love,natalie -
I recall reading about Clifford Possum and Dreamtime paintings a few years back. I had watched some program on Aboriginal culture and he was mentioned in it. I had totally forgotten about his wonderful art until your journal entry. One of the many things that I respect about you as a teacher is how you incorporate culture and history into your art classes. As I've stated before, I would love to be in your classes. You generate an environment that is stimulating artistically and intellectually. The children did amazing work because they have an amazing teacher.--Sheria
5/3/08 7:48 PM
thanks so much!
love,nat