ART PARTNERS LESSON©
LESSON
TITLE: African
Textile Processes: Adire eleso and Adinkra print on fabric to create head wraps
and dashikis
AUTHOR: Lucy
Andrus
GRADE/AGE LEVEL: Can be
adapted for grades K-10
WRITTEN HERE FOR: Teens in
special education
Unit/Theme and Relation of this Lesson to Unit; Major Concepts to be Learned
Today’s lesson is the
second in our unit on lifestyles and traditions of world cultures, as we
continue our exploration of West African culture, particularly textile art and
craft. To begin, the on-going slide overview of African cultures will open the
lesson along with examination of selected artifacts.
Last week, we learned
about weaving and kente cloth. Today,
we will learn about adinkra design from the Ashanti people of Ghana (the
dominant cultural group of the Akan people). We will also learn about the
process of adire eleso (tie-dyeing), which is used by many West African
countries, including Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Nigeria.* The students will learn how West African artisans
decorate cloth, and compare this to textile decoration methods used in their
own American culture.
The students will
continue to make connections to other cultures as they become more aware of how
the universal language of visual art is applied by diverse groups of
people. They will also increase their
understanding of symbolism in art, and how the use of visual symbols serves
many purposes, from providing non-verbal information to preserving oral
histories and traditions.
Using adinkra symbols
(carved into erasers or potatoes), and borrowing from the adire eleso dyeing
process, the students will decorate their own fabric to be used for making head
wraps (adire eleso) and dashikis (adinkra stamp-printing).
*Two very good resource
books: The Adinkra Dictionary by W. Bruce Willis; Art From Many Hands
by Jo Miles Schuman.
Relation to Life:
See previous lesson. In addition, learning to create an item of
clothing that can actually be worn reinforces the students’ sense of independence
through development of competence. Such
an experience not only strengthens self-esteem, but also stimulates curiosity
about life and living, and motivates people to learn and try new things. This enhancement of the quality of life
should be instilled in every person, including those who are
differently-abled.
LEARNING STANDARDS
Goals Specific to Unit/Lesson (reflecting NYS Art Standards and
Targeted Learning areas. See key at
end):
The students will:
·
Increase knowledge
and understanding of African culture, particularly of West Coast countries (Std. # 4, AH, A/C, S)
·
Increase
understanding and appreciation for artisans and artistry of African textile
design and production (Std. 3 & 4, AC, AE)
·
Develop greater
appreciation for cultural diversity in lifestyle and aesthetic systems; as well
as for similarities (e.g., all makers of art use art elements and principles)
(Std. 4, AH, AC, AE, S)
·
Enhance understanding
of self and others through cross-cultural connection (Std. 4, S, E)
·
Increase art knowledge
and skill in: pattern, design, composition (Std. 1, 3, AC, AP)
·
Improve cognitive
skills: abstract thinking (symbolism), and planning, follow through, problem
solving, and memory recall (Std. 3, AC,
AE, A/C)
·
Improve
perceptual/motor skills: directionality, fine motor, visual tracking
(Std. 2, AP, P/M)
·
Develop personal
aesthetic sensibilities (Std. 1, AE, E)
·
Improve attending and
participation skills (Std. 1, AP, W/S, S)
Performance Objectives for
Observational Assessment (reflecting goals):
The students will be able to:
Opening:
·
Recall/name the
continent and culture under study
·
Name at least two
living skills that we have in common with people from African countries
·
Name at least two
features a culture encompasses
·
Describe at least two
things learned about African culture
· Identify at least one example of African textile design
(adinkra, kente, mud cloth, adire eleso)
· Define the terms adinkra and adire eleso
·
Attend to slide
presentation without disruption
· Define the term symbol
Middle:
·
Decorate head wrap cloth using the adire eleso process:
a.
at minimum, fold cloth like a fan, and tie with string every 6 to 10
inches (students can go further in their tying design as able)
b.
wearing latex gloves
(check for allergies to latex) and smock, place tied cloth in dye bath and
gently stir without splashing die out of the bucket
c.
when ready, remove
cloth from die bath, squeeze excess out dye, and rinse
d.
when dry, cut strings
from cloth and open
a. use
mattboard edge dipped in black fabric paint to print border lines around neck
opening, down the front and across the front bottom
b. select a personally relevant adinkra
symbol(s) to use in design
c. print design within and around border areas by dipping adinkra stamp into fabric paint and pressing onto fabric
d. Use smaller mattboard pieces to print smaller lines that are integrated with the stamped images
e. demonstrate use of pattern through repetition of line and shape
f. demonstrate care and craftsmanship by printing clean images and edges
Closing:
· Recall/define at least one of the textile decoration methods
used: adinkra, adire eleso
·
Indicate where pattern was used in fabric design by self or classmate
Visuals:
Ashanti: One group of people who live in the country of Ghana
(largest cultural group of the Akan people of West Africa) who are famous for
adinkra
Symbol: something that stands for an idea, like a heart
shape for love, or a clover for good luck, or the color red to show a feeling
or tell you to stop when you’re crossing the street, or the golden arches for
McDonalds, etc.
Textile: fabric, cloth, material that clothes can be
made from
Materials
and Preparation:
ADAPTATIONS:
Depending n fine motor
control, the students can choose from the string or the rubber bands for tying
and bunching fabric to be dyed. Students who cannot manage either alone can
work with a S/T to accomplish the steps of these tasks together (student scan
fold/bunch and hold fabric while S/T helps tie it).
Procedural Steps:
(details on procedures from beginning to
end with
ability-appropriate
language scripted in where necessary)
Notes: We have a double period, otherwise lesson requires
more time.
Prepare dye baths before the session starts
Opening:
1. Lead
Teacher opens session with a drumbeat, explaining that the djembe (JOM-bay)
drum’s name means “come together” (the drum calls the people).
2. Teacher leads discussion as students are asked to recall:
- the culture, continent under study (use map or globe)
- any particular features of African culture (recall
meaning of term, culture)
-
area of the African continent we’re exploring for learning about textile
arts (West Coast countries)
- the type of
cloth we learned about last week (kente weaving)
3. More
slides can be shown at this point as the students continue to learn about
African culture and people.
4. Following
slides, teacher brings students’ attention back to the idea of the living skill
of being able to clothe oneself, and shows actual African cloth examples,
asking students to name them: kente, mud cloth, adire eleko.
5. Teacher introduces two new process of
textile decoration and design we will try today: adire eleso (tie-dye) and
adinkra (stamp printing symbols), showing examples of each.
6. Teacher
explains how adire eleso is made, then adinkra cloth: it’s history, symbolism,
meaning, and the people who created it (the Ashanti from the country of Ghana
on the West Coast of Africa). Adinkra
means “goodbye” and was first used to decorate fabric worn at funerals, now it
is used to decorate cloth that is worn all the time. Teacher explains briefly
about the symbolism behind adinkra: the idea of passing down history, proverbs,
and images or shapes that tell a story or stand for an idea (refer to adinkra
chart with symbols and their meanings).
7. Teacher
draws parallels to American clothing, such as T-shirts, that use symbols and
images to tell a story or idea (refer to the students’ own clothing).
8. Once
students understand these two processes of clothing design, the teacher
suggests that we all make an African style shirt called a dashiki, and a
head wrap for the girls, like we’ve seen and talked about in the slides.
Teacher shows examples and explains processes we’ll use, emphasizing repetition
to create a pattern.
Middle:
9. The S/Ts and students proceed, starting with adire eleso
head wraps:
a. all put on smocks
b. label each student’s cloth with name
using ballpoint pen
c.
use cotton string or
the rubber bands to section off and tie fabric
d.
patterns can be made
by repeating the type of tying every so often
e.
students can
experiment by tying small rocks or pebbles into the fabric
f. fabric
can be bunched, folded or pleated, then tied
g. can
control time by having students tie fabric only every 10 inches
h. tied
fabric is placed in the dye bath, gently agitated using stick, and remains
there for 15 minutes
10. While
head wraps are dyeing, students proceed to decorate their dashikis with adinkra
prints.
a. label dashiki with masking tape label
b. open dashiki to single thickness, so front is flat on work surface
c. squeeze
a line of black acrylic or fabric paint into tray and smooth out with brush to
the length of the mattboard printer
d. use
mattboard edge dipped in the paint to print a border (app. 2 inches in from the
edge) around the front neck, down the center front, and across the front bottom
e. for
adinkra, squeeze paint into shallow dish and smooth with brush
f.
dip adinkra stamp into
paint and press to fabric in desired areas
g.
alternate adinkra
stamps with printing of smaller lines within and/or around the border to create
a pattern
NOTE: watch out for drying paint on
the stamps (dried acrylic will ruin them); to avoid, place stamps on damp
sponge.
11. If
dashikis cannot be left in place to dry, remove carefully to another drying
area by slipping cardboard under to help transport.
12. Wearing
disposable gloves, S/Ts remove cloth from the dye baths, rinsing under cold
water and hanging or lying on newspaper to dry.
13. All
assist with clean-up, being careful to wash adinkra stamps with soft toothbrush
before the paint begins to dry.
Mattboard printers can be disposed of.
Closing:
14. Following
clean-up, all reconvene in large group as teacher leads discussion recalling
the fabric design methods used: adire eleso and adinkra printing.
15. Finished
dashikis should be viewed and discussed for use of art elements and pattern.
16. Teacher
closes session with a suggestion that next week, we will put on our African
clothing for a special celebration where we can see more artifacts, dance to
African music and drumming, and sample some African foods.
ASSESSMENT
In addition to
observation of the Performance objectives described above for evaluating
students, as well as noting what teachers may need to re-teach or do
differently, questions to ask might include:
·
Does decorated fabric
indicate use of repetition to create pattern?
·
Were students able to
demonstrate care in application of paint to printer and printer to fabric so
that edges are clean?
·
Were students able to
indicate an understanding of textile decoration and clothing production as a
living skill as well as artform, making connections between this and previous
lessons?
ABBREVIATION KEY:
DBAE: NYS Standards for the Arts:
AH = art history
Std. 1 = creating, participating in art
AC = art criticism
Std. 2 = knowing art materials and processes
AE = aesthetics
Std. 3 = responding to works of art/artists
AP = art production
Std. 4 = knowing cultural dimensions of art
Needs Assessment Areas for
Developing Skills and Abilities:
A/C =
academic/cognitive M/P =
motor/perceptual E
= emotional
C =
communicative status W/S =
work/study habits S =
social
Pre-V
= prevocational skills L = living skills