This week’s picture is a TEEPEE, using MIXED MEDIA.
In this picture, your child explored:
- Three-dimensional art, sculpture and design
- Surface design – drawing on an unusual medium
- Art as a cultural expression – world cultures and historical motifs
- Functional art
Fun Facts About Teepees:
- Teepees were first used by American Indians in the Great Plains. The name is derived from the Lakota tribe’s word “tipi,” which literally means, “they dwell.”
- Many Native American tribes did not use teepees for their homes, preferring adobe buildings, wigwams or grass huts.
- Teepee frames are constructed from long poles placed in a circle and leaned together to create a point. A rope is lashed around the top of the poles to hold them together, then an animal hide or thick canvas is placed over the poles to create a shelter.
- Like modern tents, teepees are designed to set up and break down quickly (which is why they were popular with Plains Indians, who frequently migrated to follow buffalo herds). An entire Plains village could have their teepees packed and ready to move within an hour.
- As tribes moved from place to place, each family would travel with their teepee poles and hide tents. Because there were few trees on the Great Plains, it was important for the tribes to carry their long poles from place to place instead of trying to find new ones.
- Teepees were originally about 12 feet tall. Once the Plains Indians acquired horses and it became easier to travel with the teepees, they began building them twice as tall.
- Teepees are versatile enough to be used in many types of weather conditions. A hole in the top lets inhabitants burn a campfire in the center of the teepee to warm it. In hot weather, teepee walls can be rolled and tied up with ropes to allow airflow.
- Extreme weather such as rain, snow or high winds are often dangerous for teepees. To hold teepees in place during high winds, tie the lashing rope in the middle to a rock or other heavy object. The vent holes in the top of the teepees are usually covered in hide or thick fabric to prevent rain from leaking through.
Look at these pictures of teepees with your child:
1938 Department of Interior photograph of Indian woman and her children
Peter Whyte Luxton painting at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta.
Photograph of Teepee Construction published in the Chicago Daily News 1904
Timucua Teepee Village in FL, 1562.
Watercolor Painting by Karl Bodmer 1832
Using Prismacolor Markers:
Prismacolor Markers are fun and easy to use. These artist quality markers have two tips: a fine tip for coloring small spaces, and a broad, flat tip for coloring larger areas. These markers provide rich color saturation and smooth ink coverage.
Ask Your Child …
- How drawing on cloth is different from drawing on paper.
- To explain the Native American patterns he used to decorate his teepee.
- To describe how she constructed her teepee for stability.
