The Kennedy Center African Odyssey Interactive

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Visual Arts and Education Resources

Bas-Relief Sculpture. The "Abomey: History Told on Walls" Exhibition includes rich examples of the 250 year-old tradition of the Benin, West Africa, bas-relief art form—including some of its earliest surviving examples. African Textiles Designs. African textiles reflect a range of artistic and social communications continuity, change, and ingenuity in beautiful and vivid designs. Prints, Collages, and Monoprints. John T. Scott Renderings reflect dazzling compositions of color, texture, and symbolic forms from the African Diaspora. Painted Rocks of Africa. The African Rock Art exhibit presents spectacular photographic images of the worlds' most ancient and fragile rock art, which illustrates the cultural life, philosophy and rites of the San—the oldest indigenous peoples of Southern Africa. Stone Sculpture. Zimbabwe stone sculpture is produced from rocks that provide for an unusual range of colors and hardness.

How to Spin Cotton, Simple Instructions

Cotton spinning
Instructions for ginning cotton, and finger and spindle spinning. A nice hands-on activity. by Louise Meyer

Supplies needed: 1 cotton boll per 6-10 students

Pass one entire cotton boll with husk and seeds in tack around table seating 6-10 students/ discuss feel, weight, geographical origin, climatic conditions, growth, etc.

Gently pull all cotton lint with seeds from the husk; pull apart into as many parts as there are students sharing it; giving each student a portion with 2-4 seeds in it, touch, guess number of seeds hiding inside the cotton lint/ etc. Ask each student to remove/pluck out the seeds. Explain to spread apart the cotton lint from seeds to make them as clean (bald) as possible. Discuss what weighs more,the seeds or the cotton? What are the seeds used for? What is the cotton used for?

Full description at Africancraft.com.

Kente Paper Weaving: Grade 2

Kente paper weaving
grade 2, fiber arts, curriculum connection: social studies by Instructional Services Dept, Fairfax County Public Schools

No photos, but three different lesson plans for kids on Kente cloth.

Africancraft.com