Ghana: Adinkra Stamped Cloth

After our Kente cloth project, we learned about another type of cloth, Adinkra stamped cloth. Adinkra (ah-DEEN-krah) cloth is a hand-printed fabric made in Ghana. As with Kente, it was also developed by the Ashanti people. 

Adinkra cloths were traditionally made for royalty to wear at religious ceremonies. Adinkra cloth is stamped and patterned with traditional Ashanti symbols. Each symbol has its own name and meaning based on values like family, tolerance, harmony, determination, etc. 

People decorate cloth by using a black dye made of bark, called Adinkera aduru, and this is what gives the cloth its name. Using the dye, they draw lines on the cloth to divide it into squares. Next, they carve symbols into calabash gourds, press the gourds into the dye, and stamp the symbols onto the fabric. 

Students designed their own Adinkra stamps, either looking at reference images for inspiration from existing Ashanti symbols or creating their own. They cut out their designs from foam and glued them into cardboard to create their stamp. We let these dry and the following class, used black paint to print with our stamps.

Students rolled out paint using a brayer on our bench hooks and then rolled the brayer on top of our Adinkra stamp. Then students picked up the stamp and pressed it down on their paper, re-applying paint in between each print. Students did a wonderful job making the prints fit their paper in rows. 

After two classes of printmaking, students created a frame for their Adinkra prints. We used red, green or yellow paper to reflect the colors of the flag of Ghana. Students designed their frames to demonstrate pattern and repetition, like our prints, and glued their Adinkra prints in the center. Below are some examples of our finished Adinkra print artwork:

Amit, 2nd Grade (O'Connor)

Asher, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Ava, 2nd Grade (Hinds Thiemann)

Eren, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Kailynn, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Marlo, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Maya, 2nd Grade (Stone)

Nick, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Nirvaan, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Pravin, 2nd Grade (Stone)

Ryland, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Seif, 2nd Grade (O'Connor)

Seta, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Ghana: Kente Cloth Weaving

Our next visit on our Arts Around the World tour brought us to Ghana, which is located on the western coast of Africa. We learned that it is hot and humid in Ghana and the capital city is Accra. 

We also learned about Kente cloth, a woven traditional fabric. Kente cloth began in the Ashanti Kingdom and was originally worn by royalty. It is woven by men and is known for its bold designs. Over time, it became more popular and now it is worn by many people, not just royalty. 

When looking at examples of Kente cloth, students noticed the bright colors, geometric designs with rectangles and zig zags, and the patterns in the fabric. Students also connected it to learning about weaving in 1st grade. To begin making our own Kente cloth, students painted a piece of paper with colorful stripes and added patterns with lines and dots to create their loom. Students also painted two sheets of colored paper with a simple pattern of lines using black paint. 

We revisited the process of weaving with construction paper before cutting the painted paper we made to weave with. Students recalled the over and under motion of each woven piece, and students used their painted paper to make their loom and the pieces to weave across. 

It was wonderful to see just how many students remembered the technique of weaving from last year! Students also helped each other once they were finished. Below are some examples of our colorful Kente cloth inspired weaving!

Christopher, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Gabrielly, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Kiana, 2nd Grade (O'Connor)

Lucia, 2nd Grade (Hinds Thiemann)

Meri, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Nico, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Noah, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Thiago, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Zoie, 2nd Grade (Hinds Thiemann)

Kente Cloth from Ghana

Our next visit on our Arts Around the World tour brought us to Ghana, which is located on the western coast of Africa. We learned that it is hot and humid in Ghana and the capital city is Accra.

We also learned about Kente cloth, a woven traditional fabric. Kente cloth began in the Ashanti Kingdom and was originally worn by royalty. It is woven by men and is known for its bold designs. Over time, it became more popular and now it is worn by many. When looking at examples of Kente cloth, students noticed the bright colors, geometric designs with rectangles and zig zags, and the patterns in the fabric. Students also connected it to learning about weaving in 1st grade.

To begin making our own Kente cloth, students painted two sheets of colored paper with a simple pattern of lines.

The following class, students painted a piece of paper with colorful stripes and added patterns with lines and dots to create their loom. We practiced the process of weaving with construction paper before cutting the painted paper we made to weave with.

Students recalled the over and under motion of each woven piece, with the warp going vertically and the weft going across. Once they practiced with construction paper, students used their painted paper to make their loom and the pieces to weave across.

Once they were finished, they glued down the edges of each strip. We finished up with a gallery walk to see everyone's Kente cloth weaving. We noticed that they are all very colorful and that everyone's is different. In their Passports, students wrote what they learned about Kente cloth, recalling that they have colorful patterns, that they are woven on a loom, and that they were once worn by royalty in Ghana. Below are some examples of our colorful Kente cloth inspired weaving!

Julia H., 2nd Grade (O'Connor)

Edmond, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Arianne, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Aliah, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

James, 2nd Grade (O'Leary)

Angelina, 2nd Grade (Pearse)

Chris, 2nd Grade (McCarthy)

Traveling Around the World

This year, 2nd grade artists will be traveling around the world in their art and music classes! This summer I met up with our fantastic music teacher, Ms. Patashnick, to plan ideas and work on curricula together. We designed an 'Around the World' theme for 2nd grade this year, complete with passports!

In art class, we will be learning about the culture, art forms, techniques and artists from a variety of different countries, including Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana, India, Japan and Morocco. In music class, students will be learning songs, culture, musical traditions and about musicians from those same countries, as well.

During our first week of art and music, students filled out their passports and got their photos taken so that we are ready for travel this year! We talked about what passports are for and students are excited to have them stamped after each 'trip'! In addition to identification, our passports will help us keep track of our journey and our learning. Students began by writing down what they like about art and music, their favorite musical instruments and art materials, and the country they are most interested in 'visiting' and learning about.

Our first stop is India, so stay tuned. Feel free to ask your students about their artistic and musical travels throughout the year!