They represent several coastal nations from the area.
I did a quick presentation to the kids on the importance of the Totem Pole in the First Nation culture, highlight the storytelling that they share with the viewer.
I then showed them five basic shapes that make up the artwork and put out several examples of contemporary First Nation artist and asked them to find the shapes I was creating on the erase board.
They had a great time searching them out, I think it reminded them of a Scavenger Hunt.
Then I asked them to create images to make up their own story for a Totem trying to use the shapes most common in First Nation art.
I asked them to only be inspired by the artwork, not recreate it. They certainly did not have to use traditional animals either, but symbols that would be important for their story.
They could be real or make believe. It was completely up to them.
I also told them that they did not have to share their story with me or the class, so that they would not edit themselves due to being shy.
Once they had a sketch they liked, actually they had three sketches of three different characters for their poles, I gave them a piece of styrofoam to use to create a relief print.
At this time, I did give them the "final" paper so they could judge how big to make each character but some kids found their totems didn't completely fit on the page once finished regardless.
This turned out to be a great lesson in using one's imagination to problem solve and come up with creative solutions. Love when art projects reinforce great life skills!
They cut each character out of the styrofoam so they could stand alone as an artwork and in hindsight, I would skip this step and just have them complete one totem with all three images.
Just imagine how many prints we pulled that day with eleven children and each child doing three prints of each of the three images.
phew. Just thinking about it makes me tired all over again.
I did only use black ink for this very reason. Can you imagine if I had also been wrestling with color choices?
11 year old
6 year old
7 year old
9 year old
7 year old
12 year old
9 year old
9 year old
Below is a great example of a student who creatively solved the problem of totem characters too large for the paper. I love that she worked out several solutions and this is a great example of a mistake being a wonderful opportunity to create something even better than the original vision.
oh yes, it also lost a leg in the process. maybe that's why it's toppling over
7 year old
And finally because I'm a glutton for punishment, I told each student to pick their very favorite character and make a stand alone print.
At the end of the day, I feel like the children walked away with a deeper understanding of the importance of the Totem Pole. By not just replicating a traditional First Nation totem, but implementing their own personal stories into a totem format, I believe they will now appreciate the Totem Poles on display in Stanley Park due to their new perspectives.
At least after pulling what felt like a hundred prints, that is my hope for the ending of the story of our Totem Pole art project.
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