Tapa Cloth

Produced throughout the islands of the South Pacific. (Polynesia)

Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa

Also known as bark cloths.

These cloths play important roles in weddings, funerals and events associated with royalty.

They use the bark from a paper mulberry tree.

It is stripped and the white inner layers are peeled off for the tapa.

The narrow strips are soaked in water until softened.

Grooved mallets are used to pound the the bark into about 10” wide strips

The edges are then overlapped and glued with sap to make wide sheets.

Finally the tapa is sun dried and ready for design.

Dark outlines and details are hand painted using sticks with frayed ends.

A variety of plant dyes are used as well as tree sap for the natural brown colors.

What you will do!

In the borders you will create a…

PATTERN(the regular repetition of colors, lines, shapes or forms in an artwork.)

Think of a design that has

RADIAL BALANCE

(A type of balance in which lines or shapes spread out from a center point in a regular pattern)

Make sure border pattern and radial

design have UNITY(The quality that occurs when all parts of

an artwork combine to create a sense of wholeness and completion)

How I will grade you

Design Grade

3 different rough drafts2 borders –1” and ½” (different patterns in each border)

Radial design (from corner)

Border and design should have UNITY

Design touches all 4 sides.

How I will grade you

Trace design with pencil then outline with black penErase pencilCreative coloring styleOutline dark colorColor fades

Color boldUse a ruler for all straight edges!