Year 11 Mock Exam

Activity 1 – Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

- Write up use of materials Activity 2– Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief - Write up

use of materials Activity 3 – Amulet studies task

Activity 4 – Amulet using household object

Activity % Possible % Achieved Teacher Comment

Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

Write up use of materials

15%

10%

%

Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief

Write up use of materials

15%

10%

%

Amulet Studies

Practical

Annotation

15%

10%

%

Amulet using household object

Practical

Annotation

15%

10%

%

Name: Date: Target Grade:

A* 95 A 90 B 80 C 70 D 60 E 50 F 40 G 30 U 0 - 29

Student Comment / Targets Parent / Carer Comments

Activity 1 – Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

- Write up use of materials Practical = 15% of total mock grade• In your sketchbook and using the materials provided, create a double page of practical samples and written annotations. • Be creative, try to choose patterns and symbols that have significant meaning for your shaman. • Show you can use the media carefully.

Annotation = 10% of total mock grade•Describe your processes and indicate how you might use them on your headdress. To create this experiment I…..This was successful because…I will use this on my headdress to…•Stick images alongside your experiments.

Year 11 Mock Exam

Activity 2 – Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief - Write up use of materials Practical = 15% of total mock grade• In your sketchbook and using the materials provided, create a double page of practical samples and written annotations. • Be creative, try to choose patterns and symbols that have significant meaning for your shaman. • Show you can use the media carefully.

Annotation = 10% of total mock grade•Describe your processes and indicate how you might use them on your headdress. To create this experiment I…..This was successful because…I will use this on my headdress to…•Stick images alongside your experiments.

Year 11 Mock Exam

Year 11 Mock Exam

Activity 3 – Amulet Studies TaskPractical = 15 % of total mock grade•Draw from the amulets you have researched using a varity of appropriate media. . •Where possible use the processes that you know you will be successful with.

Annotation = 10 % of total mock gradeIn your sketchbook create 1 A4 page that reviews the changes you have made and explain;What you have done today.The techniques you have used and how.The successful elements of your work.The ideas you have to further develop your headdress.

Photograph your headdre

ss before

and after.You can draw diagrams to

illustrate your review

Year 11 Mock Exam

Activity 4 – Amulet task using a household object

Practical = 15 % of total mock grade•Develop your own amulet (Design this and prepare before the mock) •Use a household object as your starting point.

Annotation = 10 % of total mock gradeIn your sketchbook create 1 A4 page that reviews the changes you have made and explain;What you have done today.The techniques you have used and how.The successful elements of your work.The ideas you have to further develop your headdress.

You can draw diagrams to illustrate your review

P1 – Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

P1 – Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

Adinkra are visual symbols, originally created by the Akan of Ghana and the Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa, that represent concepts or aphorisms. Adinkra are used extensively in fabrics, pottery, logos and advertising. They are incorporated into walls and other architectural features. Fabric adinkra are often made by woodcut sign writing as well as screen printing. Adinkra symbols appear on some traditional akan gold weights. The symbols are also carved on stools for domestic and ritual use. Tourism has led to new departures in the use of the symbols in such items as T shirts and jewelry. Calabash adinkra stamps carved in Ntonso, Akanland.The symbols have a decorative function, but also represent objects that encapsulate evocative messages that convey traditional wisdom, aspects of life, or the environment. There are many different symbols with distinct meanings, often linked with proverbs. In the words of Anthony Appiah, they were one of the means in a pre-literate society for "supporting the transmission of a complex and nuanced body of practice and belief".1

1. Gyawu Atiko, lit. the back of Gyawu's head. Gyawu was a sub-chief of Bantama who at the annual Odwira ceremony is said to have had his hair shaved in this fashion. 2. Akoma ntoaso, lit. the joined hats. 3. Epa, handcuffs. See also No. 16. 4. Nkyimkyim, the twisted pattern. 5. Nsirewa, cowries. 6. Nsa, from a design of this name found on nsa cloths. 7. Mpuannum, lit. five tufts (of hair). 8. Duafe. the wooden comb. 9. Nkuruma kese, lit. dried okros.

10. Aya, the fern; the word also means ' I am not afraid of you ', ' I am independent of you' and the wearer may imply this by wearing it. 11. Aban, a two-storied house, a castle; this design was formerly worn by the King of Ashanti alone. 12. Nkotimsefuopua, certain attendants on the Queen Mother who dressed their hair in this fashion. It is really a variation of the swastika. 13 and 14 Both called Sankofa, lit. turn back and fetch it. See also Fig. 149 , No. 27. 15. Kuntinkantan, lit. bent and spread out ; nkuntinkantan is used in the sense of ' do not boast, do not be arrogant '. 16. Epa, handcuffs, same as No.3

P1 – Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

P1 – Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

Old Motu warrior with headhunter's tattoos on chest, ca. 1900. This man wears the gado motif on his torso and probably represented a tally of his victims. According to the early 20th century scholar A.C. Haddon, such chiefs had, "both upper arms tattooed, and two zigzag stripes down the middle of the back. They indicate that he has killed three people, two men and two women. Hila, the deposed chief of the Motu, and quite the modest man in Anuapata, is richly tattooed on the breast and on the arms down to the wrists. He bears on his chest the double obtuse-angled stripes like the gado of the women. Sometimes zigzag stripes are found only on young people. They are, in that case inherited from the father, and by no means signify that the party in question has killed any one."

P1 – Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

The tattooed tribes of coastal Papua seemed to prefer abstract motifs of natural subjects, and those of falling objects (stars), flying birds, especially predatory birds (Frigate bird, hawk) or other creatures associated with movement and predatory habits (like centipedes, serpents, and crocodiles) were quite common. But some of these animals were tattooed onto living skin for other reasons; they were able to straddle diurnal and nocturnal lifestyles, thus mastering the worlds of both light and darkness. For the Papuans, this otherworldly existence was perceived in abstract reality as "life" on the supernatural plane of the living and the dead. And it is no surprise that most, if not all, of these animals were believed to repel evil spirits and were tabooed from being eaten altogether.

Frigate birds, however, seem to have ranked highest on the tattoo motif map. Characterized in folk belief as a rapacious, ravenous, and voracious seagoing predator, frigates were widely associated with Papuan headhunting mysticism, somehow lending power to the wearer, or even to the family of the tattooed, acting as a sort of spiritual "assistant." This belief was shared, since many other headhunting groups living in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Indonesia tattooed the emblem (Note: frigate tattoo motifs extended as far as the headhunters of Easter Island).

Sometimes tattoo motifs took the form of harmless birds like the great-beaked hornbill or bina among the Papuan Hula and Motu. Among the Iban of Borneo, the hornbill was tattooed on headhunter's chests, because it was thought to provide protection against the intrusion of evil spirits. It was associated with the Upperworld and it was a sacred omen bird. This association between man and bird, was expressed in tattoo as well as in mimic bird dances, songs and the wearing of feathers as a symbolic ornament. Among the Papuan Hula of the 1880s, warriors who had taken human life wore white cockatoo feathers in their hair, the mandibles of the hornbill on their foreheads and other plumes as headdresses, not to mention tattoos on the legs and chest. As noted before, even sons, daughters and the wives of those men who had taken heads were entitled to tattoos worn on their skins.

P1 – Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

P1 – Wire / String Techniques and Tribal Patterns

SnakesFertility - In religion, mythology, and literature, serpents and snakes represent fertility or a creative life force. As snakes shed their skin, they are symbols of rebirth, transformation, immortality, and healing. The ouroboros is a symbol of eternity and continual renewal of life.

A schematic Ouroboros

Guardianship - Serpents are represented as potent guardians of temples and other sacred spaces. This connection may be grounded in the observation that when threatened, some snakes (such as rattlesnakes or cobras) frequently hold and defend their ground, first resorting to threatening display and then fighting, rather than retreat. Thus, they are natural guardians of treasures or sacred sites which cannot easily be moved out of harm's way. At Angkor in Cambodia, numerous stone sculptures present hooded multi-headed nāgas as

guardians of temples or other premises.

Poison - Serpents are connected with poison and medicine. The snake's venom is associated with the chemicals of plants and fungi8910 that have the power to either heal, poison or provide expanded consciousness (and even the elixir of life and immortality) through divine intoxication. Because of its herbal knowledge and entheogenic association the snake was often considered one of the wisest animals, being (close to the) divine.

Vengefulness and vindictiveness - Serpents are connected with vengefulness and vindictiveness. This connection depends in part on the experience that venomous snakes often deliver deadly defensive bites without giving prior notice or warning to their unwitting victims. Although a snake is defending itself from the encroachment of its victim into the snake's immediate vicinity, the unannounced and deadly strike may seem unduly vengeful when measured against the unwitting victim's perceived lack of blameworthiness.

P2 – Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief

Feathers mean a lot to Native American tribes.  A feather isn’t just something that falls out of a bird, it means much more.  The feather symbolizes trust, honor, strength, wisdom, power, freedom and many more things. To be given one of these is to be hand picked out of the rest of the men in the tribe - it’s like getting a gift from a high official.

If any Native American is given golden or bald eagle feathers it is one of the most rewarding items they can ever be handed. The Indians believe that eagles have a special connection with the heavens since they fly so close. Many Native Americans believe that if they are given this feather, it is a symbol from above. They believe that the eagle is the leader of all birds, because it flies as high as it does and sees better than all the birds. 

Once a Native American receives a feather he must take care of it, and many will hang it up in their homes. It is disrespectful to hide it away in a drawer or a closet. A Native American will be given a feather to hold on to or to wear, and if they hold it they must put it out for everyone to see. This will be a constant reminder of how to behave. An eagle feather is a lot like the American flag, it must be handled with care and can never be dropped on the ground.

The only way a Native American can actually get one of these feathers is by doing a brave deed, like fighting off a bear or going up against the enemy. They were never allowed to wear the feather until they went in front of their tribal court and retold the story of their victory. It was at this time that they were allowed to put it in their headpiece. Only chieftains, warriors, and braves have ever been awarded this special gift.  The next time you see eagle feathers in a

headdress, think about how they were earned.P2 – Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief

The lotus (Sanskrit and Tibetan padma) is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols and one of the most poignant representations of Buddhist teaching.

The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies pristinely above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.

Though there are other water plants that bloom above the water, it is only the lotus which, owing to the strength of its stem, regularly rises eight to twelve inches above the surface. According to the Lalitavistara, "the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the lotus in the muddy water which does not adhere to it."

According to another scholar, "in esoteric Buddhism, the heart of the beings is like an unopened lotus: when the virtues of the Buddha develop therein, the lotus blossoms; that is why the Buddha sits on a lotus bloom.“

The lotus is one of Buddhism's best recognized motifs and appears in all kinds of Buddhist art across all Buddhist cultures. Scrolling lotuses often embellish Buddhist textiles, ceramics and architecture.

Every important Buddhist deity is associated in some manner with the lotus, either being seated upon a lotus in full bloom or holding one in their hands. In some images of standing Buddhas, each foot rests on a separate lotus.

The lotus does not grow in Tibet and so Tibetan art has only stylized versions of it, yet it appears frequently with Tibetan deities and among the Eight Auspicious Symbols.

The color of the lotus has an important bearing on the symbology associated with it: •White Lotus (Skt. pundarika; Tib. pad ma dkar po): This represents the state of spiritual perfection and total mental purity (bodhi). It is associated with the White Tara and proclaims her perfect nature, a quality which is reinforced by the color of her body. •Pink Lotus (Skt. padma; Tib. pad ma dmar po): This the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity. Thus naturally it is associated with the Great Buddha himself. •Red Lotus (Skt. kamala; Tib: pad ma chu skyes): This signifies the original nature and purity of the heart (hrdya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It is the flower of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. •Blue Lotus (Skt. utpala; Tib. ut pa la): This is a symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, and signifies the wisdom of knowledge. Not surprisingly, it is the preferred flower of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom.

Lotus

P2 – Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief

TreesThe tree is a symbol of antiquity and strength. Many types of trees are blazoned on shields and crests, but they are generally not depicted accurately. The type of tree can relate to the characteristics of an early bearer of the family name, or perhaps to the land held by that family. The oak tree was sacred to the ancient Greeks and the Celts; the cedars of Lebanon are referred to in the scriptures as trees of stately beauty; the lime or linden tree was sacred to the Germans; the poplar is a symbol of great strength; the cypress tree is a symbol of death, because once cut, it never springs up again from its roots; evergreens, like the pine and the yew, symbolize death and the hope of eternal life; the ash tree was venerated by the Scandinavians.

Trees allude to home or property, and they are also generally considered a symbol of life and strength. Sometimes a hurst of trees, or a wood is found on a shield. Also, a tree stump or tree trunk may be used as a symbol of re-growth and rebirth, especially when it is borne with branches spouting new leaves.

P2 – Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief

P2 – Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief

P2 – Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief

P2 – Natural forms and textured surfaces using paper relief

Amulets Using household objects (spoons)

What is an AMULET or TALISMAN?

• Talismans and amulets are good luck charms which bring spiritual protection to their owner.

• They always carry personal spiritual meaning for the carrier.

• Is anyone wearing any special types of medals or special charm or necklaces with symbols?, What do they mean to you?

Practically all religions have some form of ‘amulet’ or ‘talisman'’

• Akan people (Ghana) – ‘bansuri’.

• Hausa and Yoruba people (Nigeria) – ‘tira’.

• Afro Brazilians (Brazil) – ‘patua’.

• Bakongo people (Congo) – ‘minkisi’

• African Americans (United States) – ‘mojo’.

• Iran tradition– ‘doaa nameh’.

• Catholics – ‘scapulars’.

• Jews – ‘mezuzahs’

What is an AMULET or TALISMAN?

• Amulets and talismans in West African countries are used for healing, protection and problem solving. 

• They often include writing, and the sacred verses are worn in small leather pouches that are placed around the neck, upper arm or waist. 

• Specific colors are used to represent the mystical powers.

•   Abstract designs and special arrangements of numbers are also used, creating mystical maps to the divine

• Historically, African talismans are made from leather or cloth casings filled with sacred writings and other tokens of power. You might want to use writings or ‘wishes’ in your talisman.

Design your own amulet/charm to decorate your final piece.

• Think about:- Do you want your charm to represent something?

How will you show this?– What shape will you use for the wire structure?– What materials will you use to decorate your

charm? What do they represent?– Will you include writing?– What colours will you use?

Task: This lesson everyone must have a go at experimenting with wire and making at least one kind of charm to hang from their final piece.