This post is a continuation of my post on multicultural crafts supplies that would make thoughtful gifts. While the first post focused on helping children represent the full spectrum of human skin tones when they draw people, this post looks more closely at folk arts and crafts from a range of cultures.
Combine this textile paper with the human paper shapes kit to give kids the opportunity to really express themselves as they create beautiful clothing for the paper figures. These papers reproduce a rich variety of African traditional fabrics, and each 32-sheet package comes with a project idea guide.
This 128-sheet pack expands on the African textile paper described above. These paper reproductions of beautiful textiles are based on Asian, African, Native American, and Hispanic cultural motifs from around the world. The package comes with a project idea guide.
This giant package of 248 sheets of paper reproduce patterns from animals, plants, and sea life. It includes as well sheets of skin tone, skin tone, African textile, Native American, Hispanic, autumn, spring, holiday, and Valentine paper. A real deal–and one with endless possibilities.
Southwestern Sand Painting Craft Kit
Cultures from around the world—including Southwestern Native Americans, Tibetans, and indigenous Australians—practice different forms of sand painting. This kit provides kids with templates for images inspired by sand paintings in the southwestern United States. Kids can follow these templates s or use the colored sand to create their own designs. The kit includes designs printed on 50 sheets of heavy tag stock, colored sand, and glue. Once kids learn the techniques from the kit, they can collect sand from their region and create art that represents a local palette and texture.
Ancient Culture Design Posters Craft Kit
As with the sand painting templates, this craft kit offers children the opportunity to consider designs and patterns from ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, Africa, Mexico, and China. The kit comes with designs printed on 25 sheets of heavy index stock, these large (11″ x 14″) posters are educational, versatile, and fun. The package includes 5 each of 5 different designs, non-toxic fine-line markers, and instructions.
Thes cut paper banners (papel picado) have been a Mexican tradition since Aztec times. Children can make their own festive banners by coloring these traditional designs with a variety of artistic media—markers, paints, or watercolors. The kit includes six 1-oz. Color Splash! Liquid Watercolors; 12 eye droppers; and 72 precut, 11-1/2″ x 14″ tissue sheets in 3 designs.
Mexican Bark Painting Group Pack
In Mexico, the Otomí people use bark cutouts in religious ceremonies designed to bring forth good health or a bumper crop of corn. The Nahua people of southern Mexico also use this paper as a canvas for intricate paintings of flora, fauna, and village life. This kit doesn’t actually use authentic Amate paper made from bark—that material is incredibly labor-intensive to craft and it’s too delicate for young children to work with. Instead, in this kit easy-to-manipulate brown kraft paper mimics the original canvas. This package of 24 10″ x 12″ sheets includes several printed designs, cardboard frames, non-toxic acylic paint, brushes, tape, and instructions. Includes assorted printed designs, card board frames, non-toxic acrylic paint, brushes, tape, and instructions.
3-D Temari Balls Craft Kit (Makes 24)
Temari is an ancient Japanese art of creating decorative balls wound with thread. This kit contains the blank balls, non-toxic acrylic paint, floss, and glitter pins—enough to great 24 1″ balls. The kit comes with instructions on this traditional craft.
African Crafts: Fun Things to Make and Do from West Africa
This book, targeted at third through sixth graders, is a combination travel memoir and craft manual. The author includes beautiful color photos, many of which were taken by the author during a visit to Ghana. The book provides a brief history of West Africa and particularly Ghana, then goes on to teach children about Adinkra cloth painting, shows how they can make their own patterns using a potato stamp, and provides instructions on how to wear the cloth and on what occasions. Additional projects include mask-making, building musical instruments, weaving kente strips, and making coil pots.Other projects include pot coiling, making masks, and weaving kente strips. The book includes additional material on crafts, stories, and myths as well as references to Web sites and museums.
World Art: Multicultural Art Projects from around the Globe
This book contains crafts inspired by cultures from around the world, including those in Egypt, Australia, India, Japan, Ancient Greece, Native America, and Mexico. It instructs readers on how to make a dozen projects from simple materials like clay, markers, paint, and scratch boards.
[...] of artistic media for portraying people in all their diversity, let’s take a look at some multicultural crafts that focus more on folk arts from different [...]