Use this bowl to hold the Mazao (or fresh fruits and vegetables) which will be placed on the Mkeka (mat) of your home Kwanzaa table
Pottery has documented the lives and cultures of people all over the world
for thousands of years. While clay bowls and other vessels served a practical
purpose, the craftsmen who made them recorded events
and expressed ideas by
decorating the surfaces with designs, symbols and drawings called pictographs.
Archaeologists can learn a great deal about ancient peoples by studying their pottery and these designs.
You may not have clay or a kiln in which to bake finished pieces, but we
can make something that looks like pottery using the papier mache technique, a
craft in which layers of paper are pasted together to make a form. In this
activity, we'll create a bowl and invent our own pictographs to use as surface
decoration. By recycling newspapers and bags as art materials, we can help save
natural resources and landfill space.
You Will Need:
Wallpaper paste
Black or brown acrylic paint
Wax paper
Plastic wrap
Masking tape
Newspapers
Lightweight, brown paper bag
Small glass or ceramic bowl
Plastic container for paste
Paint brushes and pan
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How to:
Protect the table with newspapers, and work on a sheet of wax paper. Cover
the outside and rim of the bowl with plastic wrap. Smooth it, pull the wrap
tight, and tape it to the inside of the bowl. Place the bowl upside down on the
wax paper. Mix the wallpaper paste according to the manufacturer's
directions.
The brown bag is the first layer of paper applied to the bowl. To help
soften the bag, tightly roll the paper into a ball. Smooth it out, and tear it
into small squares or rectangles. Dip a paper strip into the mixture, and remove
the extra paste by running the strip between your fingers and thumb.
Starting at the bottom or rim, lay the strip onto the bowl and smooth it.
Repeat with another strip, being careful to slightly overlap the first one.
Continue pasting the paper in this way all around the rim of the bowl. When
you've finished, cover the rest of the bowl with strips of brown paper.
Now apply a layer of black and white newsprint starting at the rim, as
before. Next paste a layer of the colored comics to the bowl. Continue
alternating between the newsprint and the comics until you've pasted at least
four layers of each to the form. Using the two kinds of newspaper will help you
keep track of the number of layers you've added.
Finish the papier mache by applying another layer of brown paper. Allow
the bowl to dry for at least twelve hours. Remove the bowl from the papier mache
form, and finish the rim by pasting brown paper all around the edge. When the
bowl is completely dry, you're ready to paint it.
You can invent your own pictographs to use in decorating your bowl. Make
symbols or designs to represent important ideas or to record events in your
life. Use pictographs to express who you are, where you live, and what you like
to do. After you've created a few symbols, draw them on the outside and/or
inside of the bowl. Use acrylic paint to fill in the outline. When you've
finished painting, set the bowl aside to dry.
Tips and Tricks:
When working with papier mache, it's better to tear the strips of paper,
because torn strips lay better than cut ones. Also, the fibers in newspaper run
in one direction, so tear the paper along the "grain" to obtain long strips. If
you'd like to make a heavier bowl, just add five to ten more layers of papier
mache to the form. While the bowl is strictly decorative, you can help protect
it with a coat of acrylic varnish.
Can you imagine painting without a brush? People living in ancient times
had to make their own brushes and tools to apply paint. Challenge yourself to
decorate your bowl without using modern art tools. Try creating your own
brushes, or sharpen a twig, dip it into paint, and make marks on the surface of
your bowl.
The aborigines of Australia have been painting beautiful dot designs with
sticks for thousands of years! You can try your hand at stick painting by using
short lengths of dowel rods, cotton swabs, or similar materials. Dip the stick
into paint, and apply it to the bowl. Repeat until this area is covered with a
design.
