Totem Poles

This week we’ll be working on a totem pole animal that represents ourselves.
Totem Poles tell the story of the person who made them.
Every animal carved into a pole and the colour chosen have a different and very important meaning.
Tuesday
Let’s start by reading through a two page article on Totem Poles.
Afterwards, answer questions on the article TOTEM POLES.

While thinking about what animal has similar characteristics as you, read about 6 different animals that were commonly used in Totems Pole HERE (Totem Pole Symbols pdf).
What animal are you like? Are you powerful like a bear? A builder like a beaver? A leader like an eagle? A trickster like a wolf?
Or, if you don’t connect with one of these 6 animals, which animal are you like? Are you jumpy and like swimming like a frog? Are you shy like a turtle? Are you loyal and like playing like a dog? Are you independent and watchful like a cat? Are you gentle, kind and caring like a deer? Are you intelligent and a risk taker like an eagle?

Thursday
There are 5 pages of examples of different animals to look through for design ideas before starting.
Using an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, draw a large head of your animal (some animals may need the whole body). It is important to fill as much of the page as possible.
Totem pole art uses lines around lines and shapes inside any empty space (but not too many!).
When finished drawing, there should be large spaces, of different shape and size, to be filled in with colour.
~ to be continued next week ~