Navajo Blankets

In art class, the Kindergarteners have been studying the Navajo people and their blankets. Navajo textiles are highly regarded and have been sought after as trade items for over 150 years. Navajo textiles were originally utilitarian blankets for use as cloaks, dresses, saddle blankets, and similar purposes. Toward the end of the 19th century, weavers began to make rugs for tourism and export.

In this lesson, the students also have been studying symmetry. They learned that a work of art is symmetrical when one side is a mirror image of the other. Throughout the project we discussed the element of art line and how artists use different types of line in their art. The kindergarten artists used zig zag, curvy, broken, thin, thick, and dotted lines in their blankets. They also showed an A B pattern in their artwork by tying string to the edge. The blankets were made using glue and pastels.