Masterpiece: Indian War Canoe



Art Masterpiece: Indian War Canoe, by Emily Carr

Grade: 2nd Grade

Month: November

Masterpiece/Lesson: Totem Poles

Artist: Emily Carr

Concept: Designing Wild Animal Motifs

Emily Carr

(1871 – 1945)

In 1871 Emily Carr was born in Victoria, British Columbia which is in Canada. Emily had four sisters. She was a very independent and rebellious child who had a natural talent for drawing. Emily began to take drawing lessons when she was 8 years old. Emily loved nature and animals ever since she was a little girl. Emily’s parents died when she was 17 years old so she decided to go study art in San Francisco. After living in San Francisco Emily moved back to Canada and took a trip to the west coast of Vancouver Island to the reserve called Nootka.

Carr met many native friends at Nootka and she received the nickname “Klee Wyck” which means “Laughing One”. She loved to paint pictures of all the beautiful nature she saw while in Nootka. Emily was never married or had any children. She moved to London, England for awhile and studied at the Westminster School of Art. Emily got sick and had to move back to Victoria, British Columbia. She got a part-time job as a political cartoonist and then taught art at the Vancouver Studio Club. In 1907, Emily went to Alaska with her sister, Alice, and fell in love with the totem poles and First Nations Villages that were there.

Emily studied under the artist Henry Phelan Gibb who encourages her to use bright colors and simple forms in her art. In 1912 Carr visited more than 15 native villages sketching and painting as she traveled. Emily’s paintings did not sell because some people thought they were too brilliant and vivid to be true pictures of the coastal villages.

Carr could not make enough money to support her art career. Finally, in 1927, Emily was invited to show her art at the Exhibition of Canadian West Coast Art—Native and Modern in Ottawa.

By 1930, Emily’s artwork was loved by many in Canada and in the United States. She was well-known for simplifying details and altering the shapes of nature. In 1933, Emily bought a trailer to live in and spent her summers with her animals—her monkey, rat and four dogs.

In 1939 Emily had a heart attack and could no longer sketch. She became a writer and eventually published nine books. Emily died on March 2, 1945. She loved to paint and draw the beautiful Canadian landscapes along with its wonderful art and culture.

Objectives:

• To make a colorful totem pole from brown paper and decorate it with wild animals in the style of West Coast Native American Artists.

Vocabulary: West Coast Native Americans, totem poles, dugout canoes, color, shape, decoration.

Materials:

9” x 12” brown construction paper

Construction paper crayons (or oil pastels)

Scissors

Rubber cement

Paper towel tubes

** Please Note **

You can fit two totem poles on one sheet of brown paper by folding it in half lengthwise (hot-dog style). You can fit two totem pole “wings” on one sheet of brown paper by folding it half cross-wise (hamburger-style).

** Troubleshooting Thoughts **

If you are using hot glue to attach the totem pole pieces, it should be done by the parent helpers only. You may wish to pre-cut paper and tubes before you come to class, to save time.

Process:

1. View and discuss Emily Carr’s “Indian War Canoe”. Notice the village onshore behind the canoe, with totem poles, lodges, and children on the beach. Also point out the bright colors used.

2. Show examples of West Coast Native art, such as totem poles. Talk about the importance of animals such as the eagle, bear, beaver, wolf, salmon, whale, and raven to the Native Americans on the West Coast.

3. All students will make totem poles.

4. Give each student two pre-cut pieces of brown paper for a totem pole.

5. Ask them to imagine some wild animals to decorate their totem pole with.

6. Using the construction paper crayons, they can draw the animals’ faces on, adding features such as eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, etc. Keep the designs simple and bold.

7. They may also add paws, claws, fins, wings, etc. They can use the small piece of paper as wings for an eagle or raven. (Not all the totem poles need to have wing-pieces).

8. For a totem pole, you will need to wrap the finished artwork around a paper towel tube and glue or staple it at the top and the bottom. Add an optional wing piece with either white glue or hot glue, if desired.

9. When all have dried, you can assemble your “village” on a large piece of butcher paper, adding paper trees, water, rocks, sky, etc.

11. Congratulate yourselves on a great group project!

2nd GRADE- November

Artist: Emily Carr

Masterpiece: Indian War Canoe

Lesson: Brown Paper/Crayon, Totem Pole, Group Mural

Project Samples:

ART MASTERPIECE Summary

EMILY CARR (1871-1945)

“Art Masterpiece” was presented in your child’s classroom. This month we introduced the students to the Canadian artist, Emily Carr (1871-1945), who typically used bold, vivid colors in her art and often included scenes of West Coast Native art and life. We shared her masterpiece titled, Indian War Canoe, which depicts a native Indian canoe with animals decorated along the side. Your child used their creativity and imagination to produce their own art masterpiece in the spirit of Carr. We enjoyed sharing with your children. Please take the time to ask them to share what they learned and created!

ART MASTERPIECE Summary

EMILY CARR (1871-1945)

“Art Masterpiece” was presented in your child’s classroom. This month we introduced the students to the Canadian artist, Emily Carr (1871-1945), who typically used bold, vivid colors in her art and often included scenes of West Coast Native art and life. We shared her masterpiece titled, Indian War Canoe, which depicts a native Indian canoe with animals decorated along the side. Your child used their creativity and imagination to produce their own art masterpiece in the spirit of Carr. We enjoyed sharing with your children. Please take the time to ask them to share what they learned and created!

Emily Carr Helpful Hints:

Remember frowning faces for totem pole wings. That concept helped the children understand which way to turn the wings.

As the children completed their artwork, we had two staple stations all

set up, they would line up at a station and we did the stapling of the totem pole pieces.

I would suggest cutting the brown construction paper for poles and wings before you go in the classroom to teach. If you do that it will be much easier for the children to focus on the art.

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