Lots of Dots: Aboriginal Inspired Dot Paintings

Did you know that there are more kangaroos than there are people in Australia? It was fun to study Australian history and culture with my students before making Aboriginal-inspired dot paintings. These paintings use symbols to represent things such as bodies of water or gatherings of people. Often they include handprints or or animal shapes. 

Dark paper made for a nice value contrast with bright or light colors, which is helpful for my students with low vision, and the acrylic dots made from the backs of pencils dipped in paint became tactile bumps once the paint dried. This project can be done in a period or two of art class, which meant there was plenty of time for discussion of symbolism in art, and how important it is to appreciate cultures other than our own.

 

Aboriginal Dot painting for kids.

 While my older art students were studying Yayoi Kusama, Princess of Polka Dots, younger students were learning how dots and pattern have been used in traditional cultures in Australia. I gave a simple lesson that touches on the wildlife, geography, and art of Australia, then we discussed the symbols used in the art, including arrows, circles, hands, wavy river lines. Animal motifs are also very important. Some students chose to do turtles or snakes, others traced their hands, and others used more abstracted symbols. They dipped the backs of pencils or paint brushes into latex paint, which makes tactile dots when it dries. That, along with high value contrast is the perfect combination for my low vision students.  You can see from the picture, that some students, with no vision used Wiki Stix to use as guides as they painted their pieces.