Tell Me A Story.

So begins the telling. Narrative, or storytelling, is one of the most expressive forms of art. The process of telling, drawing from the past, is a part of every culture. Stories are our way of remaining connected with our past, our beliefs, our values, our communities, and with each other. Cooperation, respect, and the nature of all beings are among the lessons we learn from stories.

Objectives

* To enable students to gain a more in-depth understanding of the meaning and nature of narrative art.

* For students to create a unique painting based on a personal childhood memory of an event, occasion, experience, or family tradition.

Motivation for Work

The art of Faith Ringgold, particularly her story quilts, was the subject of research and study for my eleventh grade class. I showed the video entitled Faith Ringgold: The Last Story Quilt to students to begin our discussion of narrative art.

Our discussion led us to lively descriptions about special memories that would lend themselves to illustration. We emphasized the following elements of design: composition, color, and shape. We also highlighted the design principles of balance, harmony, and unity. Students kept these concepts in mind as they worked on their paintings.

Supplies

pieces of unprimed, unstretched canvas cut into 22 x 22" (56 x 56 cm) squares gesso and white glue assorted fabrics acrylic paint black permanent marker 

Studio Inquiry

I asked students to write a short story about a childhood experience and to work out a composition in their research workbooks that was based on their story. Next, they transferred their drawings to a piece of unstretched canvas that they had previously primed with one coat of gesso. They ruled off a 3" (8 cm) border around the edge of the canvas. Then they painted with acrylic paint thinned slightly with water. After the painting was complete, they transferred their written story onto the painting with black permanent markers.

I asked students to think about their border. They were to choose fabric that would complement theirwork in terms of adding an overall pleasing aesthetic quality to the total piece. Finally, they glued three-inch square pieces of fabric to create the "frame" for the work.

Conclusion

For purposes of display, we hung the individually painted squares together so that they formed one large work, with each square telling a different story. Students seemed very connected to their childhood memories during this project and were very energetic and engaging when sharing their stores with the class. The stories were funny, heartwarming, interesting, and wonderful. I learn so much from my students and this experience was especially rich and rewarding for me as |a teacher.

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students create artworks that use organizational principles and functions to solve specific visual art problems.

References

Faith Ringgold: The Last Story Quilt created and produced by Linda Freemen. Home Vision Video, 1991.

Louisa Brown is an upper school art teacher at the Atlanta International School in Atlanta, Georgia.