Samoan Siapo Printmaking
Today Maria and Gina’s Year One and Two class came to art room to learn about the art of Samoan Siapo. A few weeks back it was Samoan language week and I thought we could explore a bit of Samoa culture in the art room. We learnt a few greetings in the Samoan and then we learnt to sing the song Savalivali.
To begin our art exploration we looked at work from Siapo artists such as Mary Pritchard and Kolone Fai’ivae Leoso. The students identified common design elements and patterns in their works such as Fa'a 'au'upega (Net), Tusili'i (Small Lines or Wavy Lines) and Fa'a tuli (Sand Piper). We also had a look at how the bark cloth is made as well as the ‘Elei printing process. Needless to say, the students were fascinated and highly impressed with the skills of the Siapo artists. The students explored the design elements of the Siapo by drawing repeating patterns onto brown paper with earth toned crayons.
Next students explored the printmaking process by making a run of turtle prints that were decorated with the design elements of Siapo art. The lesson aim was to use the inking well and brayer to apply an even amount of ink to their printing boards to get clear, crisp prints. I supplied the students with a range of earth tone paper and printing inks from which they could pick and choose to get interesting combinations.
The students chose their three favourite prints and arranged them into a composition with their crayon Siapo. I love the thoughtful pattern and design of the students’ final artworks.
