Do walls talk? If they did, what would they tell us? Who built them? Why? Can you imagine a world without walls? Talking walls, based on the book of the same name by Margy Burns Knight , is a project that introduces children to cave art and a variety of cultures through looking important walls from around the world.
Sixth grade students looked at cave art through a variety of books and videos and discussed the 4 main theories of why people think they exist. They experimented with making drawing materials and paints, and created their own walls by covering ceiling board with plaster. They looked to their own lives to find meaning, and painted something that was very important to them on their walls. Some students choose to paint their pets, others a great family vacation. Some children focused on their love of sports and others painted themselves reading their favorite books.
We looked at compositions of cave artists and talked about elements of art that these ancient artists used. They carefully designed the compositions of their own walls, taking care to use principles of art to draw your eye to the art and make you linger over it by using emphasis, contrast, movement or color. Students then put a varnish over their art so that the work wouldn't crack and fall off the plaster, as did much of the ancient work in the Lascoux caves.
The students finished with assessments such as: How did the plaster effect the way you drew?
What kind of brushes work well for what type of painting? How did your wall compositions differ from those of other artists?
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