Cross-Culture Curriculum Connections

Matching Australian-American curriculum and community resources, students explore connections among Science,

Culture, and Environmental Education through Art.

WONDROUS WATERSHEDSArt project to study the artworks of 18th C. European explorers to Botany Bay and San Francisco Bay, making connections among Art, Science, and Environment.

CULTURE CLOAKSGraphic Design project to study the wisdom and beauty of Aboriginal patterns of possum skin cloak as a model for a contemporary Environmental cloak design.

[re]VISIONING LANDSCAPEStudy of Australian and American artists and exhibitions as a model for a school

exhibition exploring and challenging how we see and use/abuse Nature.

Wondrous Watersheds

Students at Palo Alto High School studied the wetlands habitats of San Francisco and Australia to explore the

similarities of wetlands communities around the world. They studied artworks of early European Naturalists who recorded

the flora & fauna of these similar regions. They practiced drawing skills as Naturalists and researched ideas for a school exhibition of wetlands and for submission to the

international contest River of Words that celebrates the Art & Literature of worldwide wetlands.

www.riverofwords.org

Artist Scientists Botany Bay – San Francisco Bay

Students studied artworks of early European Naturalists to the Bay Area from copies of Bay Nature magazine and copies of Cook’s Voyage to Botany Bay from the National Library of Australia. They studied about Joseph Banks’ and Adelbert von Chamisso’s work as artist-scientists in early explorations.

Nature Drawing:

Observing the Details

Outdoor education starts outside the classroom door. Being aware of how Nature surrounds us everywhere we go is a key concept of observing the world as Naturalist.

Watershed Landscapes

Students used references to study wetlands habitat.

Outdoor

Education

Students explore the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont, CA. to study local wildlife up close in their own

neighborhood that includes salt ponds, mudflats, and marshlands.

Studying

Habitats

Students learn about the habitats of animals and birds of the Bay Area.

Getting to Know Our Natural Neighbors

Students sketched a variety of birds that frequent the Bay Area including; cormorants, puffins and murres spend most of their lives at sea, coming to land to nest off the coast of San Francisco.

Students visited Australian websites including Kakadu webcam, and the Wonga Wetlands in NSW, to notice similarities of wetlands around the world to understand the importance of preserving

wetlands habitat throughout the world.

Internet Connections:

Visiting Virtual Wetlands

Visual Research

Students use textbooks, Internet research and Nature magazines for photo references of their Nature subject for the River of Words contest.

Visual Research in Science Texts

Students used the textbook The Nature Company Guide: The Walker’s Companion to research animals and habitats of North America.

Students sketched favorite animals to draw for the River of Words contest.

Drawing From Nature

The Art textbook included a section on Naturalist painting, while a field guide to birds included a history of artists’ contributions on European voyages of discovery around the world including; John James Audubon’s Birds of America and John Gould’s Birds of Australia.

Media Connections

After visiting the National Wildlife Refuge, Peter is intrigued by the puffins of the Farallon Islands for his Naturalist subject. He uses an issue of Audobon magazine to paint the details of the puffin and its habitat.

Studying the Details

Sophie uses an issue of Audobon magazine as a reference to draw the realistic details of the variety of corals from the reef that surrounds her Naturalist subject.

Local Inhabitants of Our Watershed

Patrick sketches a collared lizard found along Coyote Creek in the Bay Area watershed.

The Biozones Rule

Eddie researches details for a desert lizard and its habitat. California has eight of the nine Earth biozones, including marine, mountain, desert, and rainforest.

On the Subject of Birds

Megan studies the details of the Eastern Bluebird and includes its primary food source of berries from the tallgrass prairie.

Alexa carefully selects a variety of red colored pencils to sketch in the details of a brightly colored species of cardinal: Pyrrhuloxia.

Fishing for a Subject

Stephen knew right away that he wanted a brightly colored fish from a coral reef for his Naturalist subject. Oil pastels with their rich color saturation were a great choice

to capture the rich colors of fish on a coral reef.

Favorite Flora & FaunaNicole made her preliminary frog sketches were from the science textbook. For her final painting, she selected the cover of an issue of Bay Nature as her photographic resource to show frogs in their watershed habitat.

Library Exhibition

Watershed paintings and drawings were displayed in the school library along with an introduction about the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, Kakadu National Park, and The Wonga Wetlands to inform the school community about the importance of preserving

wetlands habitats worldwide.

The Common Puffin

Peter T.

Lustrous wingsbeat their constant rhythm

into the sky and then you spiraldownwards, beak first,

into the icy iridescent water.Curving through the cool chasm

of deep blue you are a blurof black and white.

As you rise from the PacificYou shake your plumb body

in exultant triumph.You stand above the water

on solid mound of hoary rockand spy a shimmer of gray

amidst the oceanthen you labor

into the air once again.

Who Am I?Nicole V.

Out of my milky eyes I seeThe things that no one appreciates,

The things that mean the most to meAre being destroyed by others who do not

understandThe value of tall green stalks on which I slip and

slideWhen predators come in which I hide,The swamps at which I spend my day

To others just seem in the way.Who am I?

I am the creature that jumps around The one that seems always happy.

But how can I be happy when my home is gone?I might be slimy with some scales.

From leaf to leaf I travel.I lay my eggs in groups of ten

In the river bend.From tad poles to frogs we struggle

To live in this, our environment.Who am I?

I am the frog Out of my milky eyes I see

The things that no one appreciatesI am the frog.

Watchers of the Bay

Watchers of the Bay,they guard it from intrusionhappy to see allyet no one passes by.The delicate petalsare cheery with the lightthey watch over the waters,still calm with morning air.Do not be fooledby the lighthearted breezinessthe golden poppies’ aurais nothing but a mask.When they become disturbed,the poppies have no mercythe winds they will unleashto chase the offense out.Windswept cliffs thus tower upbarren, saddened rocksthey, too, are washed with light,but they do not reflect it.Gleaming waves graze lonely beaches,sprinkled among the cliffsno soul has walked these sandsthe poppies hide them well.Now and then a lone bird comesaside from that they’re alone the poppies keep invaders out,The Bay belongs to them.

Hadas J.

Why We Need to Preserve Trees

The chipmunk is sitting on the roots of a tree eating berries. In the background there is an owl looking for its prey. My drawing represents a chain in life; the chipmunk eats the berry, the owl eats the chipmunk, and some times even the owl will become the prey.

The habitat is a forest where there are trees. As time goes by people just keep cutting down more trees to make paper and pencils and other materials, which is why we should not waste paper and recycle things we use. If we don’t there soon will be no forest left, and slowly the animals will start to disappear.

Lorena D.

In the Coral

Steven G.

I chose to draw a colorful fish because it’s one of the many animals that live in Coral Reefs, which are the oldest and richest natural communities on earth. They hold millions of years of our planets evolution. Present day reef animals are found as fossils dating back to an age of dinosaurs about 100 million years ago. The Coral Reef is home to many different varieties of animal, like the fish I’ve drawn. They are essential to underwater life and should be protected and cared for.

I chose to draw this fish because of the habitat it lives in. Hundreds of creatures living under one roof is interesting and unique. Coral Reefs are full of life and evolution which is interesting to me.

Pyrrhuloxia Poem

Alexa H.

Pinkish-red feathers,Curved parrot-like billThe Pyrrhuloxia enjoys sunny weather,And has great singing skills.

She sports a bright Mohawk,With a delicate gray physique.Prefers flying in flocks,And has a bright yellow beak.

She is the most beautiful bird,With her unique singing voice,If you haven’t already heard.

CULTURE CLOAKS

Patterns of Culture

Cultural Identity

and Environmental Practices

Illustrated in

Design Symbols

Environmental Culture Cloaks

Indigenous peoples share a rich appreciation and respect for the environment in their cultural traditions and practices. Students

studied the use of graphic design symbols by indigenous clans in Australia and California, to record land features, environmental

values, and personal identity.

Using the tradition of symbolic designs on clothing and animal skin cloaks as a model, students designed environmental symbols to represent important cultural values for a sustainable future. They transferred their designs onto two contemporary cloaks made of Australian possum and rabbit skins as a symbol of the practices that indigenous peoples teach: to live in balance and respect of

environmental resources.

Like a cloak, we must wrap these practices around us for a sustainable future for the world.

Field Study: Asian Pacific Arts

A field trip to the Papua New

Guinea Sculpture Garden at Stanford

University provides a model of Asian Pacific Arts. Organic and natural

design patterns include wood

carvings, totems, painted logs, and

carved stone.

http://www.stanford.edu/~mjpeters/png/

Painted Poles

Painted poles are similar to Australian artworks at the entrance to the National

Gallery in Canberra.

Making Aboriginal Art Connections

Students examined Aboriginal examples of painted logs with design patterns that represent cultural ideas.

Comparing Continents

Art Reflects Landscapes

Using land maps of Australia and the US, students studied the many varieties of land forms that shape culture. They noted that the colors and features of desert, rainforest or mountain can affect the ways that artists represent and paint the landscape. The variety of habitats and ecosystems have different types of animals and plants that artists use in their artworks.

Artists and Landscapes

Students examine Aboriginal artworks from Maruku Arts Center at Uluru to see how land features influence the work of artists. Carved items from the Anangu

include flower patterns and designs burned into the wood of a traditional carrying bowl. Other forms are design patterns of lizard and snake sculptures.

Classroom Museum

Art resources purchased in travels around

Australia arranged for a classroom museum

include paintings and artifacts with maps of

Australia on each table.

Students could inspect and touch each of the artworks to see if they could guess the landscape it came from: desert, mountain, or rainforest.

Possum Dreaming

A key table gallery was a collection of possum skins and a stuffed possum. For a graphic design project students would design environmental symbols for Aboriginal style possum & Ohlone style rabbit skin cloaks to honor wise

environmental practices of native peoples.

Ownership of SymbolsSymbols represent objects or ideas and are recognizable to the group of people familiar with those objects or ideas. Contemporary symbols, like famous trademarks, are owned by the corporations that design them. Aboriginal artists own the symbols for their artworks in the same way. It’s important to distinguish ownership of artistic design to respect indigenous cultures and provide a clear structure for using original designs for study, rather than to copy into their artworks.

Cloaks

As

Maps

Fabri Blacklock from The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney sent a packet of resources on traditional possum skin cloaks. Students examine cloak diagrams with

patterns in a numbered key translating the meaning of the symbols.

Designing Environmental Symbols

Students had to list 10 sustainable environmental habits that they researched in magazine and textbook information. They listed their favorite tips and drew symbols in Aboriginal style to represent their

favorite sustainable lifestyle ideas and practices.

Models for Making Environmental Symbols

They studied designs on Aboriginal artifacts to get ideas for organic symbols. Square worksheets were for the Ohlone style rabbit skin cloak, and the triangular ones were for the Aboriginal possum cloak sections.

The diagram of a NSW Aboriginal cloak pattern with a key identifying meanings of the symbols proved to be invaluable tools for understanding how symbols are designed into patterns to tell a story, record land features, and communicate cultural values and ideas.

Selecting Symbols

They selected the best designs for a variety of daily practices that illustrated saving energy, reducing carbon emissions, recycling, and

conserving resources for each cloak.

Design Transfer

Students spent several class periods transferring the environmental designs onto the possum skins in pencil and brown Prismacolor

markers to create the effect of the darker lines from shells used to etch symbols on traditional Aboriginal possum skin quilts.

Fitting it All Together

We laid out the possum skins in rows and decided to include a map of the Bay Area from the watershed curriculum guide. All three rows include part

of the san Francisco Bay, with the pattern weaving across the cloak.

Mapping Environmental Influences

They drew the shape of the continent of Australia around the contours of California on the rabbit skin cloak to show the influences of Fulbright-Australia in designing our

environmental cloak. They made a key to the design symbols for both cloaks.

We designed two cloaks: one using possum skins in Aboriginal style, and the second using rabbit skins to honor Native American tribes of our region.

NSW Aboriginal possum skin cloaks [left] compared with Ohlone rabbit skin cloak [right].

Key Information

Using a traditional Aboriginal possum skin cloak design diagram and key from the Powerhouse Museum as a model to make a diagram and key for our environmental

cloak, the key helps viewers understand the symbols for a Green lifestyle.

Assembling the Possum Skin Cloak

The rabbit skins came in two plates – eight pelts sewn together, but the possum skins were individual pelts. Each set of pelts was cut and trimmed to match at the seams for sewing. We used fifteen possum pelts for the possum cloak.

Using a leather needle I sewed the fifteen possum skins into a single cloak, then attached all the tails along the top and bottom edges, like traditional Aboriginal artists did on their cloaks.

Environmental

Culture

Cloaks

The group of girls who coordinated the cloak designs hold up the completed possum and rabbit skin cloaks. They also wrote thank-you letters to Fabri Blacklock of the Powerhouse Museum who

sent us the wonderful resources on Aboriginal design symbols from NSW possum skin cloaks.

The finished possum skin cloak with edges decorated with possum tails in the style of traditional NSW cloaks.

In the style of Aboriginal cloaks, we included our environmental and cultural identity in the image of the San Francisco Bay and Delta. The image of the bay runs from the top right and down to the center of the bottom section of the finished cloak.

Possum skin cloak design symbols are read from top left to right across each row, and then down:

Reduce water use with showers Plant a tree for preservation Preserve water & land through parks Pollution in cities affects wildlife Conserve water when not in use Increase solar power plants Carpool to reduce carbon emissions Recycle to preserve resources Recycle paper to preserve trees Connections in Australia Clean air should be our standard Buy hybrid cars to reduce oil use

Environmental Identity

The Tales of Two [Environmental] CloaksThe possum skin cloak honors the balanced environmental lifestyle of Aboriginal peoples, while the rabbit skin cloak honors the balance of Native California Ohlone clans.

The symbols read from top left across each row and down:

Plant tress and use recycled paper Walking paths reduce car use Carpooling reduces traffic and smog California framed by Australia Recycling saves money & resources Solar panels reduce energy costs A tree map of our school campus Conserve water resources Hang clothes to dry-reduce energy use Water resources map of America Fluorescent bulbs reduce energy use Recycle batteries for the environment Don’t allow any air pollution

In two corners of the cloak are the countries of Australia and America, working together to educate citizens about wise environmental practices. The state of California frames our identity of sustainable practices.

Understanding Symbolic Language

Students studied examples of Aboriginal symbols that represent objects like people at a campfire, or land features such as water sources. Because this was a graphic design unit, students could use their symbols to convey environmental ideas and practices on either paper as a map, or on the possum and rabbit skins as a cloak.

Environmental Map Group

The map group shares design ideas and painting techniques for their environmental maps as they near completion of their project.

Mapping Out Environmental Practices

Eddie and Chholay hold up their planning diagram and environmental map.

Map Symbol Illustrations

The left side illustrates unsustainable environmental practices. The Volcano of Destruction spews pollution and waste. The City of Power rests on a dirty environment with many carbon emissions from cars crossing the Road of Destruction. The Sun of Hallucination above the city represents the obsession of Consumerism.

The Bridge of Sadness and Joy crosses over the river which is half polluted by the city on the left and half clean from the responsible lifestyles on the right side.

The right side illustrates sustainable environmental practices as the road gets smaller for electric cars and mass transportation. The City of Balance allows for parks and green spaces. The clouds and white mountains in the background represent clean air and land.

The border around the map is decorated in Aboriginal dot pattern style.

Burning Ideas - Environmental Practices

The wood burning artists sit around the box of artifacts from the Maruku Art Center in Uluru that inspired their work. Hadas, Tulsi, Kaitlin, and Megan share their environmental designs to invite us to step outside the “consumerism box” to reuse, recycle and reduce energy use.

Students committed to use sustainable practices they learned about at school in their homes & communities for a healthier planet. Like a cloak, we must wrap these practices around us for a sustainable future for the world.

Wrapping Ourselves in Wise Environmental Practices

Photography students researched the wetlands of the San Francisco Bay Area National Wildlife Refuge, Wonga Wetlands, and Kakadu National Park to explore cultural definitions of Landscape. Using exhibitions at Xavier High School in NSW, and the the Len Brookman VCE Art Awards catalog from the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery as models, they designed an exhibition of Landscape photography titled, [re]Defining Landscape.

Visions of Landscape

[re]Defining Landscape

Creating an Inspiring Environment

A display of visual resources show different perspectives of Landscape Photography from US and Australian sources to engage student interest.

Len Brockman VCE Arts Awards Catalog from the Ballarat Fine Arts Gallery

Bay Nature magazine [April 2001] Bay Area landscape photography by Bob Walker.

Capturing Light: Masterpieces of CA Photography 1851- to present published by the Oakland Museum of California

Picturing California - images of wilderness and urban landscapes from Chronicle Books.

Steve Parrish’s How to Photograph Australia

Kakadu National Park Visitor Guide

CSIRO Heartlands brochure

Traditional Perspectives

Students used brochures from the Ian Potter Center exhibition of The Altered Land to study traditional Western perspectives of Landscape. The brochure illustrates 200

years of Landscape images in paintings and photographs. Paintings are compared to contemporary photographs of the same locations in Australia.

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/alteredland/

A Tale of Two WetlandsStudents researched their regional wetlands at the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge. They went on a class field trip to the refuge to photograph traditional images of landscape.

They also studied similar habitats half a world away at the Wonga Wetlands in NSW and Kakadu National Park to understand the global importance of land preservation and watersheds worldwide.

Through Internet research, textbook readings, and outdoor education experiences, students had to develop a personal definition of Landscape to explore through the lens of their camera and frame in photographs for a school exhibition.

Getting Out There

Students went to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, a 15 minute drive across the bay from our school. Established in 1974 the

Refuge is considered a "wildlife island in an urban sea." Outdoor education starts with getting to know local resources as part of our community.

Salt marshes are one of the most productive habitats on Earth.

Looking Carefully

Students were directed to look carefully at both the small details and the bigger picture of the environment along the Bay wetlands.

Brianna focuses on the smaller details of landscape, using a tripod to study and frame some of the native flora along the refuge trails. Nick composes looking at the bigger picture of the vista of the San Francisco Bay across the salt marsh.

Exhibition Models from Down Under

Each year the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery sponsors a student art exhibition with a professional catalog.

Students researched student artworks from the Len Brookman VCE Art Awards Catalog to gather ideas about photographic compositions, artist statements, and gallery design for an art exhibition on Landscape Photography for our campus. They also viewed photographs of a student exhibition on Landscape designed by a Photography class at Xavier High School in NSW that wrapped around the Fine Arts building walls.

A Tale of Two ArtistsVisual Research on Lorna Simpson and Robert Owen

New York artist Lorna Simpson explains how she worked out visual ideas using images like Central Park and cars or buildings in urban landscapes. The 15-minute video is free at the Annenburg Collection website:

http://learner.org/view_programs/view.programs.html

Australian artist Robert Owen explains the visual relationship between his photo-etching of a window landscape and the sculptural pieces on the floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. The video, with clips from 8 artists, is free for teachers from the MCA Artist’s Voice series:

http://www.mca.com.au/default.asp?page_id=79

Students studied artworks of American and Australian artists to gather ideas about framing meaning in their landscape images, and learn about the possibilities and challenges of creating a gallery exhibition about Nature.

Defining the Interior Landscape

Students had to decide how to use the space of the empty Viking Gallery in the Art Building for an exhibition. They collaborated to designate areas for each artist, and had to arrange and design podiums and entryway to engage viewers.

Gallery Set-Up and Design

The class shared responsibilities for hanging artworks, designating gallery space, and designing the signage for the gallery. Based on the VCE model, they composed title cards for each piece and wrote artists

statements to post with their section of artworks.

Creating an Environmental Identity

As part of their exhibition design, students composed a portrait of themselves with their artwork.

In Invitation to LookStudents arranged leaves, scientific specimens of birds, and stuffed animals around the podiums near the entry for a combination of real and artificial Nature to challenge viewers to examine how we see and treat the natural world. Toy birds represent how we treat Nature as our toy while the specimens represent what we do to other living creatures in our pursuit of our studies of Nature.

Entry

au

Natural

We made a Nature collage and typed up an introduction to the exhibition to give viewers the background on the Fulbright project and outdoor education. The windowsill was decorated with ferns and leaves to create an inviting entryway.

We set up a table of books and references from the classroom display board to share with our audience. Allen downloaded a Powerpoint presentation onto a laptop for viewing in the gallery along with the Portraits of Landscape of students with their artworks and artist statements.

Sharing Resources

We planned a gallery Opening Night Reception for the week after set-up and sent out invitations for parents and staff to attend. The Exhibition titled

[re]Defining Landscape

was held in the Viking Gallery for a month through October-November 2006.

Opening Night

[re]Defining Landscape

Challenging Cultural Assumptions

about

Seeing Nature

Overall, this Landscape project has changed my views on the world around me. I realized that there is so much beauty around me and that I need to be more environmentally responsible to restore the beauty that our world has to offer. This project was a mind-blowing experience and I want people to realize that landscape is,…

simply wonderful!

Nick

I would like to explore how our surroundings are ever changing. What we know today as landscape will not be what future generations consider landscape. We are forever destroying and preserving certain parts of our environment. I want to capture the feeling of those different views of landscape.

Allison

I really enjoyed exploring my definition of Landscape. It was interesting to take in what I learned from other students and from professional photographers, then compare their images with my own. The most challenging thing for me was to try and work outside of my initial definition. Seeing how professional photographers work and researching their work really inspired my photography. I want viewers to look at our definitions of Landscape and then think of their own definitions, and see how it all compares and contrasts. I want viewers to be open-minded and see that Landscape can be more than trees and grass – which is what I used to think before I explored this idea of the many definitions of Landscape.

Brianna

I started this project by simply going out to take Landscape photos but ended up breaking every Landscape assumption I had believed. Most of my photos where of a single subject like a rock or leaf and not what I had considered landscape. All of my photos are from Donner Lake near Lake Tahoe. I didn’t take any pictures of the lake, but instead took pictures of the mountains around the lake. I found myself taking pictures of more specific subjects like trees, power lines, and rocks. I enjoyed being able to take pictures outside of the Bay Area because it was a new landscape for me to explore with my camera and apply some of the new ideas I learned about Landscape photography.

Jonah

Before I started shooting for this exhibit, I associated Landscape with just travel and sightseeing, not with everyday places I walk or drive past in my daily routine. I never recognized that people, buildings, or cars could be a part of landscape. I’ve always pictured landscape as natural scenes of plants or animals. I began to view the human landscape in a new light, and started contemplating the multi-faceted relationship between man and Nature. Winnie

Try to get out more to see and experience Nature. Instead of just viewing these beautiful photographs in the gallery, go outside and look at the beauty of Nature first hand. This Landscape project forced me to analyze my current artistic style, and I began to understand how other people could view Landscape in many different ways than how I might see it.

Allen

Landscape photography has never interested me. In my experience, this type of photography had always seemed somewhat impersonal and boring. However, there are times when a picture captures something larger than what’s in the frame, a moment in time when one has no choice but to step back and say “Wow, that’s beautiful.” People often forget what a stunning place the world is, and how much we take for granted everyday. There is a special uniqueness about the beauty of the land we live on, and if each of us found a new appreciation in our personal surroundings, we could all help make the world a better place. This project has helped me open my eyes and do just that.

Talia