Mexican amate

What do you need?

• brown paper bag
• tempera paint in fluorescent colors and white
• brushes
• jar with water
• black marker
• colored paper for background
• glue 

 

Instruction
Amate is a way of making paper, done for centuries by Mexican Indians. Amate paper is made by cooking the inner bark of various trees. At the beginning of the 20th century the Nahua Indians of Mexico started making amate paintings as a form of folk art, especially in order to exchange and sell them to tourists.

Show pictures of Mexican amate paintings. Discuss the features: birds, flowers, bright colors, black outlines and a frame with a pattern in bright colors.

What should you do?

1. Tear the edges off the paper: use thumb and fingers of both hands and tear slowly. 
2. Draw some birds and flowers with pencil and draw a patterned frame.
3. Paint the drawing with fluorescent tempera. 
4. Let dry and outline everything with a black marker. 
5. Paste the artwork on colored construction paper.

Artworks made by students of grade 5-8.