Introduction

Art making has been a part of life since the beginning of time. From prehistoric man throughout mankind's history, art has been around. Why? What is it that compels man to create? Think about your own life from the time you were a baby. Can you recall how you created "stuff" using toys, crayons, mud, food or what ever you happened to get your hands on? What did you create? What influenced you to create this? What impact did your society and environment have on your creation of art?  What similarities do you see in your experiences affecting your artwork to those of others? (refer to my own experiences). These are a few questions that you should be able to answer through this web quest.

The Task

Your team will be assigned a specific art/craft from a specific society in the world. You will work in teams of 4 on a quest to answer the question, What impact did society and environment have on the creation of a specific art craft? Further, you should be able to relate the similarities of these influences to your own experiences with art making.*  You will present your findings through a written paper, power point presentation and a hands-on workshop that enables your peers to make the art craft themselves.  This will be accomplished through specific roles each group member will perform for the project.                       

The Task Checklist

The Process

STEP 1:  Go to the Time Line within this site and print 2 copies. One for the Art Director and one for the Art Teacher

STEP 2: Decide which role each team member will perform in the project according to individual interests and strengths. Preview the following roles before deciding:

STEP 3:  As a group, visit the websites posted for your assigned craft. Discuss and answer the *key questions listed above in The Task section. Print 2 copies of the Art Historian Outline, 1 for the Art Historian and 1 for the Art Director. Next discuss what should be included in the paper according to the Art Historian's outline. Get each group members phone number and class schedules so that discussions can continue outside of class. When finished: Fill out and turn in one Time Line to your Art Teacher.

STEP 4:  Begin working on individual tasks assigned in each of the 4 roles. Follow the step by step task list on each of the role pages within this site. See Ms. Zolna for individual help. When finished: Get Time Line from your Art Teacher, fill out and turn back in to him/her.

STEP5:  Set up date for group presentation and hands on workshop. Prepare and rehearse presentation/workshop. Prepare all equipment and materials needed for the presentation and workshop. When finished: Get Time Line from your Art Teacher, fill out and turn back in to him/her.

STEP 6:  Give the presentation and expedite the workshop. Continue giving guidance to students throughout the week as they make the art/craft. When finished: Get Time Line from your Art Teacher, fill out and turn back in to him/her.

STEP 8: Evaluate student art work, the performance of the individual members of your group, and the group's performance on the whole web quest project.

Now that you have completed you project, you are ready to evaluate your group and individual efforts. Print the Post Evaluation Form and complete together. Make sure you print clearly.  Some areas require a group response, while others require individual participant responses. Be as accurate as you can. Turn in to your art teacher.

In conclusion of your project you have learned why a culture created a specific art craft.  In particular, how their society and environment influenced the making of the art work.  In addition you should be able to relate how your own society and environment influences your own choices of medium, subjects, styles and techniques of your art making. Obviously, the differences in your individual art making and that of another culture and/or time will be different. Hopefully you will see that both are important and affect future art making both individually and collectively in the world.  An appreciation of others art work should be attained through this web quest as well as a wider scope of the definition of art.

Other things you have learned are various roles an artist may perform.  These are just a few of the careers available in the world of art. Hopefully you attained new skills specific to the role you played in this project. Enjoy and continue to grow as you participate in the other workshops presented by your peers through this web quest.

Before you leave this web quest, check out the EXTENSIONS for other activities attached to this project.