Sometimes artwork tells a story using symbols, which are pictures that stand for ideas or things. For thousands of years the Aboriginal people of Australia didn't need a written language because they told their stories using pictures. Their artwork had a very special purpose in their lives.

Why do you like to make art? Most people say it's just a fun thing to do, others say that they make artwork to decorate their home. The Aboriginal people of Australia make artwork that tells ancient stories about the Dreamtime, the time long ago when the world was created.

The people who live in the desert region paint pictures of their land, showing important landmarks and special areas. The people who live in the northern rainforest paint pictures of the animals they use for food, because they believe that the artwork helps protect the species. Some of the oldest cave paintings on earth are Australian Aborigine hand paintings, made by putting paint in their mouths and blowing the paint over their hands.

In art class, we make paintings using the technique of "dot painting" by dipping sticks in tempera paint. Sometimes our paintings feature animals we like, sometimes we make handprints cut from paper, and sometimes we draw symbols and designs.

The challenge is making a work of art that uses the design principals unity, emphasis, and balance. Unity is created when things in an artwork match, such as repeated shapes or colors. We repeat rows or groups of dots so that the painting doesn't look too random or confusing. Emphasis is making one thing the "main idea' of the artwork, by making it larger than everything else, and making it look special. We put rows of dots around things that we want to emphasize or use a color that is not used anywhere else. And we try to create a feeling of balance---there's not too many dots or too much empty space, so that the picture "feels right".

Ms Mo showed part of a National Geographic video about the Gagudju people of Kakadu National Park in northern Australia, which showed an aborigine named Louie cutting bark off a tree and making an amazing painting of animals by dipping a thin stick into paint that he made by grinding up a rock. She also showed parts of "Australia Revealed", which showed an aborigine playing a didjeridoo using circular breathing, a group performing a dance that was thousands of years old, and many Australian animals.

This painting shows hunters with their spears and boomerang, and the women around the campfire with their bowls and digging sticks. Animal footprints represent the animals they are hunting.

Examples of our students' work

A Link to
Molloy Gallery
LaJolla, CA

I found this gallery, which sells only Australian Aboriginal artwork, when I visited La Jolla, CA in 2006. Check out the beautiful, original paintings made by Australian Aborigines.