X-Ray Painting and Bark Art

I was wondering how this would work to look at a culture's artwork and use it sort of like we use primary source documents to see what we could learn about that culture. I have never done anything like it before, and wasn't even sure how pedagogically sound it would be. But it seemed like a good idea when my daughter raised it as a suggestion for how to study the Aboriginal people of Australia, and I have been very satisfied with the results.

The last study we did was on what is termed "X-ray painting." Animals and people were painted on various surfaces in amazing detail, but seemingly from the inside out. We started by looking at all the photographs of fossilized fishes at Photovalet. It was a mini-science lesson as the children looked at the impressions these ancient fishes made on the rock. We then looked at this piece of art, painted on bark.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art gave us some information about how the artwork was created.

And Aboriginal Art Online gave us a nice history of bark art.

My children went outside and worked at peeling bark off of logs from our woodpile for their project. We had no idea about how to prepare the bark, but this is what we did:

1. Soaked in bleach and scrubbed the inside surface. (There was mold growing on some of it.)
2. Dried in oven at 200 degrees.
3. Got frustrated that it curled.
4. Re-soaked and laid it out on the counter.
5. Piled things on top of it to flatten it.
6. Put it back in the oven to dry at 200 degrees with a pizza stone on top of it.

You could probably skip steps two through four.

The children then each took their sample I printed off and went off to make their own bark art. I read the next story from Indigenous Australia while they worked. My younger two were more interested in the process.

Bug (2) painted away.

Bear (4) mostly just enjoyed mixing the paint.

And Mouse (8) made a fish and the leg of a dinosaur.

What did my daughter learn about the indigenous peoples of Australia?

1. They were very aware of their environment.

2. Their stories reflect the observation of the relationships between the animals around them.

3. They were very adept at using what was available to them to make beautiful pieces of art which lasted for centuries.

4. The desert sand art uses symbols which look very much like the tracks the various animals/activities make in the sand. The ability to track was probably very important. Many of these pictures also show good hunting grounds and watering holes, demonstrating the importance of this kind of knowledge.

5. The X-Ray painting shows attention to the internal features of the animals that were hunted.

Essentially, my daughter learned that the Aboriginals were hunters/gatherers with a highly developed culture. Their history (their story) was very important to them and preserved through stories and art.

homeschooling, Aborigines, Aboriginal art

Learning history through art

When we study history, we attempt to use primary sources whenever possible. The indigenous peoples of Australia, however, had no record-keeping system like we have today. In fact, they did not even have a written language. They communicated their history and their family relationships through a variety of art forms, including storytelling, rock painting, bark painting, sand painting and body painting. In order to get a glimpse into the lives of indigenous Australians, we decided to begin not by looking at the first impressions of arriving Englishmen, but by looking at their artwork.

Principle: Individuality

Leading Idea: Every culture has its own symbols and ways of sharing its heritage

Scripture: Gen 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

For more on the foundations of art and the general viewpoint I teach from, check this entry.

The most interesting thing to me was the story of the man who first brought Aboriginal art into recognition. I cannot find the link anymore, but he began painting his work on canvas and it was well-received by everyone but the Aboriginals. They thought he was sharing too many of their secrets. Some of these paintings are not shared even with Aboriginal women, let alone outsiders if I remember correctly. He was sharply rebuked. He therefore covered his artwork with dots. This dot art became highly valued and is probably one of the most recognizable features of indigenous Australian art. But what we are paying top dollar to include in our collections is actually a cloaking device!

We perused the offerings at this gallery to get an idea of desert art (note the numbers at the bottom so that you can look at more). We then looked at the descriptions of some of the popular motifs. I printed off a copy of the symbols for each of my children and we went back to the art gallery to see how many symbols we recognized. What do you see in this work?


After identifying some of the symbols and talking about the artwork, we started our first project. To prepare for this, we covered the bottom of a coffee filter with glue and poured sand on top. This was to form a hard "ground" for the children to paint on. I would have used a paper plate, but we didn't have any. We allowed this to dry overnight on a sheet of plastic wrap to keep it from sticking to the bookshelf.

The children then took their hardened sand and painted their sample of Aboriginal art while I told them some more about the Dreamtime and Aboriginal art. Here is a nice site with more information and the stories I am sharing with my children. Right now, they are just listening to them as stories. When they are older, we will look at them more analytically. For example, I find it very interesting that one of the more important figures in the Dreamtime is Rainbow snake who made the waterning holes.

In this lesson you can also see a little of how I teach multiple age levels. All three children sat near me while we looked at the artwork. All three received a symbol sheet. All three painted. And all three listened to the story I told them. Each understood something on his or her own level. Here is what they produced:

My Picture, Crocodile
Bug, age two

Crocodiles in the River
Bear, age four


Snakes at the Watering Hole
Mouse, age eight

My daughter was able to reason the importance of food and water sources to the Aboriginals from studying their artwork. When you live in such a dry environment, it is important to know where water is likely to be and where the good hunting grounds are so they enter frequently into the artwork. She also saw a little of the importance of storytelling. Later on, I want to do some storytelling with her using these techniques. I'm not sure how to share that as a lesson. Maybe I'll see if I can figure out how to upload a video!

Tomorrow we will be looking at rock art, so stay tuned!

Photo credits: Janet Long Nakamarra, pictured above; Women's Ceremony, the posted example

homeschooling, lessons, principle approach