Koru Patterns
The following ideas and resources for a unit of work on koru patterns have been compiled from several suggestions that came through from the Arts Online list-serves.
He Papahuia Toi Maori (Tracy Murray)
Maori Visual Culture in Visual Arts Education Years 1-6.
This book describes teaching and learning opportunities and possibilities in the visual arts discipline and helps teachers give context to student learning about contemporary and customary Maori art forms. The teaching units encourage students to develop visual literacy in representing and understanding Maori visual culture. A companion book to He Wakahuia Toi Maori: Maori Visual Culture in Visual Arts Education: Years 7-10 (item 30701).
http://www.learningmedia.co.nz/nz/products/moecatalogue/moecatdetail?recno=602692
National Library’s “Discover” website has lots of examples of Maori art (Jocelyn Oldcorn) http://discover.natlib.govt.nz/logicrouter/servlet/LogicRouter?PAGE=object&OUTPUTXSL=object.xsl&pm_CL=6&api_1=GET_COLLECTION_XML&pm_PRC=&pm_POI=6&pm_GS=80&ds_svAPI_RelGroups=2&api_2=GET_CHILDREN_GROUPS&pm_PRC=&pm_POI=6&pm_CGI=1&ds_svGeneric_CGI=1&ds_svAPI_RelContents=3&api_3=GET_GROUP_CONTENTS
Two books by Philippa Stichbury-Cooper Over the Rainbow and Over the Moon (Juliette Laird)
These two resources have lots of ideas for young children.
http://www.learningnetwork.ac.nz/shared/products/productBook.aspx?id=PHISTICOO
(Over the Moon)
http://www.learningnetwork.ac.nz/shared/products/productBook.aspx?id=book424
(Over the Rainbow)
Katerina Te Heikoko Mataira’s book, Cry Baby Moon.(Diana –Grace Morris)
http://www.storylines.org.nz/author_details.asp?author_id=196
Review from teacher; “This book is in both Maori and English.It is an absolutely stunning children's book with delicious illustrations of rain, cloud, thunder, lightning and rainbow. The use of koru is within a modern context. Totally engaging for the juniors. We made a mural of the story and Ithen wentonline and was able to show the children traditional koru designs foundon theTe Papa web site within the collections. eg the Waka and the Waharoa.”
http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/search.aspx?term=Koru&imagesonly=on
“Next, using templates of a koru design. The children decided where on the paper the koru would fit- this was traced on using pencil. The children were given black paperand usedred and white pastels.
The results were stunning. For add glam each koru had silver glitter sprinkled around it. Very scrumptious in the portfolios! (not for the cleaners)”
Kowhaiwhai Artsby Sandy Adsett, Chris Graham and Rob McGregor (Tracy Murray)
Available through Tauranga Education Resource Centre ph: 07 5775316, Fax: 07 5775317
email:
Work of Reuben Paterson-in Celebrate Art NZ series (Deborah Lawrence)
www.integratededucation.com
Teacher Resource Exchange-Arts Online
Artifacts (Chris Graham and Rob McGregor)
This unit provides some starting points for teachers wanting to encourage children to create Maori designs based on the koru, koiri, mangopare
Spirals (Maria Quin)
http://arts.unitec.ac.nz/resource-exchange/view_resource.php?res=408
Several art activities - drawing; printmaking; claywork; stitchery - for year 1 students (using 2000 curriculum). Can be adapted for older students and can be integrated with other curriculum areas.
Arts Ask questions
Here are the answers to some Arts Ask questions which deal with the question of koru patterns and Maori design.
http://arts.unitec.ac.nz/ask/ask/view_answer.php?question=143
http://arts.unitec.ac.nz/ask/ask/view_answer.php?question=274
http://arts.unitec.ac.nz/ask/ask/view_answer.php?question=237
Two Great Ideas
Family Trees (Lyn Potter): This is an idea the Maori artist Arnold Wilson gave me many years ago:
He suggested the students make family trees based on koru patterns. In this way they also get the idea that the patterns can grow out of each other, touch each other, and be both large and small. It also is a way of talking to students about the importance of whanau.
Dance: (PatriceO’Brien) Although koru patterns are traditionally used with visual arts, the learning can also be introduced or reinforced through dance work. For example koru shapes can be made as still shapes with various body parts, they can be traced through the air as a moving pathway with arms, they can be used as a floor pathway to move along. They can be repeated and reversed and formed with a partner, can be made symmetrical with a partner or asymmetrical. A variety of locomotor movements can be used to travel a koru pathway. A group or line of students making koru shapes can produce positive and negative shapes (ie the spaces between the shapes). Some of these can be combined into a dance to make a living kowhaiwhai pattern. e.g. A duet with 2 still koru shapes on 2 different levels, a tracing of a koru pattern with arms to form a symmetrical pattern, a floor pathway that has a koru shape etc. (This could be based on children's own artwork.)