Beaded Collage inspired by Aboriginal Dream Paintings

Beaded Collage inspired by Aboriginal Dream Paintings

Aboriginal Dream Paintings are beautiful in their detailed imagery and incredible use of dots, lines and patterns. Inspire children by reading about Aboriginal creation myths and then create beaded collages based on these myths. Or have children create their own stories which they use as inspiration in their beaded art collage.

Materials

Paint Brushes 6 Pack Triangle Handle

Hemp Cord in White, Tan, Black

Acrylic Paint Jars 24 Pack

Pony Beads Pearl Brights Mix

Wood Craft Sticks 75 Pack Jumbo

Pencil

Craft Glue

Instructions

Step 1. Gather your supplies.
	Step 2. To create your frame, take (8) Jumbo Craft Sticks and place them down vertically adjacent to each other to form a square. Take (3) additional Jumbo Craft Sticks and glue them horizontally across the (8) vertical craft sticks.
	Step 3. Paint the front of your frame. We used a mixture of blue and gold Acrylic Paint.
	Step 4. Using a pencil, draw in your design. We chose to paint a snake, which is often depicted in Aboriginal dream paintings.
	Step 5. Paint your design and also paint any background elements.
	Step 6. As Aboriginal Dream Paintings are often made using dots, lines and patterns, we chose Pony Beads to represent the dotted look. Once your frame is dry, begin to decorate your images with Pony Beads, such as Bright Pearl Pony Beads or a Tub of Pony Beads.
	Step 7. Once all your beads are glued down, finish your design with painted dots in other open spaces.
	Step 8. To create a hanger for your painting, glue (2) Pony Beads on the top edges and thread a piece of Hemp Cord through. Further Discussion: In our painting we painted a Rainbow Snake. In Aboriginal tales, the Rainbow Snake, is believed to have helped to create mountains and valleys throughout the world. Have your class create their own myth or folktale and paint a "Dream Painting" based on their story.