Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with kids by taking time to learn about Hispanic and Latino cultures and connecting lessons with engaging and fun art projects. Whether you’re a parent, teacher or group leader, you’ll love the two projects our "Art with Alyssa" columnist is sharing in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month: Amate Bark Paintings of Mexico and La Boca Houses of Argentina.
Project One: Amate Bark Paintings of Mexico
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by making beautiful amate bark paintings. Traditional amate paper is crafted by hand from fig or mulberry bark by the Otomi and Nahua people of Mexico. It was originally used to record legal texts and religious documents, but has become colorful, decorative folk art that often includes images of birds, flowers, leaves, cacti, vines, organic shapes and patterns. To simplify the art project at home or school, use a brown paper bag or construction paper. Get creative and have fun!
Supplies
- Something to cover workspace
- Paper and pencil
- 8” x 10” brown paper or paper bag
- Tempera or acrylic paint in bright colors (or paint pens)
- Paintbrushes
- Water cup
- Black marker
Directions
Optional: To make the paper look softer, like traditional amate paper, dampen slightly with water then crumple and smooth the paper several times. Allow paper to dry, then iron it carefully or rub smooth with a stone.
- Cover workspace with a plastic cloth or opened paper bag.
- Sketch ideas for your painting on a separate piece of paper. Amate paintings often include birds, flowers, leaves, cacti, vines, organic shapes and patterns.
- Draw chosen images onto brown paper with a pencil, then paint in bright colors and add white for highlights. Optional: Outline images in black marker.
Learn More: Where to see amate works of art
- The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, IL — amate paintings
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York — amate manuscripts by Alfonso García Tellez
- The Mexican Museum in San Francisco (temporarily closed) — Identity Bark, contemporary amate paintings in the Albrecht Collection, from the Puebla and Guerrero regions of Mexico
- Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, NM — amate paintings
Project Two: La Boca Houses of Argentina
The lesson: La Boca is a neighborhood located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where brightly colored houses line the street (El Caminito). It is said that early settlers were not able to afford paint and materials for homes, so they used leftover paint and materials from the shipyard. The buildings are colorful and made with materials such as corrugated metal. Photo credit: Ester Inbar
Gather the kids to create La Boca Houses of Argentina. They'll be intriguted to learn the history and heritage of this special neighborhood, then create their own scenes using colorful paper scraps, cardstock and corrugated cardboard.
Supplies
- 9” x 12” construction paper (or cardstock) in color of your choice
- 4–6 squares of 3” paper
- Pieces of corrugated cardboard painted in bright colors
- Colorful paper scraps
- Pencil
- Scissors
- White glue or glue stick
- Crayons, colored pencils or markers
Directions
- Cover your workspace with an open paper bag, placemat or plastic cloth.
- Pro art tip: Arrange collage pieces before gluing so you can make changes, if needed.
- With your 9 x 12 piece of paper in front of you (horizontally), arrange two paper squares to make a tall house shape. Add a triangle for a roof, overlapping slightly to glue together (when ready). Note: You could also cut rectangles for the house about 3 inches wide and 4–6 inches tall then add a triangle roof.
- Make 3–4 houses to fit across the paper horizontally, using cardstock and some corrugated cardboard for dimension.
- Once the houses are arranged across the page the way you like, glue them down.
- Adhere embellishments such as windows and doors. Note: Windows can be small squares with plus signs (drawn or cut paper) or diagonal lines drawn inside the square. They could also be small squares glued inside a larger square. Make doors out of rectangles; draw knobs and windows or adhere cut paper.
- Consider adding a road, sidewalk, fence, flower box or other details using scraps of paper cut into the shapes you like or using markers, crayons or colored pencils.
Alyssa Navapanich is an award-winning art educator who teaches art to elementary school kids in East County. All photos provided by her.
Click HERE to find instructions for Alebrijes of Mexico City.
Learn to make Worry Dolls of Guatemala HERE.
Learn to make God's Eyes of Mexico HERE.
