Art From Many Hands: Multicultural Art Projects Revised Expanded Edition [Paperback]

Jo Miles Schuman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 2003

Creativity and culture come together in this guidebook to ethnic crafts, from Chinese calligraphy to Pueblo Indian pottery to Adinkra cloth from Ghana. With its ideas for a variety of techniques and materials, comprehensive information on many cultures, easily understood instructions, and interdisciplinary approach, this will appeal to adults and children.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jo Miles Schuman

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Davis; Rev Exp edition (March 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871925931
• ISBN-13: 978-0871925930
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A whole lot of wonderful packed into a small book!, March 1, 2008

By 

Value Mommy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Art From Many Hands: Multicultural Art Projects Revised Expanded Edition (Paperback)

I found this book while searching for multicultural resources for a world tour theme year in our homeschool. I resisted buying it because the price was so much steeper than for others out there. I kept coming back to it though, hoping there would be a new review to tell me more. Finally I bit the bullet and bought it because I wanted richer art experiences for my kids than what I found in other sources. Specifically, I had already purchased Global Art: Activities, Projects and Inventions from Around the World and I found it lacking in pictures, historical/cultural linkage of the art, and authenticity of materials. It felt much more crafty than artistic to me, although there were quite a few good ideas in it and I do think it was worth the price. I also have Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters (Bright Ideas for Learning). I do like it but its scope is fairly limited in terms of time (mostly Renaissance to modern) and culture (mostly Western). That said, this book has far exceeded my expectations.

I have a big problem with the abundance of arts and crafts in schools while true arts programs are being dumped left and right. A morsel of the latter is worth buckets of the former, in my opinion. I think arts and crafts have a use and they're fun for kids (albeit short-lived fun without as much pride in craftsmanship that can come from creating original art). This book, however, is not about arts and crafts. In contrast, it is full of history and culture. The author instructs educators about art from a wide variety of cultures and gives them the tools they need to help kids create similar art. Sometimes the medium is altered because the original material is not practical or is unavailable. Solid gold is out of my budget and I don't have any whale bones lying around!

Because these activities are so visually interesting and based on history, I think they would actually appeal to kids from K-12. As the author points out, kids of different ages will obviously get varying results based on skill level. The author gives instructions for modifications to make activities manageable for younger kids. As a special note to homeschoolers, I should say that because most of us have more one on one time to spend with our kids during these activities, many of the modifications might not be necessary. They just might need more direct guidance.

I'm thrilled that this book pulls true art forms from all over the globe and then presents projects based on that art. Below is an outline of the projects included.

West Africa - tie-dying cloth, traditional dashikis, papier mache masks and sculptures
Ghana - Adinkra designs on paper and cloth
Nigeria - Adire Eleko cloth designs and Counter-Repousse (metal work)
Egypt - plaster hieroglyphic tablet, jewelry/clay beads, tapestry
Israel - paper and tile mosaics
Iran - Persian miniature paintings
France/Spain - prehistoric cave paintings (impressive - they make a whole caves system from cardboard!)
Cro-Magnons in Europe - stone engravings
Ancient Greece - sculpture
Great Britain - stained glass (originated in Middle East but famous in cathedrals)
Sweden - cookie stamps (she even includes a recipe)
Poland - Wycinanki (paper cutouts)
Ukraine - Pysanky (decorated eggs)
Belarus - straw designs
Germany - flower arts (pressed, woodcut)
China - calligraphy, paper making, woodblock prints
Japan - haiku and sumi-e ink paintings, accordion books, fish banners, fish prints, decorated paper
Burma - lacquer work
India - marble inlays
Indonesia - Javanese shadow plays, batik fabrics
SE Asia and Taiwan - kites
Central/Northern Asia - felt rugs and balls
Hawaii - canoes
South Pacific - Tapa (decorated barkcloth) including Fiji for stenciled designs and Tahiti for fern designs
Tonga - design tablets
Micronesia - gift-giving bowls
Australia - Aboriginal bark paintings, didgeridoos, carved Emu eggs
Mexico - Huichol Indian yarn painting, Amate paper cutouts and paintings, clay figures and suns
Central America - Cuna Indian Molas (cotton panels), gold/silver sculpture
Peru - embroidery
Caribbean - maracas
Puerto Rico - seed necklaces
Haiti - steel designs
United States - Pueblo Indian pottery, Navajo weaving and sand painting, Plains Indian Buffalo Robes, Headdresses, shirts and vests, Woodland Indian quillwork and beadwork, Inuit stone sculpture and printmaking, early American applehead dolls, scrimshaw (carving in whale bone and ivory), and weathervanes

I am extremely impressed with these activities which are firmly rooted in the history of the cultures from which they originate. They would add so much to school art programs as a supplement to history. This is a book I know we will use for years. The kids won't be ready for the Javanese shadow plays for quite some time but until then, I'll be looking forward to the experience! I can't recommend this book highly enough. With this book and the Dick Blick art supply catalog, I know my kids have an incredible wealth of art activities ahead of them.

As a side note, a few other resources that I love for our homeschooling program are

Art in Story: Teaching Art History to Elementary School Children Second Edition

30,000 Years of Art

Artistic Pursuits, Book One: An Introduction to the Visual Arts and the rest of the program that takes kids from Kindergarten through high school.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art Teacher's review, April 3, 2000

By 

S. Bartholow-Whysall (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art From Many Hands: Multicultural Art Projects (Paperback)

I've done many of these projects with children, and they are both educational (the book gives some cultural and historical references on the projects) and a cut above some of the really simplistic projects found in a lot of books. I go back to it again and again! I'd highly recommend it.

1.0 out of 5 stars Grown-up crafter, very disappointed, August 11, 2010

By 

Sarah Deming "always on the go" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Art From Many Hands: Multicultural Art Projects Revised Expanded Edition (Paperback)

Waaaaaaay less than I expected as an adult world-traveled crafter. After reading the blurbs,I expected much more than the cheesy, substitute products given as the starting ingredients of these crafts. Obviously a book for elementary school teachers, working on a budget, NOT a way to re-create crafts from round the world. I can't believe that these projects would satisfy even young crafters who had seen pictures of "the real thing".