Navajo Cacti Drawing


The first step to this project was to draw in the pot and cacti with pencil. We were required to draw three different cacti and the pot had to have a Navajo inspired pattern. After we were satisfied with our drawing, we outlined it in sharpie. Next, we used watercolor paint to create a sunset in the background using warm colors. We also used paint for the ground. The pot and cacti were colored in with either colored pencil or crayon (what I chose to use). The last step was to create a border. We used a black piece of construction paper. We placed our cacti drawing on top of the construction paper and traced the outline of the page. Then using a ruler, we drew a second border 1/2 inch inside the first border. We cut the border out and glued it to the cacti drawing.

To explore the Navajo nation and their art even further, students could make a loom project using their own design. Another idea would be to create a 3-D version of the cacti drawing. Students could be given a small pot to paint a design on. Then they could create paper cacti to place in the pot. A real cactus would be another option, so the students could study the texture of the different types of cacti.

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