Unit 09 - Seeds of Art

1. Introduction
2. Curriculum Links
3. Collecting Seeds
4. Art Elements, Concepts and Processes
5. Seed Activities for Young Children
5.1 Arranging
5.2 Drawing
5.3 Making
6. Botanical Terms
7. Seed Words in Local Languages

1. Introduction

The purpose of this unit is to introduce young children to the diversity of local rainforest seeds. This unit is located within the Key Learning Area of The Arts, specifically the visual arts. The aim is to give children opportunities to observe, collect and sort seeds and make art with seeds.

Early play with seeds will develop children’s botanical understanding, their literacy and numeracy skills and their capacity for observation, classification and creating.

2. Curriculum Links

Queensland Studies Authority The Arts: Years 1 – 10 Syllabus

Visual Arts Levels 1, 2, 3

VA 1.1 Students make images and objects by exploring elements and concepts

VA 2.1 Students make images and objects by selecting and manipulating elements and additional concepts

VA 3.1 Students design, make and modify images and objects applying elements and additional concepts to construct intended meanings

Queensland Studies Authority Early Years Curriculum Guidelines

Early Years Learning Area: Creating and Designing

Children generate and represent ideas, experiences and possibilities by experimenting with materials and processes in a variety of creative, imaginative and innovative ways.

3. Collecting Seeds

1. Use gloves and nets
2. Carry bags to collect seeds
3. Have a plant guide handy and/or list of names to help identify seeds
4. Shake seeds in a colander to remove debris and small animals

Seeds can be collected from school grounds, home gardens, urban parklands and forest verges. You cannot remove any vegetation or plant matter from any area declared as an environmental, botanical or national park.

Safety: Most large rainforest seeds are relatively safe to handle. It is common sense that children must never be allowed to put any seed or plant material into their mouths. They must wash their hands with soap after handling seeds, especially before eating. If you are worried about allergens, use disposable gloves and tongs. Always shake collected seeds in a colander or bag before sorting to remove insects and spiders.

4. Art Elements, Concepts and Processes

Art Elements - colour, line, shape, texture

Art Concepts - length, repetition, sequence, similarity, difference, size, weight, category, position, tone, variation, direction, balance, contrast, pattern, space

Art Processes - describe, plan, view, select, assemble, arrange, identify, interpret, manipulate, select, compare, control, design, install, modify

5. Seeds of Art Activities for Young Children

Click Students for a range of images to use as stimulus materials for the following activities.

5.1 Arranging

Materials

• A varied collection of seeds and rainforest fruits, paper plates, bowls or banana leaves, newspapers, cloths for wiping, scissors or Stanley knife, glue, digital camera
• This activity focuses on the art processes of planning, viewing, selecting, manipulating, arranging, comparing and modifying.
• Cut any stems and branches from collected fruits and seeds.
• Cover table(s) in the classroom with paper and set out all the fruits and seeds.
• Ask children to select fruits and seeds and make their individual arrangements in a bowl, on a plate or banana leaf.
• Allow time for children to experiment with different arrangements.
• Photograph each child’s arrangement.
• Children can combine their arrangements to create one big seed art piece on the floor or outside. Photograph this work. Seed images can be made into a Powerpoint presentation, loaded on the school website, printed out and made into a wall display and made into a class Fruit and Seed Book as a permanent record of the beautiful arrangements children will produce.
• Arrangements can be glued into place if this is what children wish.

Hints

• Have a wide variety of fruits and seeds of different colours, shapes and sizes.
• Ensure each child has a photographic record of their work.
• Visually gifted children tend to be completely absorbed by this activity.

5.2. Drawing

Materials

• A collection of rainforest fruits and seeds, lead pencils, and drawing paper for black and white work, coloured pencils and water soluble paint for colour work
• This activity focuses on the art elements of colour and shape and the art concepts of similarity, difference, size, tone and contrast.
• Set out a collection of seeds and rainforest fruits of different size, colour and shape.
• Children draw individual seeds and collections of seeds with pencil and/or colour as they wish.
• Ask children to name or find out the name of what they are drawing.
• Collect children’s work into a portfolio and display in the classroom.

Hints

As far as possible, identify the names of the seeds in English, scientific language and local indigenous language to develop children’s vocabulary and their botanical knowledge. Check the Resources available and ask children, their parents and grandparents the names of rainforest fruit and seeds. Many people in the community have high levels of botanical knowledge.

5.3. Making

Materials

• Solid seeds (also known as rainforest beans, they are easy to collect and handle), glue, shellac, twine, bark, paper and cardboard and a digital camera.
• Recommended are: Match Box Beans (Entada rheedi) also known as Burnie Beads, available July to November 
• Salmon Beans (Archidendron sp.) available November to January;
• Red Bean Tree (Adenanthera pavonia) also known as Red Bead Tree, available May to December
• Quandong seeds (Elaeocarus sp.) available throughout the year
• Carabeen seeds (Sloanea sp.) available October to May.
• In the Students section are images of a crocodile from made from Match Box Beans by Eileen Burchill. Use this design as a stimulus.
• This activity incorporates the art concepts of repetition, size, position, direction, balance, pattern and space. The art processes are select, assemble, arrange, manipulate, design, install, modify.
• Children use the solid beans to make animal shapes, abstract designs and three dimensional objects.
• Creations can be glued and painted with shellac for protection.

6. Botanical Terms

• Gymnosperm: A seed producing, non-flowering plant such as a cycads or pine.
• Angiosperm: A seed producing flowering plant
• Monocot (monocotyledon): An angiosperm that has parallel leaf veins and shallow root systems, such as palms, gingers, bromeliads, grasses and sedges.
• Dicot (dicotyledon): An angiosperm that has branching leaf veins and a deep root system. Most rainforest plants are dicotyledonous.
• Fruit: the fleshy part of a plant that contains the seed, produced from a female flower after fertilization.
• Seed: the product of plant reproduction that is capable of generating into another plant
• Seed coat: the outer skin of the seed

7. Seed Words in Local Language

Developing literacy through learning the local languages of seeds

Click here for full list