Task 5: Considering colour (1 hour)

Discuss the ways that colours can be symbolic, (have meaning for people).

Refer to the colour wheel and list the primary and secondary colours plus black and white on the board. Talk about colours that harmonise and colours that contrast.

In small groups, the students consider each colour and brainstorm any possible feelings and meanings they convey. They share these responses as a class. Ask them to now consider what colours would express the meaning of the symbol they have chosen.

Provide visual images of cultural celebrations such as Chinese festivals, parades, ceremonial robes, and traditional buildings. Discuss the dominant colours. Provide information on the significant meanings colours have for Chinese people, and compare these with the students' own responses to colour. Remind them that traditional calligraphic scrolls are often on subtlety toned papers, although some can have quite rich silk backgrounds. You could select an approach for your class to use when choosing colour for their scroll, or let them choose colours which express their own response or relate to Chinese culture.

Task 6: Preparing paper for the scroll (2 hours)

Provide paper, brushes, sponges, coloured paints, dyes, teas, coffee, coloured tissue and decorative papers, or foil, for the students to explore ways of creating a surface. They could begin by covering a piece of cartridge paper with a layer of white tissue paper, glued in place to create a subtly wrinkled surface, before proceeding with the selected techniques.

They then experiment with ways of altering this surface with a variety of inks and dyes using techniques such as washing, dabbing, sponging, controlled flicking or applying gentle drifts of spray to alter the surface. They can also trial ways of applying collaged fragments of coloured tissue or decorative papers. (See gluing note) As they create this special surface they incorporate their understanding of the effects of colour as explored in task 5. They should be aware of harmonious and contrasting combinations and the cultural and personal meanings and feelings colours convey.

They then use these discoveries to prepare the paper on which they will paint or paste their own symbol, and the class text, (previously prepared and copied by the teacher for each student).

    

Optional approaches:

• Students could use handmade papers that are provided for them to use or create their own. Calligraphic scrolls can be made up of many layers of papers, often handmade.
• A separate A5 surface could be prepared for the focus symbol, which is then placed onto a prepared A3 page on which the blocks of the class text are placed.
• Students could glue their paper scrolls onto larger rectangles of embossed or decorated wallpaper to simulate the silk that is used in traditional scrolls.

Recommended gluing technique:

• Prepare a clean working surface of newsprint, a small reservoir of PVA in a lid or similar, and tabs of firm card (approximately 2cms x 5cms). Place the selected paper face down on newsprint and use a cardboard tab to spread PVA glue evenly over the back. Turn the paper over, and carefully place it sticky side down, on the A3 sheet. Smooth it all over with the palm of the hand or a dry roller, paying particular attention to the edges. Allow to dry.