Art at Coe School

Grades: 3, 4, 5

Title: African Adinkra Print Making

Project: Made by the Ashanti people of Ghana, this block printing method was originally used to produce mourning cloth. Adrinka involves the printing of designs in a black dye made of certain trees, using stamps carved from sections of calabash. Proverbs play an important role in Asante culture, their use being a mark of wisdom and cultural knowledge.

Materials: print foam for etching, black ink, paper

Vocabulary: symbols, etching, relief, printing plate, repeating patterns