The first thing I noticed upon opening this book was that the author appeared very well versed in the subject of Aboriginal design - the amount of information she provided in the introduction made it very clear that she is passionate about this topic.
| Aboriginal Designs by Penny Brown | |
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| Category: Crafts | |
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Reviewer: Sarah Cooper
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| Summary: A book bursting with aboriginal designs to use in all your projects. Discover the meaning behind each design and be prepared to be amazed! An excellent book! | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: 14 May 2007 |
| Publisher: Search Press Ltd | |
| ISBN: 978-1844482535 | |
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It was amazing to learn that Aboriginal design dates back 50,000 years and the oldest surviving art forms are rock paintings. It was fascinating to learn that because the Aboriginals were nomadic not that many of their drawings survived because most of their art was of a temporary nature. Art plays a huge part in the Aborigines' life, forging a link between their spiritual life and their everyday life. I was really intrigued to find out that most of their art represents certain legends and stories which feature heavily in their culture. So even something that might not look like it has any meaning, if you look a little closer you will see the hidden story. Intrigued by this information, I took a closer look at a few of the designs...
Here's what I learnt: Lots of turtles appeared in these designs representing how hard the journey is for the turtle that has to struggle from the water to lay her eggs in the sand, which represents how parenting and motherhood is often a difficult journey. Warrior drawings - which represented protection. Kangaroos are used as a symbol of warriors and represent the strength of the male. Lots of circle designs in the book which represents the life cycle.
That's just a small section of what I learnt but it would be fun to analyse the meaning of all these pictures, I love expanding my knowledge on other cultures. Besides that there's a lot of fun to be had with these designs as you can turn pots and other items in your home in to authentic looking Australian pieces.
I really enjoyed this book and it was made that much more enjoyable by the authors in-depth introduction. I've learnt so much and I am sure you will too.
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