The students will develop and organize ideas from the environment. Applying rubbing techniques in the local cemetery will enable the student to communicate ideas about community, using sensory knowledge and life experiences. TEKS §117.14. Fine Arts (4.1)(A) (7,8)

The students will learn appropriate vocabulary to discuss the use of art elements such as color, texture, form, line, space, and value through discussions on texture rubbings. TEKS §117.14. Fine Arts (4.1)(B)(1)

The students will use a variety of ideas about self in the production of texture rubbings in the classroom through their personal selection of items. The students will explore a variety of ideas about the community by integrating tombstone rubbings into original artwork. TEKS §117.14. Fine Arts (4.2)(A)(1,4); (4.2)(B); (4.2)(C)(1,2)

Students will discuss the elements of art and further explore texture. Students will learn to recognize texture in their environment, preserving texture onto paper and creating original artwork with collected and created textures. Students will also learn to incorporate historical images communicating ideas about community and individuality in original artwork.

Rubbings capture and preserve the texture and shape of an object onto paper. Rubbings have been used by artists, biologists, and historians for centuries. Artists have used these studies to create the illusion of texture in their artwork. Biologists have used rubbings of plants, the bark of trees, and rocks to study and catagorize nature. Historians have used rubbings as a means of preserving pieces of our past. Cemeteries provide a link to the past through the inscriptions on gravestones. Gravestones slowly decay with time making the inscription hard to read. Rubbings are how these pieces of history are preserved.

Refer to Elements of Art page for a further discussion on rubbings and texture. This discussion should precede the Texture Focus Activity below.

There is a technique to creating a rubbing of an object. Refer to Elements of Art for details on the Texture Focus Activity, which should be practiced prior to the visit to a cemetery. Examine the Texture Rubbings page for details on supplies and the Rubbing Technique. Explain and do a quick demonstration of the Rubbing Technique. Follow up with the Texture Focus Activity discussion.

Refer to Cemetery Rubbing Information page.

There are many cemeteries that do not allow rubbings of the stones. Prior approval from the cemetery is advised. Explain to students that they would need to get approval prior to attempting this at a cemetery.

Discuss with the students how to choose and prepare the gravestone. When choosing a stone, check for stability. If it is wobbly, has chunks missing, or crumbles when you touch it, then do not attempt a rubbing. Additionally, discuss the importance of respecting the stone. Do not leave marks, or disrupt flowers or other mementoes. Visiting the website http://www.savinggraves.org/education/print/rubbings.htm provides a lot of information about gravestone rubbings and cemetery manners.

Plan ahead time and have the paper pre-cut into large sizes. Bring extra paper and scissors in case a very large stone is discovered. Transport the rubbing in tubes or stacked with a sheet of wax paper in between. A PVC scrap, with the end capped, makes a great tube. Two pieces of flat cardboard can be used to hold the stack together.

Have the students use one of their tombstone rubbings as an original work of art. The Pellon method of rubbing allows for personal expression through color and texture. Have the students pick a stone that they are attracted to. Explain to them they will have to explain why they picked that stone. It could be the name, design, time period, the texture, etc. Have them pick the colors according to how they feel. “How does this stone make you feel when you read it? What color would you use if you feel sad? Happy? Confused?” Explain that everybody might pick a different color for the same emotion. Have the students finish the rubbing by adding a frame of color, different texture rubbings or drawing around all the un-rubbed areas of the pellon fabric. Finish off with the ironing technique. Have a day that the work can be displayed in the classroom. Follow up with a discussion with the students talking about the choices they made in their artwork. TEKS §117.14. Fine Arts (4.4)(A)

Created October 2006

Cemetery Rubbing