Paddock Arts

As a class we discussed about the history and roles that dragons play in the Chinese culture.  We looked at samples of Chinese dragons and we compared and contrasted differences and similarities between Western dragons and Chinese dragons.  We also talked about how certain dragons take on specific personalities that are linked with the color of the dragon.  

  

We watched a video of Dragon Dancers from China and noticed how they made the dragon come to life with the movement of the large puppet. 

 

Next the children set out to create a dragon of their own using visual references and our imaginations we turned to drawing our dragons onto a scroll.  Next we painted them and added in some Chinese words to name our dragons. Some incorporated the knotting technique we learned when we visited Ireland.  The children meticulously drew in the scales and tried to connect the color of their dragon to the personality they wanted it to have.  The final touch was in creating a border for their dragon.  As you can tell their hard work has produced some unique dragons that can only be seen in the halls of Paddock.