Turtle Tapa Cloth

For this task you will be creating a tapa cloth artwork to display around school. This is to draw attention to how plastic waste impacts turtles in particular and how those turtles are important to different cultures.

What is tapa cloth?

Tapa is a cloth made from bark that gets softened so that it is thin like paper. It is then painted on using a special ink and paint to make intricate designs- all with significant meaning.

It is used by many pacific nations primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii.

Why is the turtle important?

The sea and creatures of the sea appear in a lot of Pasifika tales. They are important to the culture of Pacific people. They have the right to have clean waters to protect their culture for future generations.

Watch the Samoan legend.

Making a Turtle Tapa

Materials you will need:

Pencil and eraser
A3 paper
Ruler

Step 1

Using an A3 piece of paper, rule a border about 3cm from the edge.

Step 2

Sketch lightly a turtle shape right in the middle of the box you have drawn

Step 3

Fill the turtle and the border with Pasifika patterns. If you need to see examples then see the teacher. You may want to consider including plastic rubbish in your design.

Step 4

Dye your paper using a tea bag. This will give it an aged look

Step 5

Using a red/brown paint, choose some areas to paint. Look carefully at these examples. The edges are painted but not the whole flower.

Step 6

Give the turtle a strong black outline.