Arts and Crafts, by Libby

The Southwest Indians made rugs out of the wool of sheep. The blankets that they made had beautiful designs on them. They made pottery out of a mixture of clay and sand. The pottery was used to store food and water. They also had pretty designs on them. The Southwest Indians made jars, pots, bowls and other items. The pottery was shaped by hand, put in the sun to dry, then decorated with different paints made from nature. Then the pottery was baked in a large oven called a kiln. The pottery usually had pictures of geometric shapes but sometimes had pictures of plants and animals. The Hopi Indian's potters painted birds, flowers, human forms and ceremonial scenes on their pottery. Lots of Hopi artists today use designs like the designs painted on the Anasazi kiva walls a thousand years ago. The Navajo weave blankets with homespun wool. They made the blankets while sitting on a sheepskin wool in front of a large wooden loom. They dye the blankets using natural vegetable dyes that make red, blue and green colors.

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