Holiday Tree of Life - Paint Your Own Kit

Inspiration for this Holiday Tree of Life comes from paper cutouts collected by Bureau of Indian Affairs teacher Mable Morrow during her work with the Flandreau Santee Sioux and housed at the Museum of International Folk Art. The Native Americans of New England and upper Midwest were making cutout silhouettes from birch bark before the first European settlers made contact with them. Cutouts served as patterns for beadwork, quillwork, and other ornaments to be applied to clothing, canoes, and toys. Through trade with Europeans, these tribes obtained scissors, and their cutouts became more complex. Birch bark gave way to paper and cutouts began to be viewed not just as patterns, but as art. This 2-piece flat pack Holiday Tree of Life is made of plywood and unpainted. Decorate with acrylic paint or markers. Dimensions: 15 1/2" high x 10 1/2" wide. Inspiration: Paper cut, Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe, South Dakota, ca.1893. Angel doll, Germany, 1953. Museum of International Folk Art.