About
Formline design is part of a living culture and integral to the lifeways of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. In this project, we give students an introduction to formline design shapes and definitions, the importance of balance in the design form, and to ways an experienced Native artist would compose a formline design. We then provide them with tools to create their formline design. A key to this project is to see both the positive and negative aspects of a design and how each type influences and serves to shape the other. SHI offers materials to teach Northwest Coast art, including an online textbook, flashcards, and curriculum boards.
Support Materials
Formline Workshop
Watch a two-day workshop on the ancient formline designs created by Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian artists of Southeast Alaska. Class taught by formline expert Steve Brown.
Northwest Coast Indian Art
Author and teacher Bill Holm created one of the best written resources for learning formline with his volume Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form. In the book, the author presents an incisive analysis of the use of color, line, and texture; the organization of space; and such typical forms as ovoids, eyelids, U forms, and hands and feet.
Presentation
Watch a presentation on the house front in Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Walter Soboleff Building by the artists, David A. Boxley and David R. Boxley. The front, “Am’ala: Wil Mangaa da Ha’lidzogat” (“Am’ala: He Who Holds up the Earth”), was unveiled at the grand opening ceremony for the building in May 2015.
School Art Kits
The Elementary Art Program is a standards-based, place-based visual art program in the Juneau School District. The art specialist works with every elementary classroom in the district to teach students and support teachers. Lessons are created at each grade level which build skills and art knowledge as students grow.
