Across cultures, the spring equinox represents rebirth, renewal, and the reawakening of nature after the dark of winter. Given such some of the symbols used to celebrate this time of year are flowers, trees in bud, baskets of flowers and trees of life full animals.
Inspiration for the design of Spring Blooms comes from several floral focused designs in the paper cutout collection given to the Museum of International Folk Art by Bureau of Indian Affairs teacher Mable Morrow during her work with the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe of South Dakota (1923 -1937). The Native Americans of New England and the 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, tools, 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 Spring Bloom flat pack is made of plywood and is unpainted. Enjoy it as is or paint your own version with a group of friends.. Approximate dimensions of Spring Blooms 13 3/4 " tall.
Instructions included, but please note, for best results, we recommend you remove the ornament shapes and paint then before assembling them.
Pictured to the left are some sources of inspiration for this kit:
Paper cuts, Flandreau Santee Sioux tr ibe of South Dakota, ca.1893. Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Photo by Blair Clark.