Art 2
Personal Shield
Objective: You will create a personal shield that shows your family heritage as well as your
personality. You will use symbolism and symmetrical balance.
Requirements:
1. Shield
2. Around outside of the shield minimum of : 1 animal &, 1 design that shows
personality
3. Inside shield: Symbol of where family is from, 2nd animal from personality, 2
patterns
4. Must include but you can choose where to put your name (first and/or last)
5. Materials: Paper, Colored Pencil, Watercolor, Sharpie
Step 1- Research: Use the following websites to answer the questions:
a. http://www.intl-research.com/surname.htm : This website answers the basic
questions of how and why last names were created.
b. http://surnames.behindthename.com/
c. http://www.surnamedb.com/
d. www.houseofnames.com
Use website (a) or Google to answer questions 1-4
1. Define the term Surname. _______________________________________________________________
2. What is etymology? ______________________________________________________________________
3. How were surnames created? Hint *There were atleast 5 methods that were used to
create surnames.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. How has surnames evolved and what kind of changes to the names could you find?
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Use website (b) (c) or (d) to answer the following… You will need to research your last
name, the last name of your parents, and grandparents on both sides. Be prepared to get
multiple answers and have to research multiple spellings. You may have to make a choice
or combine the finds you have.
1. What country/countries is your family from?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. What symbols and colors can you use to represent the country/ countries you are
from? (may need to use Google to help you answer this question)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. What animals would you use to describe your personality- why?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. What type of design suites your personality? Structured, flowing, floral, tribal…. And
why?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What part of your name will you include and where will it be included on or around
the shield?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Step 2 – Design: Come up with 2 different possible designs for your shield. You must have
all of the requirements in each of your designs. Play with the colors you will use, the
materials, you will use and the arrangement of your requirements. You will then pick your
best design to create your personal shield. Think about the question “Why are you choosing
to _________________________?”