Supernatural Creatures
This creature stood at the gates of the palace of the ancient Assyrian ruler, King Ashurnasirpal [a-shur-NAH-seer-pahl] II. It warded off evil and showed the kings importance to all who entered. The beast has five legs so that it would appear to stand firm when viewed from the front as well as from the side. It is part human, part animal. What animals do you think it is based on? What kinds of powers do each of these animals give to the beast?
Human-Headed Winged Lion, ca. 883–859 B.C., Iraq, Nimrud
Check out this video about supernatural creatures and superheroes of the ancient world.
Supernatural Beasts
Use pictures of real animals to create your own supernatural guardian. What powers will your guardian have? What characteristics will it take from each animal? Where will you display it for protection?
Inés’ creature can fly and hide in its shell.
Materials
Pictures of animals (printouts provided below )
Scissors
Glue or Tape
Drawing materials
Two pieces of paper
Process
1) Cut out pictures of different parts of different animals. You can use the picture provided or look for your own in a magazine.
2) Paste the different animal part together to make one creature. You can draw in the things that you don’t have photos of.
3) Once your collage is done, get a second piece of paper and draw a picture of it. You can use your imagination to add even more super powers to your creature.
Further Exploration:
Take this project one step further and make a clay sculpture of your beast. Here is a recipe for baker’s clay from the artist Ruth Asawa.
