On the islands of the South Pacific, people traditionally make tapa cloth by pounding the tough bark of the mulberry tree into a soft, thin blanket. They decorate the brown cloth with bright colors. Lots of bark chunks, pounded together, can make a big piece of cloth. The largest tapa ever created was over a mile long, made for the visit of a queen.
A replica is a model of a traditional art project made with new materials. Since mulberry bark is rare in this country, you can make artwork that looks like tapa cloth by using a brown paper grocery bag. Just crumple a piece cut from the bag into a tight ball. Stomp on it with your feet if you want. Then gently unfold it. Use colored felt pens to decorate the brown paper. Finally, ask an adult to put it on a pile of old newspapers, place a sheet of waxed paper on the crumpled brown paper, then more newspapers...then iron it flat. The lines left by the crumpling make the decorated brown paper look like tapa cloth.
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