Japanese Art, Fish Prints, Gabriel Homes 11-12

This project was used in the following grades:  Special Needs Adults 

Materials used:     plastic fish, black ink, paper, water color pencils

Basic description of process

Print fish with black ink.  Once they stamped the fish onto their paper they used water color pencils to color it in, then used lightly wet paint brushes to brush over the color and give it a water colored appearance.  That was the first time I had tried the water color pencils with my group and they worked out really well - we had much better success than we ever have had with paint.

Japanese Art, Kimono scratch art, Greenbriar West ES 09-10

This project was used in the grades:  K - 6

Materials used:     

White rainbow scratch paper and wooden scratchers

Cardstock kimono templates

Basic description of process: We had the docents discuss kimonos in Japanese Art - and included some sample pictures of modern kimonos found on the Internet.  The kids traced a kimono shape on the rainbow paper and used the wooden scratchers to make designs on the kimonos.  We encouraged the kids to sketch out a design beforehand because they would get only ONE piece of rainbow paper.

Other comments: This was our “splurge project”.  The rainbow paper was $27 for a package of 50 sheets from SAX Art.  The results were gorgeous.  Some teachers still have them up on the wall. 

One thing we’d do differently is to monitor the wooden scratchers better and not put them all out at the beginning of the month.  The classes at the end of the month had to use dull scratchers and they didn’t work as well. (Added note - you can sharper the scratchers using a pencil sharpener, just be careful they don't get too sharp)

Japanese Art, Carp, Vienna ES 10-11

This project was used in the following grades:  Kindergarten-3

Materials used:

12” x 15.5” Tyvek envelope—opened up along seam

Solo drinking cup—cut to use only the upper 1 inch

Crayola markers or crayons

Fish template (attached)

Fish face template (attached)

Glue and scissors

Stapler—1-2

Hand held hole punch

Basic description of process:

Pre-project prep:  Open up the tyvek envelopes along seam.  Cut off the bottoms of the solo cups so you only have the top 1 inch.  Do not cut through the circle as this opens up the mouth of the fish.  I farmed out these tasks to older kids needing service hours.  Make several fish shape templates.  Also see other comments section for additional optional prep work.

Trace 2 fish shapes onto each envelope.  Cut out shapes.  Glue the two pieces together on the top and bottom only, leaving the mouth and tail open.  Do not glue the sides of the mouth opening for 1 inch.  This is the part that you staple in the cup.

Have the kids color their fish.  There was a face template they could use if they wanted and we showed how to make scales with half circles.  The key here was to make sure they understood they had to repeat their design on the other side so not to get too involved in a complicated design on the first side.

Make sure they flip their fish horizontally when they are ready to color the other side or the fish will not “match” up.

Once colored, insert the solo cup into the mouth opening and fold the top inch into the cup.  Staple the cup to the envelope.  Punch two holes in opposite sides for a string.  Let glue dry completely.

This project takes a full 45 minutes and docents must watch the time to keep kids moving along  with the various steps.

Other comments:

The Japanese Koi or Carp fish represents perseverance, wisdom, love and friendship.  In Japan, families make and fly carp-shaped wind socks called koinobori.  These are flown throughout April until Tango no Sekku or Children's Day on May 5.

This project originally appeared in Family Fun Magazine. The project web address is http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/carp-wind-sock-675371/.  We modified it so it would be easier to do as a GRACE project.  The fish template is on the web site.  I free handed the face template.

We found that the younger kids had a hard time with the tracing and cutting.  So for each class, our docents traced the fish shape template onto the tyvek before the class.  For Kindergarten and first, we pre-assembled (glued) the fish so all they had to do was color.  We inserted the mouths after they had colored them.

These were displayed at our Multi-culture Night.

Japanese Art, Vellum Lanterns, Vienna ES 10-11

This project was used in the following grades: 4-6

Materials used:

9x12 white Vellum (Paper and More had packs of 100 for a reasonable price)

Multi-color Sharpies

Japanese drawings and images

Scotch tape

Basic description of process:

Kids were allowed to either draw their own picture or trace patterns from a pattern book onto vellum.  We first asked the kids to draw their original picture on a scrap piece of paper before tracing it with a sharpie since there was not enough vellum to correct mistakes. 

Lanterns could be round or square.  For square lanterns, the kids folded the vellum in half then in half again.  The one crease was then folded the opposite way to make a square.  Once the lanterns were done, they were taped at the seam and stood on end for display.

Amazingly, this project took a full 45 minutes.  The kids really got into the detail work of making these lanterns.

Other comments:

On summer evenings, many cities in Japan hold an event called Toro Nagashi (The Festival of Floating Lanterns).  The festival is related to Obon, a three-day period to honor the departed.  Participants inscribe messages and drawings on paper lanterns attached to a wood or bamboo base, lit by candles and set afloat on a lake or river.

We displayed these at our Multi-culture night with electric candles inside. 

Japanese Art, Shoji Screen, Flint Hill ES 12-13

The project for this month is Shoji Screens made with rice paper, craft sticks, glue, tempera paint, ink pad and rubber stamps. In traditional Japanese architecture, a shōji (障子?) is a door, window or room divider consisting of translucent paper over a frame of wood which holds together a lattice of wood or bamboo.  

Hint:  Paint goes on the ROUGH matte finish side of the rice paper.  DO NOT USE PENCIL ON RICE PAPER. Paint and stamps only. 

Hint for Grades K­‐2:  Volunteers should pre-­glue the craft sticks and string onto front of 

rice paper at least a day before your class session and bring in already assembled. 

For  Higher Grades: 

1. Hand out scrap paper. Practice a design in pencil on scrap paper. Give handouts of Japanese writing and stamp signature designs to help them decide on a design. (This step could be for K-­‐2 as well) 
2. Hand out Manila Folders, Rice Paper, Craft Sticks, String, Plates of Glue, Q-tips  
3. Use folder to work on top of. Have students glue craft sticks on the front oftop and bottom sides of rice paper. Sandwich string between paper and craft stick at the top.
4. When students decide on a signature stamp they’d like to use, have them bring their rice paper on top of folder to stamp station. We found that rubbing the stamp on the stamp pad gives even ink coverage on the stamp 
5. Pump black tempera paint onto plates. Hand out brushes. Have groups of students share paint to do their black calligraphy drawing. 
6. Collect manila folders and put back on cart.  Let screens dry on corner of desk or a place in the classroom that the teacher designates 

These finished Shoji screens will be hung on the windows inside the cafeteria and outside in the hallway for Grace Art night in May. They are inspired by Japanese black ink paintings with a red signature stamp. Have children work out a design on scrap paper before they start if they’d like. Some Japanese paintings are considered poetry and some of the stamps and images can work together to create a poem. Original Japanese works like this were created on silk, where you could not erase the ink, and much thought was put into placement of the images on the silk canvas before the piece of art was started. We have two sets of stamps, one for each cart. There are 13 stamps in each set. Set up a stamp station and have kids bring up their shoji screen on the manila folder to the station. Finish by having students paint an image with black tempera paint. 

Chops make from erasers.