Japanese Haiku and Cherry Blossom Art

Yesterday afternoon we reviewed syllables and how they are used in haiku poetry. Levi then wrote his haiku about cherry trees/blossoms and then we did the art project to go with it. He blew India ink onto white paper, trying to make something that would resemble tree branches. After it dried he added little tufts of tissue paper for the blossoms. This morning he wrote out the haiku with a quill pen and India ink. This was no easy feat because the quill pen he bought has a very fine point and it sure got hung up on the paper; he managed to get a pretty good copy after some practice.

Fluffy cherry trees
Covered in bright pink and white
Colorful blossoms.

Here are the links to some blogs that featured this project. They all used paints for their blossoms, but I liked the 3-D effect with the tissue paper.

• Art is the best part of the day blog
• Creative Jewish Mom web site
• My adventures in positive space blog

Blowing India ink across a piece of paper with a straw is NOT as easy as it sounds. It frequently forms a big bubble which then bursts, spraying you and the surroundings with little black ink spots. Levi had lots of black freckles last night. I chose to wash all mine off so as not to embarrass Cole when I went to a meeting at his high school. I don't know if there are any particular tricks to this, none of the blogs seemed to mention any, leaving me with the impression that this would just be a piece of cake. We had some good laughs as we worked!

I also wrote some cherry blossom haiku poetry.

Trees all dressed in pink,
Their blooms float down to the earth.
Look! I see pink snow.


Beautiful pink trees
Covered in bright blossoms,
Telling us it's spring.

Looking forward to the blossoming of the trees here in Oregon. For now we are expecting some rare snow in the next day or so. Kids are praying for the closure of school and a day to play out in the snow. If it does snow I hope it amounts to enough to actually sled on.

Sharon

The painting that got us fired up again

Papa Richard had hip replacement surgery last Thursday. The day before he went to the hospital I got out painting supplies and had Levi paint a picture. I gave him a choice between doing a bug, fish or flower. He chose to do a dragonfly type bug. He lightly drew the outline onto the paper and then painted it in with acrylic paints, filled the background with lots of short strokes for texture and then added the thick black outlines. I really like how he used highlights.



After the painting was dry I scanned it and then used Photoshop to add a black background and the text. Then I uploaded my file to the Walgreen's down the street and ordered 4x6 prints. I picked those up a couple hours later and layered the photo to some coordinating papers to make the finished card. Papa (and Grams) LOVED the card! I also loved the painting and ordered 11x14 prints at Costco so we could both hang it in our homes.



It was while Levi was painting this bug that my friend, the teacher, stopped by. Our conversation about children's art led me to the various blogs and web sites (mentioned in my first post) that sparked my excitement for what I could do at home with Levi.

Sharon

Our adventure journal begins

My 9 year old son, Levi, is one of those kids who loves to draw (and draw, and draw some more) as well as paint and make craft projects. I haven't always been good at fostering his creativity as we sometimes just get caught up in the busyness of life. (And I must admit that I don't always like the mess involved in crafting.)

I have decided to work hard to change that and to give him every opportunity I can to express himself through art and also to teach him more about the arts. This will require me to be constantly learning as well, but that is what we home schoolers are used to, isn't it?

I asked a good friend who teaches art at a local school where she gets her ideas and she gave me the names of some blogs that she loves. I looked them up and I swear my family didn't see me for the next day or so. (Well, it wasn't that bad but I spent hours and hours over the next few days just following links from one blog to another and bookmarking so many neat ideas that we might have to do art 4 hours a day to complete all the projects I have found.)

You are probably wondering what blogs and web sites she told me about so I will give her short list here. From just this short list you can be linked to dozens and dozens of cool pages.

• Deep Space Sparkle (this one has an extensive list of links under the Inspirations tab)
• Teach Kids Art
• Art Projects for Kids
• Painted Paper

We have stocked up on supplies, organized said supplies and even created him a studio in his bedroom where he can work on some of his projects. Others we will continue to do in the kitchen or, when it's warmer, at the table in the garage. (Our main supplies are not in his room but in a location more accessible to me, the teacher.)


I made him the cute "STUDIO" banner from instructions I found on this neat blog: mrspicasso's art room.

These are samples of the earliest work that I saved. He enjoyed drawing people and did it often on whatever paper I gave him. Fortunately for me he never drew on the walls or furniture.



This blog will serve as my journal of our adventures in art and as a gallery where I can display and share his art (and maybe a little of my own from time to time) with others. I'm not looking to get loads of followers or to be an expert on kids' art, I just want to share our passion and give him a record of these adventures.

As time allows, I will add in more of Levi's early art as well as what he is currently working on.

Well, gotta go dream up which project we will do next.

Sharon