I love exploring world cultures with my students. This year, we set our sights on Japan. We spent the entire fall studying the art of the region, and the results are stunning!
After learning about the life and work of Hokusai, artists set out to create unique versions of The Great Wave of Kanagawa. Our masterpieces featured Mt. Rainier instead of Mt. Fuji, and ferries or orcas instead of canoes. We titled our series, The Great Wave of Puget Sound.
We also studied the art of printmaking and sumi- e painting. Our studies overlapped with Sukkot so we designed these beautiful Challah covers to donate to The Shabbat Project.
We then studied Japanese kimonos, and created these elegant paper dolls after reading, Suki's Kimono.
At SHA, we take every opportunity to collaborate to optimize student learning. While studying Japanese Art, our 2nd graders started studying the life cycle of salmon in Science. It was the perfect opportunity to try Gyotaku! After watching a professional in action (thanks to technology!), we took turns making prints from a rubber salmon. It also happened to be Veteran's Day, so we opted for patriotic colors. Artists labeled the parts of the salmon to complete our collaboration.
Finally, artists built and designed beautiful tea cups to celebrate all we learned about Japan. These delicate pinch pot cups were a great addition to our body of work, and the Gallery shined with Japanese Art for all to enjoy.
