Blog Archives

Japanese Sumi-e Paintings

1/17/2017

SUMI-E is the Japanese word for Black Ink Painting. East Asian Painting and writing developed together in ancient China using the same materials —brush and ink on paper. Emphasis is placed on the beauty of each individual stroke of the brush. The Chinese speak of “writing a painting” and “painting a poem.” A great painting was judged on three elements: the calligraphy strokes, the words of the poetry (often with double meanings and subtle puns) and the ability of the painting strokes to capture the spirit (Ch’i) of nature rather than a photographic likeness. The artists of Japan, Korea and Malaysia learned from the Chinese and then developed their own versions of East Asian brush painting.

2nd grade artwork: Bamboo Sumi-e paintings with Panda sketches
3rd grade artwork: Cherry Blossom Tree Sumi-e paintings

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4th grade Great WAves

1/4/2017

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During our unit on Japanese art, 4th grade students focused on the use of movement, line, and pattern in the artwork of Katsushika Hokusai.

Hokusai was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai

The Great Wave is Hokusai's most famous work, and one of the best recognized works of Japanese art in the world. It depicts an enormous wave threatening boats off the coast of the prefecture of Kanagawa. While sometimes assumed to be a tsunami, the wave is, as the picture's title suggests, more likely to be a large rogue wave. As in all the prints in the series, it depicts the area around Mount Fuji under particular conditions, and the mountain itself appears in the background.

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Gyotaku: Japanese Fish Printing

1/4/2017

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Gyotaku
Japanese 魚拓,
(from gyo "fish" + taku "rubbing")

Gyotaku is the traditional Japanese method of printing fish, a practice which dates back to the mid-1800s. This form of nature printing may have been used by fishermen to record their catches, but has also become an art form of its own.
In the earliest nature prints, inks or pigments were applied directly to the relief surface of leaves and/or other relatively flat natural subjects in order to capture images of their sizes, shapes, surface textures, and delicate vein or scale patterns.

Kindergarten and first grade students created their very own Gyotaku prints during art class this week using rubber fish and ink! Check out some photos of students making their very first fish print!