This article describes a project that was inspired by the Chinese Festival of Lanterns. In this project, students had the opportunity and challenge of using a variety of media to represent a range of values to create form from shape. The lanterns proved to be an interesting subject for the drawings, as well as a way to increase students' knowledge…

In this article, the author describes a lesson on Asian cultures. Asian cultures demonstrate respect for nature through their art. Students learned how to use Asian brush techniques and designs to create scrolls. They also learned how to write Haiku, a three-line form of poetry that uses a pattern of syllables.

Everyone likes a good story and different cultures have their unique ways of telling stories. Japan has a history of picture folktales called "kamishibai." Kamishibai (kah-mee-shee-bye), or "paper theater," began to appear on the streets of Japan in the 1920s. A kamishibai performer would ride a bicycle from town to town with…

The sixth-grade art curriculum includes world cultures and the art-history timeline. This lesson was created as the authors were developing relevant projects. They also presented it at an Ohio Art Education Association fall conference as part of their thematic unit, "Art of the Himalayas." As teachers, they were fascinated by the annual…

Julie Taymor's costumes and masks for the stage version of "The Lion King" were stunning in the way they combined the dual images of human and animal forms. Taymor visually incorporated the human form of a dancer into the simplified form of the animal character so both are equally visible. This visible duality of human form and animal…

Bento boxes are common objects in Japanese culture, designed to hold enough lunch for one person. They have individual compartments and sometimes multiple tiers for rice, vegetables, and other side dishes. They are made of materials ranging from wood, cloth, aluminum, or plastic. In general, the greater the number of foods, the better the box is…

A symbolic dry landscape garden of Eastern origin holds a special fascination for the author's middle-school students, which is why the author chose to create a project exploring this view of nature. A dry landscape garden, or "karesansui," is an arrangement of rocks, worn by nature and surrounded by a "sea" of sand, raked into patterns…

Learning about ancient art and art from different cultures can be fascinating. It is an important factor in helping students to broaden their horizons and appreciate differences. Creating art while employing newfound knowledge is especially interesting and fun for students. In this article, the author shares how she keeps this in mind each time…

This article introduces "kyoketsu-zome," the Japanese technique of dyeing paper. The author provides step-by-step instructions for dyeing the paper. (Contains 3 online resources.)

Water gardens became popular in China during the Tang Dynasty and goldfish were domesticated more than 1000 years ago. Beyond being beautiful and tranquil, water gardens have the potential for much learning in an educational setting, especially for learning through art. In this article, the author shares how he collaborated with another teacher in…

A sky fading from blue to white to red at the horizon, and water darkening from light to midnight blue. Strong diagonals slashing through the image, drawing a viewer's eyes deeper into the picture, and delicate trees poised to convey a sense of beauty. These are the fascinating strengths of the ukiyo-e woodblock prints of Japanese artist Ando…

Standing in awe in Xian, China, at the Terra Cotta warrior archaeological site, the author thought of sharing this experience and excitement with her sixth-grade students. She decided to let her students carve patterns of the ancient soldiers to understand their place in Chinese history. They would make block prints and print multiple soldiers on…

Japanese masks have been worn for a number of reasons. In the past they were often used in plays and celebrations. Today in Japan, social masks are essential in many party gatherings as a form of expressing one's personality. In this article, the author describes an art project wherein students created Japanese masks and kimonos.

Learning about the kimono is a great way to explore pattern design and Japanese culture at the same time. The kimono is the traditional clothing commonly associated with Japan, and is still worn today by both men and women, although generally only for celebrations and wedding ceremonies. In this article, the author describes a kimono painting…

Challenging one's brain is the beginning of making great art. Tangrams are a great way to keep students thinking about their latest art project long after leaving the classroom. A tangram is a Chinese puzzle. The earliest known reference to tangrams appears in a Chinese book dated 1813, but the puzzles existed long before that date. The puzzle…