Match poetry to painting - includes related article

How to connect art and language arts, Japanese-style!

Traditional Japanese art captures the beauty or emotion of a scene or thought in the most concise manner possible. More than 700 years ago, the Japanese developed haiku (hi-Coo), a short poem in a traditional form, and sumi-e (soo-Me-a), the art of ink painting using only a few brush strokes.

ABOUT THESE ART FORMS

* Haiku poem: A haiku has three lines with a 5-7-5 syllabic count. This unrhymed poem is poignant, trying to capture the essential quality of daily sights in nature.

* Sumi-e painting: Sumi-e painting is the visual equivalent of a haiku, The sumi-e artist's goal is to use as few strokes as possible to convey the essence of the subject matter. The Japanese sumi-e painter uses a hard cake of ink, brushes, and rice paper.

TRY THIS PROJECT

Grade level: all Time: 50 minutes Materials: Your choice of papers: rice, construction, or newsprint; black ink, watercolor, or tempera paint; water; fine-pointed brush; Oriental wallpaper (from discontinued wallpaper books available at paint and wallpaper stores); glue; string or yarn

The Process:

1. Invite students to write haiku (younger students may do this as a group).

2. Have a pair of students prepare one container each of diluted (gray) and full-strength (black) ink or paint.

3. Show students how to lightly tear the edges of the paper to resemble handmade rice paper.

4. Have students write their haiku on the paper with full-strength black ink.

5. Students then illustrate the poem with gung and shey strokes.

6. Have each student glue his or her illustrated poem to a piece of wallpaper, attach a string, and display in the classroom.

Painting Japanese-style

To paint the sumi-e way, hold the brush between the thumb and fingertips in a vertical position and move the entire arm to make the basic two strokes. To create gung, wide strokes, apply more pressure; for shey, detailed strokes, slant the brush slightly.

MARY PARKS has taught art for 18 years. She currently teaches in Naperville Community School District 203 in Naperville, Illinois.

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