Tag Archives: Books

books

21st Century art for kids (Book review)

Gallery of Modern Art (GoMa) Queensland, Australia is displaying an exhibition called “21st Century Art in the first decade”.  http://qag.qld.gov.au

This is a fantastic exhibition and it is free!

I have visited a couple of times and each time I really had a great time!

I liked many artworks such as live birds flying called “here to ear” by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot,  “Soul under the moon” and “Narcissus garden” by Yayoi Kusama, Katharina Grosse’s Spray painting eggs, walking in the 3000 purple balloons, sliding in the sack from the third floor to the ground floor, creating white lego buildings and so on. There are so much fun for adults and kids!

When I visited there last time, I bought the book called “21st Century Art for Kids” and I recommend this book for your children who are interested in the arts.

I often wonder what kind of things the artists did or liked when they were kids.  This book has an answer. This books tells you what the artists liked doing when they were kids and how they became artists.

It includes activities for kids which relate to each artist’s work. We tried spray paints by Katharina Grosse’s.  It has a wonderful story included  by Arthur Koo-Ekka Pambegan Jr.

The book cost around $30, and it has a great value.

This books tells about 36 artists telling the kids followings;

Yayoi Kusano - Artist
About the Artist
Yayoi Kusama - Artist
When I first became interested in art, What I liked doing when I was a child
Yayoi Kusama - Artist
About my art work, What will I do next?
Kids art activity
Your turn - Activity

Making Japanese Paper Doll Puppets

Japanese Dolls
Japanese Paper Hina Dolls (Sumico Net Original)

March 3 is Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival or Girls’ Festival) in Japan, when people pray for the happiness and healthy growth of girls.

The family who has daughters place the doll set for this festival.

Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display a set of ornamental dolls (雛人形, hina-ningyō) representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period.  (from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri)

I made these dolls for my son’s class (year 1) and I will show the kids how to make Japanese dolls next week.  I thought that it would be a good post for people who are interested in Japanese culture.

You can download the template and try to make ones.

>>Download Japanese Doll Template (Note: Sorry, but  it is not the best resolution)

It is hard to buy the Chiyogami (Japanese paper with patterns) here in Australia, so I used the patterns from the book called “Kyochiyogami to Wa no Monyo Selection” (ISBN978-4-8843-2522-2 by Impress Japan Corporation.

Materials for Hina dolls
Materials: Download the template, coloured papers, sticks
Hina Dolls Parts
Cut out of the Hina Dolls parts, and glue the hair on the face
Hina Doll assemble 1
Fold left side of Kimono
Hina Doll assemble 2
Fold the right side of the kimono
Hina Doll Assemble 3
Fold the bottom parts to the back and finish!
Wano Monyo Collection
Book by Impress Japan ISBN978-4-8443-2522-2

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Read another popular kids activity -Marbling with Shaving Cream

Book Reviews: Flowers (Graphic Materials)

Flowers Maetrials by Haut DessinsI went to Japan last October.  One of the things that I miss in Japan is Book Stores.

There are some big book stores and thousand different kind of books you can find there.  I wish I could spend more time and more money there, but I had only limited time and money.

I would like to share the books which are related to design.

One of the books that I found useful was the book called “Flowers” by Haut Dessins and published by Soft Bank Creative.

It is very handy to have images that you can use for the work at hand, because it takes some time when you do hand drawing.  It comes with a DVD and images are eps, jpg or png, so you can use them for web and prints.

In Brisbane, there are very limited book stores available and I have not seen these kind of material books as yet.

You can purchase the book through amazon Japan, but it cost a bit for shipping.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4797358424