by Jennifer Barrett
These last few weeks have made me think a lot about peace and good will as this holiday season approaches. This “Everyday Art” project is a tribute to peace, and a reminder that children often bear the consequences of adult decisions.
Inspiration:
The story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, Ronald Himler, illustrates the story of a courageous, young girl who lived in Hiroshima. A baby when the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945, she was later diagnosed with leukemia when she was just 11 years old as a result of radiation exposure.
It is believed in Japanese culture that if you fold 1000 paper cranes, your wish will come true, and so Sadako found strength from folding paper cranes while confined to her bed in the hospital. Her wish was to get well and for peace and healing to all. She used every scrap of paper she could find, including paper from medicine bottles and leftover wrapping paper from gifts.
Sadako died at the age of 12, and had folded over 1300 paper cranes. In honor of her strength and courage, her classmates raised money to build a memorial, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Completed in 1958, it has a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane. The memorial reads:
This is our cry.
This is our prayer.
Peace in the world.
Everyday Art Lesson:
Concept Focus: Cranes for Peace
Mess Factor: Low
Ages: Can be modified for ages 0-18 years
Objectives: Kids will learn the story of Sadako and the 1000 cranes. Younger kids will create cranes out of clay, while older kids will fold origami cranes in memory of Sadako and in honor of peace on earth. Finished cranes can be displayed as place settings or ornaments.
Babies, toddlers, and younger kids: Colorful Cranes for Peace
Suggested Materials:
• Playdough Red, Yellow, Blue (see reference below for making your own)
• For ages 3+: Crayola Model Magic Red, Yellow, Blue, or other air dry compounds
Younger kids can easily mix secondary colors from the 3 primary colors, Red, Yellow, and Blue (R+Y=Orange, R+B=Violet, Y+B=Green).
Mix the colors to get orange by using twice as much yellow as red. Mix green by mixing twice as much yellow as blue. Mix violet by combining twice as much red as blue. Add blue gradually to get the desired color.
For reference, look at the picture of the origami crane. Create the crane by making 2 ball shapes, 1 large and 1 small. Roll the chosen crane color between your hands and pinch a triangle shape out of the rounded head for a beak. Elongate the head, fold it over for the neck, and attach to the body.
Take another color and create 2 similar triangle shapes for the wings. Attach to the body. Lastly, take another piece of clay for the tail and elongate it into a point at the end. Attach to the body.
Older Kids: Origami Cranes
Suggested Materials:
• Square paper: can be wrapping paper, origami paper, or create your own origami paper *see below
• Sharpies, or permanent fine tip markers
• Colored pencils
• Diagram *see below
• Scissors
Create origami paper: Any thin paper will do, including copy paper. To get a square, fold a piece of 81/2” x 11” paper on the diagonal, corner to side, and crease. Cut off the remaining rectangle on the bottom
To create a symmetrical design, continue folding on the opposite diagonal. Next, fold in half, unfold, then in half again the opposite direction. You will have 8 equal triangular spaces. Next, draw a circle in the center going through all spaces equally. To create a symmetrical design that radiates outward, draw repeating shapes in all 8 spaces. Keep adding shapes, getting larger as you get farther out. Color each layer in alternating colors or the same color to create a symmetrical pattern.
Fold the paper crane: Fold the origami paper according to the diagram link below, and you will have a beautiful and symmetrical origami crane with original origami paper. Use as a place setting, ornament, or 3-D tribute to peace.
Differentiation:
Students having difficulty with the folding can choose an origami diagram with fewer steps, or create one out of clay. Origami is difficult! Don’t get discouraged, just keep practicing. Paper is very forgiving and can be folded multiple times. Also, use plain white paper to practice until you know the diagram.
(TIP: Always check for the ASTM d-4236 standard and ACMI AP seal, which should be on all art materials given to children. Materials are like ingredients. Many things can be substituted for what you have on hand.)
References:
The book: https://www.amazon.com/Sadako-Thousand-Cranes-Puffin-Classics/dp/0142401137
The story and more resources: http://www.origami-resource-center.com/sadako.html
The origami crane diagram: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/sprite/www/Origami/crane_gif.html
No bake clay recipe: http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/no-bake-play-dough/
Feel free to email any questions or comments to info@creativespacearts.com, or visit my website at www.creativespacearts.com. I aim to create an open exchange of ideas and best practices.
Jennifer Barrett is the Arts Liaison and Performing Arts Coordinator at a public junior high school in Brooklyn, and has taught visual arts there since 2002. She founded Creative Space Arts in 2014 to offer a different kind of art studio, always changing and inspired by the immersive environment of galleries and other creative spaces. She has also guided countless students through the rigorous audition process of portfolio development, with many gaining acceptance and even scholarships into some of NYC’s most prestigious art schools. Jennifer’s paper creds include: B.F.A. in Drawing, M.Ed., S.B.L Certification.
About Creative Space Arts:
What do dragons, neighborhood-scapes, rainbow fish, and the moon have in common? They are all possible motifs at Creative Space Arts, a pop-up art studio set in galleries and other creative spaces. Our fun and immersive workshops are inspired by the work currently on view in gallery spaces, or by weekly theme. Through this approach, we aim to ignite curiosity and freedom of artistic expression.
These last few weeks have made me think a lot about peace and good will as this holiday season approaches. This “Everyday Art” project is a tribute to peace, and a reminder that children often bear the consequences of adult decisions.
Inspiration:
The story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, Ronald Himler, illustrates the story of a courageous, young girl who lived in Hiroshima. A baby when the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945, she was later diagnosed with leukemia when she was just 11 years old as a result of radiation exposure.
It is believed in Japanese culture that if you fold 1000 paper cranes, your wish will come true, and so Sadako found strength from folding paper cranes while confined to her bed in the hospital. Her wish was to get well and for peace and healing to all. She used every scrap of paper she could find, including paper from medicine bottles and leftover wrapping paper from gifts.
Sadako died at the age of 12, and had folded over 1300 paper cranes. In honor of her strength and courage, her classmates raised money to build a memorial, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Completed in 1958, it has a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane. The memorial reads:
This is our cry.
This is our prayer.
Peace in the world.
Everyday Art Lesson:
Concept Focus: Cranes for Peace
Mess Factor: Low
Ages: Can be modified for ages 0-18 years
Objectives: Kids will learn the story of Sadako and the 1000 cranes. Younger kids will create cranes out of clay, while older kids will fold origami cranes in memory of Sadako and in honor of peace on earth. Finished cranes can be displayed as place settings or ornaments.
Babies, toddlers, and younger kids: Colorful Cranes for Peace
Suggested Materials:
• Playdough Red, Yellow, Blue (see reference below for making your own)
• For ages 3+: Crayola Model Magic Red, Yellow, Blue, or other air dry compounds
Younger kids can easily mix secondary colors from the 3 primary colors, Red, Yellow, and Blue (R+Y=Orange, R+B=Violet, Y+B=Green).
Mix the colors to get orange by using twice as much yellow as red. Mix green by mixing twice as much yellow as blue. Mix violet by combining twice as much red as blue. Add blue gradually to get the desired color.
For reference, look at the picture of the origami crane. Create the crane by making 2 ball shapes, 1 large and 1 small. Roll the chosen crane color between your hands and pinch a triangle shape out of the rounded head for a beak. Elongate the head, fold it over for the neck, and attach to the body.
Take another color and create 2 similar triangle shapes for the wings. Attach to the body. Lastly, take another piece of clay for the tail and elongate it into a point at the end. Attach to the body.
Older Kids: Origami Cranes
Suggested Materials:
• Square paper: can be wrapping paper, origami paper, or create your own origami paper *see below
• Sharpies, or permanent fine tip markers
• Colored pencils
• Diagram *see below
• Scissors
Create origami paper: Any thin paper will do, including copy paper. To get a square, fold a piece of 81/2” x 11” paper on the diagonal, corner to side, and crease. Cut off the remaining rectangle on the bottom
To create a symmetrical design, continue folding on the opposite diagonal. Next, fold in half, unfold, then in half again the opposite direction. You will have 8 equal triangular spaces. Next, draw a circle in the center going through all spaces equally. To create a symmetrical design that radiates outward, draw repeating shapes in all 8 spaces. Keep adding shapes, getting larger as you get farther out. Color each layer in alternating colors or the same color to create a symmetrical pattern.
Fold the paper crane: Fold the origami paper according to the diagram link below, and you will have a beautiful and symmetrical origami crane with original origami paper. Use as a place setting, ornament, or 3-D tribute to peace.
Differentiation:
Students having difficulty with the folding can choose an origami diagram with fewer steps, or create one out of clay. Origami is difficult! Don’t get discouraged, just keep practicing. Paper is very forgiving and can be folded multiple times. Also, use plain white paper to practice until you know the diagram.
(TIP: Always check for the ASTM d-4236 standard and ACMI AP seal, which should be on all art materials given to children. Materials are like ingredients. Many things can be substituted for what you have on hand.)
References:
The book: https://www.amazon.com/Sadako-Thousand-Cranes-Puffin-Classics/dp/0142401137
The story and more resources: http://www.origami-resource-center.com/sadako.html
The origami crane diagram: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/sprite/www/Origami/crane_gif.html
No bake clay recipe: http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/no-bake-play-dough/
Feel free to email any questions or comments to info@creativespacearts.com, or visit my website at www.creativespacearts.com. I aim to create an open exchange of ideas and best practices.
Jennifer Barrett is the Arts Liaison and Performing Arts Coordinator at a public junior high school in Brooklyn, and has taught visual arts there since 2002. She founded Creative Space Arts in 2014 to offer a different kind of art studio, always changing and inspired by the immersive environment of galleries and other creative spaces. She has also guided countless students through the rigorous audition process of portfolio development, with many gaining acceptance and even scholarships into some of NYC’s most prestigious art schools. Jennifer’s paper creds include: B.F.A. in Drawing, M.Ed., S.B.L Certification.
About Creative Space Arts:
What do dragons, neighborhood-scapes, rainbow fish, and the moon have in common? They are all possible motifs at Creative Space Arts, a pop-up art studio set in galleries and other creative spaces. Our fun and immersive workshops are inspired by the work currently on view in gallery spaces, or by weekly theme. Through this approach, we aim to ignite curiosity and freedom of artistic expression.
