Fabulous Koi Fish

Koi fish are decorative varieties of the common carp. They were first bred for their decorative colours more than a thousand years ago, in China. Koi fish are very popular in both China and Japan, where they are kept in outdoor ponds and water gardens.

Koi grow up to 90cm in length and can live more than 30 years. It is also very strong, and can jump with its entire body out of the water. It often appears in art works surrounded by a big splash!

In China they believe that the koi fish brings good luck and symbolize strength. 

The Japanese associate koi with perseverance in adversity and strength of purpose. Because of its strength and determination to overcome obstacles, it stands for courage and the ability to attain high goals. The name 'koi' also sounds like another word that means "love", so the koi is also often used to symbolise love and friendship.

Many artworks also have cherry blossoms that haven fallen into the water. They are also a symbol of love.

Aren't these fabulous? Have a wonderful holiday, and see you next term!!

Yasodha D

Fabulous Koi

All beautiful - I think one of my favourite projects so far!

Annika VW

Chinese Cherry Blossoms

In Chinese (and Japanese) art, animals are often used to represent aspects of life. If you know the meaning of an animal symbol you can read the 'hidden' meaning within the painting.

For example, the dragon is the symbol of great power and the best possible fortune, a bat can be symbolic of wishes for good luck, happiness and long life and a duck in reeds is a wish for good luck in exams.

Visit this website to learn more about Chinese animal symbolism.

We looked at a number of animals and their symbolic meanings before choosing the animals for our own pictures. Some children used the Chinese zodiac animals from the year they were born.

I also gave the children a strip of paper with their name written phonetically in Chinese characters, which they included in their designs.

To complete these beautiful Chinese influenced pictures we created a soft pastel background and added cherry blossoms with acrylic paint.

Bryson C

Chinese Symbolism & Cherry Blossoms

With eight separate steps, these pictures were quite complex to put together. I love the soft pastel skies, that take on a twilight atmosphere with the silvery white moons peeping out from behind the cherry blossoms. The animals too, are very diverse as everyone chose their animals to symbolise a hidden message within their picture. Well done everyone!!

Oscar N

Manga Karate

Manga is the art of Japanese cartooning and comics. It seems that there is a form of Manga for everyone in Japan - it is read by people from every age group and in all walks of life, and covers just about every genre from science fiction and fantasy to murder mystery!

The Manga style is becoming increasingly known and popular in countries outside of Japan - when we looked at some examples the children all seemed to recognise with the style even when they were not familiar with the name.

This week we've had fun experimenting with the exaggerated eyes, small triangular nose, pointed chin and shaped hair that is characteristic of Manga.

Juliana K

Fun With Japanese Art ~ Suminagashi & Sumi-e

Suminagashi, which literally translates as "floating ink", is a Japanese form of paper marbling.

Sumi-e, or "ink painting", is an Asian style of painting which has been practised for well over a thousand years in many Asian countries including China and Japan. The Sumi-e artist strives to capture the essence of an object or scene in the fewest possible brush strokes.

This week we've experimented with both Sumi-e and Suminagashi to create our own Japanese influenced pictures.

Sophia S