Today we played with Suminagashi paintings. Suminagashi means "floating ink." I have always wanted to try the real floating ink pictures with my art students but up until this project I have only used shaving cream and paint to create a similar effect. But, it doesn't compare with the real floating ink. We learned about Takahashi Takayuki from Japan and his talent in perfecting this art. He uses large vats to dye material (Suminagashi style) and then he makes that material into kimonos. How cool is that? The kids giggled when I said, "He is the master of dyeing." All they heard was, "He is the master of dying." So, all day I heard, "Look! I dyed today." It was pretty funny. We used water, marbling ink, straws and white cardstock to create our masterpieces. I told the kids that the Suminagashi art they created can be turned into notes or cards to give to others. It is a fun way to give something that they have made.
