Big Brush Slippery Fish

I found this big brush in a tiny junk stall in Suzhou, China. I have no idea if it's actually an old calligraphy brush or just made to look so. Either way, I thought it was cool! My students agree, impressed by it's massive size. The handle is about a foot long. They took turns today trying it out.

 My attempt at copying these slippery, beady-eyed fish  with the big brush was not so impressive. It amazes me how sumi-e' can look so simple and yet be so difficult to do well. My inky fish slipped off the big brush, slug-like and lacking the lively flip and flop of this yin yang pair. Tomorrow, for my lesson on line, I will encourage my students to capture the essence of an animal in a few simple strokes with a small bamboo brush and india ink. I know the results will amaze me; they always do!

I love the red, rectangular stamp signatures on asian scrolls. I have some strips of thin foam material which the students can cut and stick on cardboard to create simple stamps. While they work on their individual 'signature' stamps I will invite a student at a time to take up the big brush  to swish and swoosh an 'S' of a fish on a long strip of butcher paper; together we will slip and drip some inky fish into a river edged in red print symbols.

A Helping Hand?

Like any teacher, I want to help my students as much as I can, however, if I thread one student's needle, I'll be stuck for the rest of the hour. The line will snake like a boa, encircling and ensnaring, constricting any hope I had of wandering freely among the industrious weavers in my art room and my students will limit their chances of gaining a skill. So, we practice the fold, pinch, jiggle method of needle threading. Needles with really big eyes, of course, make this process much easier.

Often I have students with various disabilities that make needle threading, cutting with scissors or other fine-motor, tool use, challenging. These students have so much to gain from fine-motor practice in the art classroom, but far too often, well-meaning adults step in and take away the opportunity to develop these hand skills. I sometimes have to ask a classroom aide to step back and allow the students to do the art project on their own. I try to explain that the process is more important than the end product. On the other hand, it is important to lend a hand or gently guide a hand  if a student is becoming too frustrated. At these times, I am grateful for another pair of adult hands in the room.

Whether working with children in a classroom or raising your own children, deciding whether to give a helping hand or encourage the child to do it alone can be difficult. If you thread all their needles you may be stuck threading all their needles. However, if you let them do it alone, while there's the risk of a pricked finger, there's also the possibility of moving beyond perceived limitations.