Learn About Japan's Kokeshi Dolls to Make Hand-Drawn Greeting Cards for Friends
In this one-time class, your child will learn all there is to know about the ever-intriguing Kokeshi Dolls of Japan, then make a set of hand-drawn Kokeshi Doll greeting cards to gift to family and friends.
Carrie Smith
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(91)
What's included
1 live meeting
1 in-class hoursClass Experience
If your child does not yet know about Kokeshi Dolls from Japan, this class will fill them up with all things intriguing and new! In this class, we will dive deep into the history, craftsmanship, beauty, and intrigue of these traditional wooden dolls through fun discussions and art. Below is a description of how our class will go: 1. We will learn and discuss all there is to know about Kokeshi Dolls through history, fun facts, and engaging photos. 2. We will discuss the uniqueness of Kokeshi Dolls (how no two are the same) and do a fun activity drawing various facial features that convey different emotions and truly represent those of the Kokeshi Doll. 3. We will take our knowledge of Kokeshi Doll characteristics into our art project to make 4 unique hand-drawn Kokeshi doll greeting cards that students can gift to family or friends. Tracing and cutting will be required for this project. 4. Students will be given a take-home activity (a paper-folding craft) to make a Kokeshi Doll bookmark to keep or gift to a friend.
Learning Goals
My goal for this class is to introduce my students to an aspect of Japanese culture that they might not already know about. I have been fascinated with Kokeshi Dolls for a very long time and I have found that all of my past students have loved learning about them and creating art around this theme. More importantly, the end result of this class is a tangible item (hand-made greeting cards) that can be gifted to family and friends so that students can take pride in their work and spread kind words through their art.
Other Details
Supply List
1. Printed "Kokeshi Doll Project Sheets" (to be printed and ready to go prior to class). This can be found as an attachment in the Classroom. 2. 3 8.5 X 11-inch pieces of white card stock, or any other sturdy paper (this will be used for printing your template and for our greeting cards) 3. 1 piece of 8.5 X 11-inch watercolor paper 4. 1 Black FINE POINT (not ULTRA FINE POINT) Sharpie or any other comparable red marker with same point size 5. 1 Red FINE POINT (not ULTRA FINE POINT) Sharpie or any other comparable red marker with same point size 6. Scissors 7. Glue stick 8. Pencil with eraser
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
The content of this one-hour class about Japanese Kokeshi Dolls is derived from straightforward facts about how Kokeshi Dolls are made (types of wood, lathe techniques, painting designs, shape and colors used, etc.) and differences between the 15 different types of Kokeshi Dolls produced in Japan throughout history (different head and body shapes, painting styles, facial features, and historical versus modern-day kokeshi doll characteristics). This class does not discuss aspects of Japanese culture unrelated to the making and style differences of Kokeshi Dolls, however, we do view photos from the region of Japan where Kokeshi dolls are made, an Onsen (Japanese Hot Spring) where Kokeshi dolls have historically been sold, and a street vendor selling "Onsen eggs" (eggs boiled in hot springs water). All of these photos serve to enrich the student's learning about Kokeshi Dolls and in no way generate bias against one thing, person, or group of Japan.
Joined April, 2020
5.0
91reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Welcome! My name is Carrie Smith and after 12 years running a private homeschool program teaching around-the-world art to kids, I have embarked upon a new journey sparked by an online art class I took with my 15-year-old daughter a couple of years ago. After taking this painting class together, we both became hooked, and the art supplies have never left the family room table since!
I continued painting my heart out until one day, I decided to cut my brightly painted artwork into pieces to create my first collage piece that literally spoke to my heart. From there, I honed in on my style and began hand-painting very detailed, colorful collage pieces and crafting vibrant collage statement pieces that I have been selling to various people all over the country ever since.
My process for painting is unique, and am super excited to share this process to my Outschool students using various paint colors, simple tools for painting details (that can be found around the house),
I hope your child can join me in a unique and creative journey around the world!Reviews
Live One-Time Class
$15
per classMeets once
60 min
Completed by 25 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-12
3-8 learners per class
