Echo Sand Art Inspired by Haiku Poetry
Use sand as a colorful material on a flat surface as used here in an echo art leaf.
Materials
- EZ Grip Paint Brushes, 5 pack
- Craft Glue
- Cardboard - 6 x 9 inch piece
- Small dish for glue
- Scrap paper
- Pencil
Instructions
| Begin this creative session with a discussion about haikus, a traditional form of Japanese poetry. Haikus are based on the flow and patterns of syllables in words and are based on three lines. The first and third lines of a haiku have 5 syllables while the second line has 7 syllables.
Encourage children to write their own haiku on easy topics, such as animals or nature. Here is one example of a Haiku about nature:
Leaves fall in autumn. They fall and float to the ground. Rake them up at once!
Echo Art is a great technique to introduce design and repeat patterns to children. It is a way to help children practice their hand/eye coordination. Like a haiku, echo art is created with a rhymn of repeat shapes. Have your class write a haiku, then have the children create their own Echo Art project based on the topic of their haiku.
In our haiku example, we talked about leaves and the autumn season, which is the inspiration for our leaf design.
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| Step 1. Gather your supplies.
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| Step 2.
Draw an image of a leaf in the middle of your board. |
| Step 3.
Draw another larger leaf around the first one you drew. Follow the original leaf shape as your guide. This created an echo of the first leaf. |
| Step 4.
Continue echoing the leaf shape as larger shapes around your page. If the echo goes off the paper, pick up the drawing on the other side. |
| Step 5.
Once your drawing is complete, choose the colors you want to use for the design. Use your pencil to mark the colors in the areas of your drawing as a guide. You can abbreviate if you want. For example, write a “B” for the color blue. |
| Step 6.
Prepare your area. Lay your artwork on a piece of scrap paper. Pour a small amount of glue onto a disposal plate or tray. |
| Step 7.
Using your paintbrush, brush glue onto the original leaf in the middle. Make sure to cover the whole area well. |
| Step 8.
Snip the end of your bag of sand so it’s ready to pour. Pour the colored sand onto the glue covered area. If it pours outside the glued area, it’s okay! The sand will only stick to the glue. |
| Step 9.
Lift your artwork and pour the sand off onto a piece of scrap paper. |
| Step 10.
Use the scrap paper to funnel the extra sand back into the bag. You might need the help of an adult for this step!
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| Step 11.
Repeat Steps 7-10 with the second largest shape of your design. |
| Step 12.
Repeat Steps 7-10 with each additional larger shape, take care to only put glue on one shaped area at a time! Keep adding glue and sand until you have completed your Echo Sand Art design. |
