Japan Artist Slide Script

Pre-slides: Focus slide; “And now, it’s time for Art Lit”

Slide 1: Words we will use today

1. Origami: The art of folding paper into decorative shapes and figures. 2. Symmetry: When a geometric shape can be divided into two or more identical pieces. Many of the folds used in Origami are symmetrical, meaning the left and right sides look exactly the same.

Slide 2: Introducing Japan

Japan is an island nation located the Pacific Ocean. Geographically, Japan is only about one and a half times the size of Oregon! However, despite its tiny size, Japan’s population ranks #10 in the world.

The Japanese have extremely long history of art, and they have made significant contributions to architecture, ceramics/pottery, prints and paintings and calligraphy (the art of lettering using a brush). Today we are going to be focusing on the use of paper in Japanese art… and more specifically in a form of art called Origami.

Slide 3: History of paper

Question: Where does paper come from? How do we get paper nowadays?

In modern times, paper is easy to find. Think of how many pieces of paper are lying around a given room in your house, how many sheets of paper you use every day at school, or how much paper we simple wad up and throw away (or hopefully recycle!). If we run out of paper, it’s easy to go buy an entire pack at the store.

1000 years ago, it wasn’t that easy. Before paper became mass produced in mills and factories, it was made by hand.

The art of papermaking is a long and complex process. Plants are harvested, separated and processed, then pounded into tiny fibers. The fibers are then mixed with a liquid to create a paste- like substance. The paste is then spread on a bamboo mesh screen (like a window screen) to form each sheet of paper. The sheets are piled up wet, and later laid out to dry on wood in the sun or indoors on a heated dryer.

Can you imagine all of that work going into producing one piece of paper?

Slide 4: Use of paper in Japanese culture

This technique of making paper was invented by the Chinese, and it later came to Japan.

In historical Japan, paper was considered a valuable and expensive product. It was used in many aspects of Japanese life and artwork, most notably in architecture.

Japan Artist Slides

Shoji doors are a very famous example of how handmade paper was used in everyday life.

Umbrellas, fans, lanterns and, of course, art, are other areas where paper was and is used heavily in Japanese culture.

Slide 5: Origami

Today, we’re going to be focusing specifically on origami. Origami is the art of folding paper into decorative shapes or figures.

While we’re not sure if origami began in China or Japan, we do know that the name “origami” comes from the Japanese words oru (to fold) and kami (paper). In the early stages of origami, it was an art form practiced only by the upper class, because paper was not readily available. Traditionally, most origami instructions were passed on by oral tradition, one generation teaching the next.

As paper became more affordable, origami began being practiced by people other than the elite, and it began to be taught publicly in schools.

Slide 6: Modern Origami In traditional origami, the designs are created from a single sheet of paper, with no cutting and no glue.

Many of the folds made in origami pieces are symmetrical – the same fold is repeated on both the left and right sides to create a piece that looks the same on both sides.

While some of the simpler designs require just a few folds, more complex designs and techniques can be used to produce some truly amazing works of art!

Slide 7: Modern Origami (cont)

Sometimes, multiple pieces of origami can be combined to create one large piece of art. This is called modular origami.

And while the paper is almost always square-shaped, it is possible to create origami-inspired figures out of paper that isn’t square. Can you guess what was used to make this piece?

Slide 8: Are you ready to create your own Origami shadow box? While traditionally, handmade paper was used to create origami designs, today we’re going to be using modern origami paper to make these shadow boxes.

Are you ready to create your own shadow box?

Continue to Project Steps….

Japan Artist Slides