Becky Miles
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 158 Feedbacks 
I recently learned of Etegami, a Japanese folk art. It's a simple hand-painted drawing accompanied by a few words. It's usually done on postcards and they are meant to be sent to someone. What I love about this style of art is that is not meant to be perfect. The paint can go out of the lines or not cover everything and that is the desired look. I taught this technique to a few middle school classes and the kids loved the project. It's so easy and fun. The kids really enjoyed making their creations.
Total Time: Not very long to make a picture. But, we made lots!
Yield: to make!
Source: Japanese folk art
Supplies:
- watercolor paints. We had some that we made from markers. But, you can use the type with the paint in the trays and you add water to them (found at most dollar stores).
- paintbrush
- water
- Sharpie marker
- watercolor paper - This is kind of expensive, unless you use a coupon at the craft store. We've also done it on regular paper but the paper warps a bit.
Steps:
- Cut your watercolor paper into quarters, so that it's postcard sized.
- Traditionally, etegami is done with sumi ink to make the outline of the picture. Since we had none, we used Sharpies to draw the outline. The kids liked not waiting for the ink to dry before they painted the color on. Most etegami pictures are a simple design with a few colors.
- Apply the paint to your picture. Remember, it doesn't need to be perfect. Just have fun with the color and go to your "happy place"!
- Write a couple of words or a short message.
- You can mail your masterpieces or keep them!
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
