While visiting Japan—known for its ancient art from floral arranging to tea ceremony to sushi—an amazing door opened. The opportunity to teach a watercolor class at a preschool came only a few days after I arrived. A date was set.
Now I hunted for a creative project. While I was walking the next day, something caught my eye. Blue ceramic fish tiles attached to a wall seemed to leap and swim. These delightful shapes started teeming through my mind. Children would love them.
After preparing cardboard fish shapes and purchasing some watercolor sets and crayons, I headed off to the school. When I arrived, the students eagerly crowded around me to get a closer look. Their imaginations leapt into art.
They eagerly grabbed the cardboard images and began tracing them with the crayons, creating seascapes. Then they added watercolor washes to create colorful effects. Blues, yellows, greens swirled into fish.
Children are natural artists. Their willingness to learn and explore is contagious. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with the preschoolers, venturing beyond the ocean’s boundaries.
