Mini-Jade Bonsai Tree, Photo by C.S. Goodridge
Bonsai Drawing Workshop
Funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities,
an agency supported in part by the
National Endowment for the Arts
an agency supported in part by the
National Endowment for the Arts
Workshop Objectives:
Workshop Activities:
An actual Bonsai tree is presented to the class for them to closely investigate. Students discuss how they feel about trees in general, including what they think is the purpose of trees. Students choose a favorite tree from images brought in.
Students are then introduced to Dr. Masaru Emoto’s work with water crystals and how certain thoughts and words determine their shape. Participants view several photos of water crystals to see what shapes occur with certain words (i.e., love, wisdom, fool.)
Participants create names for their trees based on values they admire or goals they’d like to achieve. With that in mind they design new trees, drawings based on not just what they see, but the “shape” of their thoughts or values. Using pens, color markers and paper, students do several gesture drawings to warm up and take risks and then create a larger drawing on heavier paper.
Workshop Outcomes
These thinking and drawing exercises help students identify and focus their values. They begin to understand the important impact of words and thoughts. All participant drawings are shared and discussed with the class. Each student is given a folder with their main value noted on the tab to organize and keep their work and also to help remind them of their personal choice. This also acknowledges them as important thinkers and that their work deserves attention. They keep this folder and continue working on their drawings after the workshop.
Participant Feedback
(Click link below to see feedback.)
Sarah Elwell
School Librarian
McKinley Technology Education Campus (High School)
Washington, DC
- To engage students in activities that explore some tenets of creativity (i.e., originality, vision, inventiveness, progressiveness, risk-taking)
- Experimentation
- To build imagination
- To understand the important impact of words and thoughts, how their thoughts shape not only their lives, but their physical world
- To encourage keen observation skills and focus that can lead to innovative thoughts and expressions
- To reflect on and appreciate nature
Workshop Activities:
An actual Bonsai tree is presented to the class for them to closely investigate. Students discuss how they feel about trees in general, including what they think is the purpose of trees. Students choose a favorite tree from images brought in.
Students are then introduced to Dr. Masaru Emoto’s work with water crystals and how certain thoughts and words determine their shape. Participants view several photos of water crystals to see what shapes occur with certain words (i.e., love, wisdom, fool.)
Participants create names for their trees based on values they admire or goals they’d like to achieve. With that in mind they design new trees, drawings based on not just what they see, but the “shape” of their thoughts or values. Using pens, color markers and paper, students do several gesture drawings to warm up and take risks and then create a larger drawing on heavier paper.
Workshop Outcomes
These thinking and drawing exercises help students identify and focus their values. They begin to understand the important impact of words and thoughts. All participant drawings are shared and discussed with the class. Each student is given a folder with their main value noted on the tab to organize and keep their work and also to help remind them of their personal choice. This also acknowledges them as important thinkers and that their work deserves attention. They keep this folder and continue working on their drawings after the workshop.
Participant Feedback
(Click link below to see feedback.)
Sarah Elwell
School Librarian
McKinley Technology Education Campus (High School)
Washington, DC
Students Taking the Workshop
Location: Luke C. Moore HS, Washington, DC
