Flower Arrangement Paper Art Project

“Sceneries in nature, such as mountains, rivers, and plants, are irregular in form, but coexist harmoniously.” -- The Art of Chinese Flower Arrangement

Flower arrangement is a popular art form all around the world. The design principles of flower arrangement, however, reveal esthetic values and a more in-depth cultural background among different cultures. In my curriculum, I integrates East Asian art into a 3D studio unit. Students learn about Chinese flower arrangement skills and Japanese Ikebana. During the art-making process, we also explore how religion affects people's esthetic value and art practice.

In the first part of the unit (about 2 lessons), with teacher's guidance, students explore the origin of the East Asian flower arrangement (offering flowers on the altars was an essential part of religion practice). Students learn about how to appreciate East Asian flower arrangement: the rules of composition (variation in the height, and appropriateness in the distance), flower symbolism, and the choice of vase. The class will then discuss how religion affects people's esthetic value and art practice.

In the second part of the unit (about 4-6 lessons), teacher demonstrate several basic 3D paper flower techniques and students can choose one or two types to practice. When I first taught this unit, I found out that there are relatively fewer 3D paper projects for middle and high school students. My students don't have any experience with paper projects before, so they at first didn't believe that they can do it. However, the outcome of the 3D paper flower was unbelievably successful.

In the third part of the unit, students create a container for their flowers with air-dry clay. They need to take a various of factors into consideration. For example, the color, texture and type of the flowers they've made. Container is an integral part of flower arrangement creative process. By making the design for the container, students reinforce their understanding of East Asian aesthetic value.

I hope my lesson plan can promote a global mindset to encourage our students to explore and make connections between different cultures. When my students were learning about East Asian flower arrangement, many reflected on the rules of composition. Some students told me they initially thought the Ikebana is a control of nature. They thought it would be beautiful enough if you just put whatever you got from the garden. And after the unit, they learned about Japanese people's efforts to depict the transience of beauty and our mortal existence. They found it inspiring that people from different cultures can have different perspectives when viewing the same thing, and I hope this understanding will help them to be more open-minded when appreciating different cultures.

Reference Book Used in This Unit:

-The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers by Livia Cetti

-Flower Power -- The Meaning of Flowers in Asian Art by Dany Chan

-Modern Reader on the Chinese Classics of Flower Arrangement by Zhang Qiande & Yuan Hongdao, Compiled by Li Xia