Suminagashi

Suminagashi (墨 流 し) or "floating ink" is the process of marbling plain paper with water and ink to transform it into something vibrant and colorful. It originated in Japan as early as the 12th century. For this project kindergartens and 1st graders created a suminagashi monoprint.  So first they cut out a shape, then they took a tray of water and grated chalk onto the surface of the water.  Once their water was covered in chalk they dropped in thier shape and place their paper on top.  The Shape blocks the color in one area creating the print.  They had a lot of fun with these but it was tough to be paitent and wait for turns at the printing stations.