JK Students Explore the Art and Science of “Tataki Zome”

Recently, some of Cranbrook’s youngest students benefited from a collaboration between the Garden Auxiliary at Cranbrook House and Gardens, Upper School Weaving and Fibers instructor Rebecca Smith and her students, and their Junior Kindergarten science classes. 

Early Childhood Science teacher Teresa Coleman shares, “As the garden auxiliary was preparing the sunken garden for colder weather, they invited us to use their flowers for an art-science project.  Upper School students helped our younger students with a Japanese natural dye method, Tataki Zome, ‘hammering’ and ‘dyeing’ color into cloth (or in our case, paper). We picked petals, arranged flower heads, made predictions, and then pounded with a hammer to see the results.”

“It was a great collaboration that we hope to continue throughout the school year,” she adds.