Koinobori are carp-shaped windsocks flown in Japan to celebrate Children's Day. Students watched a short video about the tradition and learned some fun facts such as the sale of a single Koi fish for 1.8 million dollars!

We made Koinobori inspired windsocks using fabric and paint. Students first had to make a scale stamp shape with a rubber material and a linoleum cutter. They then practiced stamping using black paint on a separate sheet of paper to test their stamp and to create the scale pattern. We then stamped the fabric and added additional colors that were painted on the fabric. The fish was assembled using hot glue for the body. The mouth was sewn around a book ring. More detailed instructions of this project are available on Blick Art lesson plans.

Fabric was available in red, blue, white and orange. Students could use any paint colors they wanted and they could design the eye and any other features as they wanted. Some students applied some Mod Podge glitter to parts of their fish to create a shimmering quality.

Ashley Baltazar 7 (Left image)