“Demeter Kid’s Club” was held from Monday, August 19 until Monday, August 26 (extended an extra day), in the free-of-charge Interzone area. Although some workshops were canceled because of the rain, about seventy people, from preschoolers to adults, came to the Kid’s Club and enjoyed working with the prepared worksheets. The finished works were exhibited on the walls of the Interzone for a week. On Friday, art club members of Tomihara Junior High School in Kushiro visited. On Monday, the “UFO” Frisbee workshop was broadcast on NHK’s “Hokuhoku TV.” The following are the reports from workshops: “Draw Sky on TV,” “Ms. Kim’s Cartoon Studio,” and “UFO Frisbee.”

1. Frottage: Draw Sky on TV
On the worksheet using Yoko Ono’s Sky TV as a motif, participants worked on “frottage,” rubbing worksheets on the surfaces of stable walls and tree trunks to draw each sky. Trying different places for frottage, children enjoyed the rough texture and the outcome. Then, they drew many skies. Some drew balloons, rainbows, and birds. Some drew things they wished to see in the sky. Some drew the evening sky. Some drew the night sky with stars. A two-year-old held a crayon and scribbled. Elementary school students enjoyed drawing and chatting: “these are things in the sky.”

2. Ms. Kim’s Cartoon Studio
Children added different backgrounds and wrote words for Kim to say in the pictures of Kim Sooja in A Beggar Woman and A Homeless Woman, in order to create new images. Some had comical images such as A Napping Woman and A Relaxing Woman, and others created more mysterious qualities, such as Kim lying down in a lotus flower. The kids showed their works to one another. Other visitors stopped by and enjoyed their cartoons. By having more communication among the audience members, kids were even more attracted to Kim Sooja and her works.

3. Let’s Fly Mr. Cai’s UFO Frisbee
In order to make a UFO Frisbee, we cut out the round center of a paper plate and put it together with another paper plate. Twelve children designed their own frisbees, drew pictures with colored pens, and decorated them with origami. They flew them and competed as to which one would go farther. On Monday, the children lined up in front of Stable #13 and flew UFO Frisbees. The children were divided into two age groups: younger elementary and middle elementary. They watched which one flew farther than others. After the gallery tour, they flew their Frisbees until dusk.

Children originated stories and made interesting associations using artworks as motifs. Then, they became more interested in the artists and their intentions. They talked with their friends and enjoyed exchanging ideas. When there were people who were interested, we also held gallery talks. We selected artworks and had group discussions. Children spoke of their impressions on the artworks, always with original ideas and stories. As we listened to them, we naturally realized that there is no “wrong answer.” The kids seemed to be truly satisfied when they were passionately talking about their artworks.