A while ago we explored creating Haiga using paint blots (read the post here). Often called Zen Art, Haiga (hi-gah) combines Haiku and drawings on the same page. The poetry and the images work together to strengthen one another. A swipe of paint on paper feels much like the brush stroke the masters used. Today we will create more paint blot haiga—with a twist!

I had so much fun before, I wanted to create more haiga! This time, there is an option if you don’t have the time or supplies to create a paint blot, I’ve created an assortment of them for you to use—Just add haiku! For this option just choose your favorite paint blot from the selection below and write a haiku. To create paint blot haiga from scratch, follow these instructions:

Simple Instructions for paint blot haiga

• Grab a small piece of paper or an index card.
• Round up some acrylic paint in any color.
• Find a palette knife (if you don’t have a palette knife, the edge of a used gift card works great!)
• Place a nickel or quarter sized amount of paint on the page.
• Ready, Set, Swipe the paint across the paper a couple of times (in different directions if you’d like).
• Now turn the card sideways and upside down until you see a picture in your paint blot.
• When the paint is dry, outline the image you’ve found with a fine tip marker.
• Write a haiku on the card (You can create one or use a favorite haiku by another poet that relates to the paint blot image).
• Congratulations! You have created Haiga!

example paint blot haiga

It was fun to find images hiding in the paint. I found a a hummingbird (it’s amazing that the paint is raised right where the eye should be!), and dolphins (they look a bit like whales, but hey that’s okay :)).

Take your pick from these paint blots

Screen shot, crop, and print out your favorite paint blots from this assortment.

More fun with haiku

If you had fun with this project, please check out my book, How Do You Haiku? for more Haiku activities like this. The book is packed with fun templates to create haiku comic strips, a poetry on- the-go-game, poem stones (kuhi), a season word mini booklet, and more!

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