Elementary students at Franklin Fine Arts Center, 225 W. Evergreen Ave., dedicated the school's new Japanese Garden by building a tapate, or Brazilian/Guatemalan sawdust carpet, on the sidewalk outside their school June 2.
Tapate is a large, temporary ritual "carpet" made out of sawdust and traditionally used as part of the Easter holidays and Corpus Christi celebrations in Guatemala and Brazil. The "carpets" are akin to the Tibetan sand paintings, Indian rice and water designs, and other meditations done with local inexpensive materials which can be easily dyed and assembled into patterns for temporary use in celebrations.
Unique to the tapate is its ability to be built by the public (in this case the K-8th graders at Franklin Fine Arts Center). Their efforts produce beautiful results, due largely to the strength of large designs and personal themes. The artwork is made of sawdust and can't hold together permanently. The act of sweeping it away (via the parade of the school's students) is part of the art's tradition.
Jennifer Hereth, mother of Franklin student Robert, thought the school's new Japanese garden, a project carefully nurtured by Franklin Art teacher Lucinda Vriner, deserved special acknowledgment. Heruth learned the ritual of Tapate in Brazil while on a Kellogg Foundation grant in South and Central America. She decided that Franklin, a Chicago Public Magnet school focusing on Fine Arts, was a perfect place to do a tapate.
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