Abstract
This study is about the childrenʼs art-making characteristics and relationship to place/space through zōkei-asobi (playful art study) undertaken with all 70 pupils of Nishimeya Elementary School in Aomori Prefecture. This exercise clarified the childrenʼs growing awareness of “zōkei (art) space” over their six years at elementary school, and differences in art-making ability. In particular, when it came to perception of zōkei space, a developmental process for art activities was found in which activities progressed from reaching out to the surroundings (“space of place”) in the lower grades, to making stand-alone three-dimensional objects and being aware of art-making space (zōkei space) in the middle grades, and in the higher grades, proactively reaching out even more to the features and space of the place. This could be described as the process of turning “space of place” into aesthetic “zōkei (art) space”.
