In July 2021, I took a road trip from New York to Pittsburgh. While in the city, I visited the Mattress Factory museum, where I was first introduced to Yayoi Kusama. I entered a room filled with vibrant red polka dots, and the mirrors surrounding the space created reflections that gave the illusion of an endless sea of dots.

After my visit, I dove into researching everything Kusama. I was eager to share this incredible artist with my middle school students. We drew and painted pumpkins and mushrooms, and even created 3D pumpkin sculptures using papier-mâché!

But why limit my excitement to just my middle school students? I decided to teach a ZIA (Zentangle Inspired Art) class for my adult students on Zoom. While Kusama didn’t directly use Zentangle in her work, we found patterns that were quite similar. Together, we created fantasy mushroom tiles, incorporating Zentangle patterns and fragments. It was such a fun class, and the results were amazing! I loved seeing everyone’s enthusiasm for learning about Kusama! Enjoy some of the lovely tiles above! And did I mention I dressed up to play the part?!