Dorodango Workshop – A Traditional Japanese Children’s Game, a Relaxing and Meditative Activity for Adults

What do onigiri (rice balls wrapped in seaweed), the Japanese flute, and dorodango have in common?

The search for perfection within simplicity; the use of simple materials accessible to everyone; and the emotional investment and concentration involved in the creative process.

The session begins with simple contact with earth and a little water. In a slow, meditative process that requires neither firing nor heating, the ball of mud gradually becomes a polished, hard planet bearing a unique fingerprint for each participant.

The idea for the workshop was born from a fruitful collaboration with Asia Publishing House, inspired by the beautiful book about the art of dorodango. However, the craft itself is rooted in a longstanding Japanese tradition centered on deep attentiveness to the natural world and on creation and making that invite pausing, silence, and contemplation.

Who is the workshop for?

🟤 Designers, creators, and artists seeking to discover a new material language

🟤 Body-mind practitioners interested in enriching their toolkit

🟤 Lovers of Japanese aesthetics, Zen culture, and slow work with their hands

🟤 Anyone in need of a deep breath, retreat, and compassionate creativity

Led by Yasmin Heshav, an artist and researcher of the botanical world.