Holiday Art Program To Keep Your Child Inspired
Children love to draw, paint and play with colours for hours on end. Besides you don’t need lots of art supplies to keep them happy for hours either. A pack of wax crayons is all you need to get started.
Used or unused really does not matter. Because playing with crayonswill help your child develop all sorts of important skills that will come in handy later on. Just focus on making crayon play inviting and fun.
You will be surprised how quickly your child will take to drawing and scribbling and having a great time doing it. The best part is, while your child is engrossed in playing with her crayons, she is developing valuable skills in preparation for writing.
Becoming more co-ordinated, developing her fine motor skills, and discovering new ways to express her thoughts, feelings and ideas verbally as well as on paper. Most importantly,she gets to have greater fun learning!
By participating in holiday art classes you and your child can explore a treasure trove of unique ideas and have loads of fun doing it. Just to illustrate the point, here are some of the easiest and the simplest of art ideas to try out at home. See what you can learn by playing with the good old wax crayon — the staple tool of any self-respecting budding artist.
Wax crayons are traditional, practical, safe and easy to use. But not all crayons are the same. They have amazing differences. Some are short, fat, and stubby, while others are hard, thin and long. Then there are the soft and waxy ones. Some producing a dense, bright colour, while others give a pale washed-out look to the colour they leave behind.
Wax crayons are useful when you have large areas to colour quickly and for creating very large and simple drawings. The unique characteristics of wax crayons make them especially suitable for some wacky ways to try out with your child at home.
Texture rubbing
You can use leaves, coins, grainy wood planks, even textured stone to have great fun with a piece of paper and a wax crayon. Keep the object to be rubbed, flat on a table, lay the paper over it. Using the wax crayon, rub gently until the pattern of object below becomes visible. It will seem simple to you, but will appear magical to your child, as the image will appear right before her eyes.
Resist work
Take advantage of the water-resistant qualities of wax crayons. While this looks too simple, it will again prove to be very effective. First, create your drawing using a wax crayon, and then use a watery paint as a wash over it.
Getting different effects depends upon how thick the paint you use is, and how bright the colour of the drawing underneath. By using a very diluted paint as wash and a white crayon, the effect created is light and delicate.
If you like a richer and more dramatic effect, wash over a bright wax crayon drawing with a denser black paint. Remember not to make this layer too thick as the picture will then disappear.
You will get best effect when you exert greater pressure while drawing with the wax crayon. If your child is very young, you may have to draw the picture for heras it requires some strength to make it dense.
Graffito
This 3-stage technique is ideal for older children who have more strength to exert more pressure. You begin by creating a bright, colourful pattern using different coloured wax crayons. Cover this colourful pattern with a thick layer using a black wax crayon.Apply as much pressure as possible while doing this.
Then fun time starts. Scratch any design you like or draw any picture using the back end of a paint brush. Scraping away the black wax layer to reveal the brightly coloured pattern that lies below the surface.
Make a giant crayon
Instead of scribbling with a single wax crayon, why not take 3 or 4 of them and tape them together to make a giant bunch. Help your child hold the big crayon with both her hands and draw. As the crayons automatically produce 3 or 4 lines in different colours, the effect of the swirls and scribbles will be startling. Creating a fabulous design that will enthral both of you! Try it.
Stained glass effect
Hand your child a cheese grater, and ask her to shred different coloured wax crayons on to a sheet of plain white paper. Meanwhile, draw a thick outline of a fish on another sheet of paper. Place this sheet with a drawing of a fish over the first sheet and iron the picture with an iron on low heat.
As the wax melts, it fuses the two sheets together, creating a translucent look. Tape the sheets to a window, and as the sun rises and shines through, the coloured wax creates a spectacular stained glass effect in the changing light.
Good art, bad art?
There is only art. So explore and expose your family to a variety techniques and styles. Or better still, take your family along and embark on a creative journey of discovery by joining Abrakaadoodle’s “Holiday Art Program”sessions.
These are hands-on and playful programs designed to nurture the imagination and inspire learning. They also help bond you and your child better. Enjoy and unleash creativity and express your thoughts and feeling in unique ways.
Fruitfully spending the holiday time together learning, instead of watching TV.
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