Time and tide wait for no one. Nor does work and the endless tasks that take us from one week to the next, without giving us the mindspace to indulge in what we love. Work is fuelled by creative thinking, and creativity is fuelled by skills that explore all our faculties, from the mental faculty of thought to that of our hands that make things. Come let’s find out all of the easy quick skills we can pick up this SaffronStays Sundays and explore all the hidden creativity within us.
STITCHING
One of the most basic of skills, stitching requires plenty of hand-eye coordination and is very handy to repair torn, worn clothes thus lending to the sustainability idea. This task needs basic needle and threads, and once begun can graduate into quilting, hand embroidery and several advanced techniques.
POTTERY
Pottery making does require practice, but doing it is akin to meditation as many often say. Moulding clay or mud into a functional object does require a wheel and some deft handwork, but the reward in holding something you’ve made cannot be compared to anything that is bought.
WOOD WORKING
Growing up watching carpenters craft furniture out of wood, it can seem daunting to take up this skill. But beginning with small wood work can make the process easier. Wood working is a great skill to learn given the myraid ways it can come handy in and around the home.
ILLUSTRATION
Doodling and scribbling were once considered a past-time, and now have become serious professions in their own right. The art of illustrating is slow, meditative and very creatively satisfying, helping you in many aspects of your work and life. All it needs is patience and concentration.
GARDENING
Not all of us are born with green thumbs, but there’s no harm in trying especially when a spot of green is all that we sometimes need living in concrete jungles. Gather a few pots, soil mixture, seeds and spend some time watching plants germinate, grow and bear fruit.
BAKING
A hobby which has converted into serious business for a few, the art of baking needs the coming together of ingredients in right proportions to create magic – cakes, biscuits, bakes and more. Try your hand at it, despite the consequences and you’ll get more confident as you bake and grow.
METAL WORK
Hitting, moulding, twisting, crafting, metal work requires a set of simple and complex tooling, but you can begin small. Make photo frames, keychains, jewelry with small metals and as you see beautiful pieces come alive in your hands, you will graduate into bigger things.
JOURNALING
So simple is this and yet so profound are its benefits. Journaling just requires you to pen down your thoughts and feelings everyday. At first it might seem like a chore, but as you progress you’ll notice patterns emerge, understand thoughts and feelings, bring more clarity and perspective into your life.
Simple aren’t they all? Quick activities you can do, skills once learnt that can trigger your mind, bring out your creativity, and last you a lifetime. Which of these skills do you know and which are you going to be exploring today??
If you are looking for more fun things to do today, check out these Outdoor Games from your childhood to bond over, watch some wonderful Hollywood movies, read these Inspiring Books or just get the family together to make these delish Salads
We fill our entire week doing serious stuff, finances, decision making, strategy, studying, planning meals. But how often do we let go and give our minds rest, let the hands do the work and calm ourselves, ease our minds and relax? Art does this. Painting and crafting heal us, rejuvenate and refresh us. While doing it alone is great, doing it with the entire family helps create memories and keepsakes while enjoying the company of everyone. This #SaffronStaysSunday, lets dedicate ourselves to art. Lets make a mess, use our hands to paint, recycle, mould and actually de-stress, so we can look forward to welcoming the week ahead with excitement.
Amongst the plentiful art activities, here are 10 simple ones where you and the entire family can do with simple paints and material lying around the house, and watch how they turn into beautiful, colorful keepsakes.
Shaving cream marbling is a totally engaging art project for both kids and adults alike. It’s creative, messy and fun and a nice way of using dad’s shaving cream without being yelled at for it! You will need this, liquid colors, water color paper, a tray to paint on and hold the mess and a paintbrush or icecream stick to swirl the colors around. Lay everything out, spray the shaving cream on a thick paper, mix in the colors and swirl them with the brush. Watch how the colors blend together for a pretty marbling effect.
Clay modeling can be very engrossing and therapeutic, calming anxious minds, settling everyone down. If you think it’s child’s play, watch how you get addicted to making shapes and perfecting forms from clay. All it needs is clay or dough of various colors which have to be shaped. Better still, you can make safe dough right at home by mixing baking soda and cornstarch with a little water. Craft all kinds of animals you like, add glitter and beads and see who makes the best one!
If you thought fruits and vegetables are just for eating, then this art is going to surprise you! Nature produces foods and vegetables with very unique forms. The core of an apple, the shape of a leaf and even petals of a flower when dipped in paint and applied on paper look very different, producing their own art. Get your family to gather all they can find and sit around dipping these forms into paints and making something entirely new and different.
Crayons have been our go-to art materials since kindergarten. Pastels are just the grown-up version of them! Using either of them is reminiscent of childhood, making a mess, scribbling over walls, drawing for hours. Use pastels again this Sunday to create artworks; beautiful mesmerising pieces that will leave your children stunned! After all, there’s a hidden artist in everyone of us. Don’t you want to find out if yours is still in there?
5. Blow Painting
Source: Pinterest
Painting with brushes is tried and tested. Making predictable patterns and forms is so yesterday. Why not experiment with unpredictability? Here’s where blowing art comes into play. Dribble some watery colors on your paper, splash them around randomly and use a straw to blow into them. You’ll see the paints going in all directions, creating their own enticing patterns. It is fun blowing colors all across the paper and seeing color run onto the table, the floor and on everyone.
Found everywhere around the house, aren’t of interest to anybody, yet as little children our pockets would be filled with sticks and rocks. Remember collecting the smooth ones from river banks and streams? Now take them and paint on them anything you like. You can create simple dot paintings or complex sceneries. Stones and rocks are canvases that absorb paint well, look good when painted and be stored away as a keepsake or paperweight. What’s more, you don’t have to spend any money on getting them too!
7. Abstract Art Painting
For representational purposes only
Art that does not represent an actual visual representation of reality is abstract. It can be anything – from the form of a bird as it casts its shadows on the water to the way a little child imagines the shape of an animal. If you’ve never painted in your life, then this is the time for everyone to sit together and try your hand at something. Take whatever form you like and paint it, give it any color you wish and you’ll see something surprising emerge on the paper infront of you.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” If we’re to build a more sustainable world, then reduce, reuse and recycle we must. The easiest things to recycle in our own homes are plastic bottles. Everything from juices, to water to drinks come packaged in them. Instead of throwing them in waste bins, why not make a hanging garden out of them? All you need is a scissor or knife to cut and shape the bottles, some ropes to tie around them, mud and plants filled in and viola! you have your own little plant nursery made entirely by your family!
Candle making is incredibly engaging and calming. Watching wax melt, scenting it, filling it into jars and seeing it dry can be quiet a family activity. It is good to be cautious and have adult supervision around candle making, never leaving it unattended with the kids around. Even so, making a candle needs a few materials which can be easily sourced from any arts store. What color you choose for it, its scent and fragrance are limited only by your imagination.
An indigenous art form from Maharashtra, Warli art is a simplistic drawing of sticks and figures depicting the human form. This art was created by tribal people adorning walls of huts, floors of homes and villages as a visual representation of their celebrations since centuries. Draw and paint Warli art on anything you like, even taking up the wall of your home as a special project. All you need are basic acrylic colors and a paper or canvas to draw anything, from children playing to celebrations like festivals and marriages.
Let’s destress with art this Sunday, forget our worries and splash paint around, make a mess. Nothing better than this to prep us for the coming week, isn’t it?
If you are looking for more fun things to do, check out these Outdoor Games from your childhood to bond over, watch some wonderful Hollywood movies, read these Inspiring Books or just get the family together to make these delish Salads
