5 ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR KID TO LEARN THIS MONSOON

 

Monsoon is that time of the year which is dreaded and awaited for, alike. Dreaded by professionals, salesmen, businessmen and people who go out and work, however, students who slog throughout the year with copious amounts of submissions, home works and high-on-stress life hold their breath in excitement for the monsoon to arrive. Monsoons don't mean all the mud and waterlogged streets, to them unlike their elder counterparts because they are sufficiently compensated for it with their own romance with nature. It is a few days of fun, frolic and mad enjoyment. But is it really that fun to sit at home like a couch potato and do nothing? Just surfing through the idiot box or browsing random things on the internet can get really very boring. Why not add some fun to those idle evenings by devoting an hour or two every day to learn something new and improve your skill set? Isn't it too cool to make optimum use of the time when you don't have anything left the study and can't even go out and play? Check out what all can your child do. Calligraphy Handwriting Improvement: Our handwriting is something that has given us jitters at least at some given point in our lives. Should we let the same embarrassment repeat with our little ones? With a rapid increase in the digital footprint in our world, our kids are getting more and more detached from the habit of writing physically. We must recognize that our handwriting is a testament of our confidence, our personality, our creativity and a keyboard can never substitute for our relationship with a pen or pencil. Enroll your kids to handwriting improvement calligraphy classes for not just improving their general dexterity with a pen or a pencil but also for teaching them a variety of fonts. Do big numbers still give you jitters? Can you mentally multiply large numbers with accuracy? Do you use a calculator or your mobile phone for calculations very often? If yes, then probably you didn't get trained in abacus in your childhood. Don't let your kids fall prey to the same trap of hating numbers. Train them in this calculation system which is one of the oldest and most reliable. It improves your accuracy, speed of calculation, mental mathematics, and above all reduces your fear of numbers. Why not surprise the Maths teacher in school after vacations? Art  Craft: Hyperactivity, crankiness, a mind that is too active thinking all mischiefs up is how a child's mind is meant to behave. Merely discouraging them or punishing them is a surface-level approach that in fact accentuates their hyperactivity. Instead of becoming constructive toward the life they become destructive. Art  craft is perhaps the only way how a child's energy can be channelized into constructive things. Did you know ice-cream sticks if decorated well can make good photo-frames? Did you know the process of art and craft actually has a soothing effect on people giving them spiritual satisfaction? Not only that, art and craft don’t just make the mind a room for creative and divergent thinking but the products made also have a huge market out there. What you make as for leisure earns you profits and how is something crucial to take note of for career prospects. So what are you waiting for? Make your child responsible, responsive, creative and above all ensure them a good experience in life. Traditional Painting: A sketchbook, a pencil, a pack of crayons, at best a paintbrush and watercolors, is this all that painting takes? Does painting only refer to figurines, sceneries, colourful landscapes? Very clearly that ain't the case. India boasts of a rich cultural heritage and art forms. Mandala Art, Gond Art, Warli Painting and Madhubani Painting are forms that are witnessing a revival today and to learn any of these art forms at this time of cultural renaissance will be very helpful and satisfying. This at the same time also will get your children rooted in their own culture and traditions. Chinese One-Stroke Painting: Doesn't matter if you are already confident with a paintbrush or you will be holding it the first time, the Chinese one-stroke painting is a form which is easy to learn and unique in its process. To learn this will effectively mean that your child has an advanced understanding of the painting by knowing about in evolved form. Vacations will be spent doing something new for your children if you enroll them in such a course. Time is very precious in today's world and so is the holistic, all-around development of a child. These activities if learned together or one by one don't just act as a pastime but get your children evolved as persons, emotionally as well as intellectually.

Penkraft conducts classes, course, online courses, live courses, workshops, teachers' training & online teachers' training in Handwriting Improvement, Calligraphy, Abacus Maths, Vedic Maths, Phonics and various Craft & Artforms - Madhubani, Mandala, Warli, Gond, Lippan Art, Kalighat, Kalamkari, Pichwai, Cheriyal, Kerala Mural, Pattachitra, Tanjore Painting, One Stroke Painting, Decoupage, Image Transfer, Resin Art, Fluid Art, Alcohol Ink Art, Pop Art, Knife Painting, Scandinavian Art, Water Colors, Coffee Painting, Pencil Shading, Resin Art Advanced etc. at pan-India locations. With our mission to inspire, educate, empower & uplift people through our endeavours, we have trained & operationally supported (and continue to support) 1500+ home-makers to become Penkraft Certified Teachers? in various disciplines.

9 Ways to Add an Artsy Touch to Your Life

Art doesn't exist in a vacuum and neither do artists represent an alien being. Art belongs to us all and we all have an artistic mind, however, the perception around our artsy self depends largely on how we infuse creativity in our everyday life. We all might go to an art exhibition from time to time but that doesn't make us artsy. Unless you express art through the commonest things in life you don't exactly enhance your life with art. Here are 9 ways how you can add that missing artsy touch to your life in simple ways.

Statement furniture:

Beds and sofas are expensive pieces of furniture that adorn almost every household, however, they aren't the kind of things that impress the eye or satisfy the seeker of creativity. Statement furniture adds a dimension of the artsy in your house. By adding an old Victorian wall clock in a modern drawing-room, or an old Oriental cabinet in your wooden floored library you significantly enhance the look of your house which also becomes an extension of your artsy personality.

Old curios collectibles:

The east is the goldmine for unique remnants of the past, which not only add a sense of history to your home but also tremendously enhances its aesthetic value. War memorabilia, vintage typewriters, old sewing machines, old photo frames, vintage chairs, and rare toys often set the room in the perfect mood. These can sometimes be found at very low prices in antique stores and flea markets, and one such collectible can influence the room significantly.

Up-cycling everyday clothes:

Although more familiar to a bedroom set in modern-day interior designing this can be used in other parts of the house too. The success of this technique depends on the quirk of the design. For instance, even a simple addition of fresh flowers to a basic earthen teapot transforms it into an aesthetically pleasing vintage item. Some readers like to see books around them even more than they want to read them. This often messes up the room and makes it look untidy. Storing them in old steel boxes and metal trunks gives you the sense of the mess that the masochist self wants yet decently avoiding any mess that it can potentially create. Similarly, if you don't find a cloth stand, simply up-cycling a ladder not only creates a functional and durable cloth stand but also gives a different dimension to your room.

Thinking beyond the obvious:

There are many affordable options and mediums that can be used to decorate walls but often when we need to decorate our walls, we only think of paintings. Beautiful metallic flowers, an artistic mirror, an intricate marble hanging, or interesting vintage maps all of these, and more can be perfect for bringing in the artsy touch in you.

Books- got looks:

Beautiful coffee table books are a great way to enhance the acute; cor at home but not too many people think of this. Big books with stunning covers, when stacked together, or placed at angles, look great on coffee tables or even side console tables in the hallway or living room.

Traditional is the key:

Perfect for bringing an ethnic touch into your home, traditional Indian art is exquisite, detailed, and not that expensive. Indian art forms such as Gond, Madhubani, Warli Art, Pichwais, Mughal Miniatures and Tanjores not only adds an artistic touch to your home but also becomes a medium of reflection of your taste and preferences to the world, a window through which they peep into you.

Photo walls:

Create a photo wall by framing some of your favorite photos from weddings, birthdays, travels, etc. Photographs sit on corner tables inside a photo frame and we love displaying personal photographs around the house. Why not add a quirk to them and make the extra statement? Using bold frames of different sizes, and creating an interesting collage to cover a large wall in a stairway, study, or bedroom adds to our sense of aesthetics and artsy element.

Master Artist Prints:

A large painting in the living room always screams for attention. But an original artwork, even by lesser-known artists, could burn a hole in the pocket. Instead, you can invest in limited edition prints of beautiful artworks by master artists, such as Husain, Raza, Vaikuntam, etc. High-quality prints, usually made using the serigraphy technique, have a very similar texture to paintings, and hence, look stunning. So imagine owning an authentic Raza print, signed by the artist himself, for less than 30,000 rupees. Can it get artsier than this?

Paint-it-all:

It is very trendy these days to keep walls empty and show art through them. Adding a splash of colors always helps. Painting an entire wall can be expensive, but adding color to a small part of a wall, or a panel, using an interesting pattern, can look extremely artistic, and most importantly pretty easy on the wallet.

Penkraft conducts classes, course, online courses, live courses, workshops, teachers' training & online teachers' training in Handwriting Improvement, Calligraphy, Abacus Maths, Vedic Maths, Phonics and various Craft & Artforms - Madhubani, Mandala, Warli, Gond, Lippan Art, Kalighat, Kalamkari, Pichwai, Cheriyal, Kerala Mural, Pattachitra, Tanjore Painting, One Stroke Painting, Decoupage, Image Transfer, Resin Art, Fluid Art, Alcohol Ink Art, Pop Art, Knife Painting, Scandinavian Art, Water Colors, Coffee Painting, Pencil Shading, Resin Art Advanced etc. at pan-India locations. With our mission to inspire, educate, empower & uplift people through our endeavours, we have trained & operationally supported (and continue to support) 1500+ home-makers to become Penkraft Certified Teachers? in various disciplines.

What are the origins of Gond Art?

 

Gond Art is a folk tribal art form practiced by arguably the largest tribe in Central India. The art form today is expanding many new horizons and has acquired a cult following in Indian art connoisseurs. The tribes involved in this art form predominantly hail from Madhya Pradesh and parts of Chattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra, Telangana Maharashtra. Although we mainly associate it with these pockets this art form with time has acquired a pan-Indian appeal and enhances the rich heritage India takes pride in. Let us discuss how this rich tradition grew.

From where it all started

The recorded history of Gond Art goes back to as many as 1400 years. The areas where we find its traces have also been identified with rock paintings from the Mesolithic age. Since there is a very evident stylistic and thematic influence of Mesolithic paintings in Gond Art, who knows probably their legacy dates back even further? The Gonds trace their roots back to the Pre-Aryan age and anthropological sources identify them as Dravidians. The dialect they speak is also heavily influenced by Telegu and other Dravidian languages.

Why Gond?

The word Gond comes from Kond in the Dravidian idiom which means green mountains No wonder why nature is such an integral thematic stylistic element in Gond Art with the recurrent depiction of motifs like trees, leaves, animals, birds, fishes, fish scales, drops of water and primitive human figurines. Gond Art's existence is so much intertwined with nature that paintings for them are an offering to the worship of nature and a divine medium for seeking protection and warding off evil.

Values beliefs:

The Koi or Koiture what the Gonds call themselves, traditionally hold the belief that a good image begets good luck. This explains why Gond Art for the Kois wasn't just a recreational pastime but a part of their lifestyle. They decorated the walls and floors of their houses with traditional motifs and tattoos. The paintings were influenced by Mahari Devi, Phalvari Devi (Goddess Kali), local flora fauna and were made on festive occasions like Karwa Chauth, Ashtami Nag Panchami.

Colors painting style:

The Gond painting uses bright vivid colors like yellow, red, blue, and white. These days due to the paucity of natural colors the Gond paintings we see are made by poster colors on the canvas, however, traditionally the colors were derived from charcoal, colored soil, plant sap, mud, flowers, leaves, and cow dung. The extensive use of straight lines that we see in Gond Art is used to convey a sense of movement and add motion to the still paintings. The use of dots dashes enhances the illusion of motion and increases the scope for depicting things in detail.

Gond Art in form and the range of subjects it derives its art out of celebrates the rich heritage of India. It is important that we promote it and reinvent it in our aesthetic choices and preferences. Artists like Suresh Kumar Dhurve, Kalam Patua, and Balua Devi through their paintings are taking this art form to a global platform. We have gained enough that the world has had to offer us, it's high time that we now look within our rich and vibrant cultural heritage.

Penkraft conducts classes, course, online courses, live courses, workshops, teachers' training & online teachers' training in Handwriting Improvement, Calligraphy, Abacus Maths, Vedic Maths, Phonics and various Craft & Artforms - Madhubani, Mandala, Warli, Gond, Lippan Art, Kalighat, Kalamkari, Pichwai, Cheriyal, Kerala Mural, Pattachitra, Tanjore Painting, One Stroke Painting, Decoupage, Image Transfer, Resin Art, Fluid Art, Alcohol Ink Art, Pop Art, Knife Painting, Scandinavian Art, Water Colors, Coffee Painting, Pencil Shading, Resin Art Advanced etc. at pan-India locations. With our mission to inspire, educate, empower & uplift people through our endeavours, we have trained & operationally supported (and continue to support) 1500+ home-makers to become Penkraft Certified Teachers? in various disciplines.

Art , Emotion & Expression

Pablo Picasso quotes Art as, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

Over the years, art has helped me to improve my mood, when I feel anxious, I simply take a pencil and start scribbling, it makes me feel relaxed. It calms the chaos in the life. A personal experience made me believe more in art, it was 9:30 at night, I was scrolling down my Instagram feed, and came across a video from a popular Instagram handle, the video depicted a man from a rural region who was using black ink to create portraits of famous celebrities. He was neither having a color pallet nor did he have the paint brushes, the only thing that kept inspiring him was the support from viewers. He turned a deaf ear to the background noises, his surrounding and kept concentration on his artwork, for that was his outlet for the emotions. I was taken aback on how I keep demanding for a particular tool to make that picture perfect when in reality, the only thing that should really matter is what your art is trying to convey. 

 Art has power to communicate your emotions, when you are angry, you find yourself scribbling on a paper. when you are happy you see yourself making smiley faces on a paper, when you are sad, you are just randomly drawing lines. If you think that repressing your emotions or denying your feelings helps in combating your negative mood you are wrong, instead it makes you more restless, and insecurities build up. You can’t create an outlet for your emotions until you accept them. When you engage yourself in Art, such as drawing, painting, crafts, you are distracting yourself from negativity that surrounds you. You are in a better place, to be more precise, at peace. 

 As simple as it sound, even colors have their own language, it’s called the color psychology, when you add Red color, it reflects energy, brings the vibrant side of the picture. When you add Blue, it creates a soothing & calming effect. When you add Yellow, it symbolizes happiness, warmth. Deciding which color to add in your art, expresses your current mood or the emotion that you are going though. 

 Art guides you to explore yourself better, when indulging in an art, craft activity, question your purpose behind it, e.g.: When you are creating an abstract art, and when you draw a first brush stroke, question yourself on what made you do so, this will help your thoughts to flow freely. Don’t judge your art when you are expressing yourself, you are not creating it to impress someone or you are not doing it to brag a prize at painting competition. Don’t be hard on yourself if you are making a mistake, learn to embrace them, for every time you think of yourself as a person who can’t be an artist, remember, every artist was once an amateur. 

 Penkraft conducts classes, course, online courses, live courses, workshops, teachers' training & online teachers' training in Handwriting Improvement, Calligraphy, Abacus Maths, Vedic Maths, Phonics and various Craft & Artforms - Madhubani, Mandala, Warli, Gond, Lippan Art, Kalighat, Kalamkari, Pichwai, Cheriyal, Kerala Mural, Pattachitra, Tanjore Painting, One Stroke Painting, Decoupage, Image Transfer, Resin Art, Fluid Art, Alcohol Ink Art, Pop Art, Knife Painting, Scandinavian Art, Water Colors, Coffee Painting, Pencil Shading, Resin Art Advanced etc. at pan-India locations. With our mission to inspire, educate, empower & uplift people through our endeavours, we have trained & operationally supported (and continue to support) 1500+ home-makers to become Penkraft Certified Teachers? in various disciplines.

What are the origins of Gond Art?

What are the origins of Gond Art?

Gond Art is a folk & tribal art form practiced by arguably the largest tribe in Central India. The art form today is expanding many new horizons and has acquired a cult following in Indian art conoisseurs. The tribes involved in this art form predominantly hail from Madhya Pradesh and parts of Chattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra, Telengana & Maharashtra. Although we mainly associate it with these pockets but this art form with time has acquired a pan-Indian appeal and enhances the rich heritage India takes pride in. Let us discuss how this rich tradition grew.

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