Arts and Crafts

Art and Craft is always a popular option at youth clubs, and you might be surprised at who not only is interested, but shows quite a talent for it. The knack however is to leave it optional. It is never fun if you are forced to do it! Art and craft also becomes interesting when there is a new technique or style to explore rather than just drawing or painting. So here are a few suggestions. It's also worth looking at some of the Fun Science ideas where there is often a cross over between art and science!

Alphabet Book

Adapted from suggestion by Pat Adams

You may have had a book like this when you were very young, a book where each letter of the alphabet had an object beginning with that letter beside it. Well as an activity why not produce one based on a theme, drawing something that relates to each letter of the alphabet. Categories need to be quite broad, such as a country, nature, water, etc or it'll be too hard to come with something for every letter. Before starting this activity it might useful to brainstorm ideas.

Origami

ori_shrimp.gif (43435 bytes)Origami is the art of folding paper to produce boxes, decorations, toys, models or just art! There's a huge following out there and you do not need special paper or necessarily to be nimble fingered to give it a go. Try the Lobster /Shrimp below... its easy (ish) and the end result is worthwhile. Click on the thumbnail of the image for a printable version of the instructions.

Use a square piece of paper or cut a piece to shape. Proper origami paper is quite fine and usually coloured on one side (as with the origami shrimp above). If using plain paper and you want to colour what you've made, do it afterwards as paint may effect the paper's ability to be folded making it harder to fold or easier to rip.

  1. Fold once corner to corner and then open out flat the piece of paper again as in fig 1.  Now fold the paper so that the right hand and bottom edge of the square meet along the diagonal fold you created at the start.
  2. Turn the paper so that the diagonal fold now runs vertically and fold the sides in again to the middle.
  3. Now fold the sides at the top inwards so that they also meet in the middle.
  4. This is known as a 'step fold'. Fold the tip so it meets at the centre of the shape and then fold it back again, BUT by creating new fold a little bit further along. 
  5. Carefully cut a small piece out of the centre of this last fold.
  6. Open out the piece of paper up to where you were in fig 2. Carefully cut from the bottom along the long sides only and stopping before you reach the edge of the folded piece. These bits become the antennae and the finer you make these cuts the more realistic they look.
  7. Fold the figure back up the stage you got to in fig 5, then thread the antennae through the hole you cut. Make a series of 'step folds' down the body of the lobster.
  8. Make a series of 'step folds' down the body of the lobster.
  9. Fold the lobster length wise in half using the original diagonal fold made in fig 1. Grasping the body at the step fold/segment nearest to the head, carefully pull the fold out at the top but so as to leave the bottom part of it still folded. Repeat this to each step fold along the body and it will cause the tail to curl around and create the lobsters curled shape.

Gift Box

Thumbnail of gift-box.gif Template for gift box follow the link for a full size image of a template designed to fit on an A4 sheet of card. A simple but effective gift box that can be made and decorated to take small gifts of sweets or items to sell or give away...

Top view of assembled gift box

Create a cardboard template the same shape as above and use this to draw around on a piece of craft card. 

Cut out the shape and score along the dashed lines in the centre. The box is assembled by folding each of the 4 'leaves' inwards at the score lines so that they interlock with its neighbours at the notches in a four leaf clover pattern. You'll probably find it easier if you bend two leaves opposite each other in first so they interlock at the notches at the top and then bend the remaining two leaves in. 

You might find decorating the boxes easier before folding them while they are flat.

Blow Pens

Small scale airbrush technique using normal fibre tip pens. Several types are available on the market at the moment with stencils or make your own by blowing down straws at the tip of a felt tip pen. Use the stencils to help create shapes and designs. Practice different techniques and patterns that can be obtained from changing the distance you airbrush on the ink from the pen.

Blow Art

Using water soluble paint and drinking straws. Put small puddles of water based paint on the paper and use the straws to blow it around.

Calligraphy

Calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing and can very much be artwork by itself or the ideal accompaniment to a piece or artwork. 

You don't however need expensive pens, inks and paper to produce nice pieces of work. Getting used to writing the letters neatly and the effects you get as you move your pen or brush are the main thing so anybody can have a go. 

Making your own brushes and pens (even ink!) and then trying them out can be just as much fun... There are some traditional calligraphic styles but no hard and fast rule. Try dipping the flat end of piece of card or the end of a pointed stick in some ink and seeing what effects you can get when you draw it across some paper. 

Quill Pens - Make your own

Quill pens are traditional and have been supplanted by metal nibbed pens because they are longer lasting. But some will say there is no beating the feel and effect of a traditional quill pen.

Information on how to cut a quill pen can be found here:

Anglo Saxon and Viking Crafts how to cut a quill pen

Ink - Make your own

Modern inks have the advantage of intensity, colour fastness and flow, but don't let that stop you making and trying out your own from natural materials. Think about using crushed berries or walnut husk (not the nut, but the green) mixed with a little water or vegetable oil. If a pestle and mortar is handy you might be able to use this to grind your ingredients down finely and you may need to strain any results to get rid of fine particles. 

If you are experimenting with your own inks, don't  try them with modern pens as you are likely to damage the pen or at the very least clog it up.

Quilling

If you don't know what quilling is, its that craft where varying lengths of fine strips of coloured paper are rolled into tight spirals, molded into the required shape and then the shape stuck onto card or paper as the design or part of it. When its done well it looks brilliant and nice results can be obtained with only a little practice. Another of those easy, but looks better if you put some effort and skill into it things which defines a craft.

Quilling paper can be bought pre cut and most strips are about 3mm across. If you are not confident of being able cutting your own sheets of paper this way then its probably worth buying the precut packs. Winding can be done on a pencil, but a toothpick or cocktail stick is better as it creates a much smaller. However interesting effects can be obtained by winding around the point of a pencil so its worth experimenting to see what produces the effect you need. To get the basic shape the paper strip is wound tightly to create a clockwork spring effect as opposed to the elongated spiral of normal springs. 

As you make your first turn you may find putting a dab of glue at the point where the paper meets helps to keep the spiral tight and less prone to unwind. Once you have finished winding allow the spiral to unwind a little so that you can form it in to the shape you want and then use another dab of glue to hold the end in place against. When this is dry you can stick it down on the piece of card or paper you are creating the design on.

Try making a simple flower or sun using a central spiral with surrounding spirals pinched to create a leaf, tear drop shape.

Want more ideas? Then try out these other great sites...

Links to art and craft suppliers and other sites.

Craft some music!

How about actually making some music, not just playing it!

Just about anything canbe used to make music or create rythm and if you want to have an idea of just how little you need watch STOMP in action and if they are playing in a town near you why not arrange a trip to inspire some people.

Junk Music 

Given a pile of scrap material, cardboard, paper, plastic, rubber bands, wood, glue, peas, etc...  challenge individuals or groups to make various musical instruments and then take it a stage further and produce a tune... 

Trash rhythm 

Similar concept to 'junk music' but concentrating on just producing percussion instruments and tune. Suggestions include beating on large metal bins and lids (discover the range of sound that this can produce) and rhythms by using long wooden staves.

Boom Whackers

This the trade name for long tubes of plastic cut to various lengths. When you hold one end and whack these against a solid object like the floor or wall, they produce note depending on the length of pipe. Have a look out for them in toy or educational stores. You can make these yourself out of any old pipe or have fun with the group to see what works best. When using these they are great for getting groups to work in unison and develop group co-ordination to produce tunes or rhythms.

Vessel Flutes / Ocarina's

Included here for their simplicity to learn, but versatility and complexity of music that can be played. You can buy kits to make them out of card (or possibly have a go at making them yourself out of clay) If you've not come across this ancient instrument, they come in many shapes, but the most common is a bellied oval shape usually with four finger holes and  mouthpiece at one end.