The picture templates which carry the Madhubani art form are specially created considering a younger target audience. The idea behind this craft is to stimulate the interests of the children in the rich art culture of India.
The picture templates use Madhubani motifs which a child can identify with – Nandi, the holy cow grazing in the greens; the very famous peacock pairs appearing like mirrored images; fish entwined as an inset within a peacock; the blazing Sun God – Surya as an example of tattooed art; a palm tree along with key elements of the Sun and fish etc…
All the pictures carry decorative double-line borders and semi-detailed interior. There is ample scope for the child to express its artistic talent within the framework of these pictures. They have a choice either of line-work or filling sand in the empty spaces. As in the original art form – combination of both the techniques is adopted. First it is important to decide the inset regions where line-work would be pursued as it would difficult to do so after the sand has already been stuck. Moreover some of the adhered sand might get unstuck during the line-work.
For the line-work first decide on the spaces where it needs to be done. Straight and slanting closely parallel lines are most preferred. One can use a pencil first before the final line-work with a black marker pen. Sometimes short and spaced outlines are used, usually to indicate water. The angles of the parallel line work may change according to the spatial needs of the areas.
Just like in painting, shading effects are also possible by control of the amount of sand used. The pictures shown on the box cover reveal to the artist this possibility. Wherever accentuation is required the sand can by piled on, creating higher layers – almost giving a 3-D effect to the picture. In contrast wherever one needs to tone down the colour, the sand is spread out very sparsely. Sand density plays an important role in Sand art.
Once the child has completed these sand art pictures it would be a great idea to picture-frame some of them. The framed art will constantly remind the child of its creative ability.
The instructions and the paper quills required for making the following animals are provided -lion, mouse, crocodile, giraffe, rabbit, elephant, dog (poodle), frog, antelope, rabbit, and rhino.
The method of making different types of quilled coils, quilled cups, and cones is described in the booklet provided in the kit. Only special instructions for each animal and recommended composition of the quilled papers are given in the manual.
Although the mix of paper strips used for each animal is given, you are free to use your own composition.
The instructions, largely graphic, allow for interpretation and easy understanding. Since a child has to figure out the most comfortable way to assemble a complete set or even attach a few parts together on his or her own, the M’tek models that they make foster an independence of thought in their learning process.
Metal construction vehicle models are not too big and the metal strips are made of durable steel and plastics that are safe for kids, teens and adults.
Kids can learn a lot from these M’Tek sets, and even given a simple one, they're soon cruise through the different setups presented in the instruction manual, and zoom on to their own concepts. Educators and parents value these tactile learning experiences for the lessons that their children and students learn from them through intrinsic use.
|
