Keeping children (and adults!) occupied is really important during this time to ease any worries and keep everyone active, learning and creative.
Online creative ideas and tips
The Base and Corn Exchange family are working hard to produce lots of online activities to keep the whole family busy! If you haven’t already watched and got involved with our free online art workshops, they are a must see! Afternoon Art with Richard Francis Bellin demonstrates painting techniques with a different theme each week. It is the final instalment of the series this Saturday, but you can always go back and watch the previous tutorials. Clay with Cáit shows how simple hand building with clay can be, using every day equipment you have in your own home. The latest instalment shows how to make a lidded box. Whatever your ability or age, have a go and enjoy learning something new or refine your skills.
These times can be particularly hard for young ones to understand, but storytelling is a good way to escape to another world. Click here to enjoy listening to our Early Years and Education Officer, Becci, read The Three Musicians by Veronique Massenot and Vanessa Hié. This children’s story is inspired by the Picasso painting Three Musicians and you can learn more about Picasso at the end of the story. Young ones may like to have fun recreating his painting at home or to simply look at other Picasso artwork. Why not visit the Royal Academy website and watch a virtual exhibition tour of their exhibition Picasso and Paper. It’s great to see art galleries across the country are opening their doors virtually during this time, so everyone will not miss out seeing some wonderful exhibitions!
Some regular practitioners that we have worked with over the years are also producing some lovely art tutorials for children. You can learn how to draw with Armadillo Art Experience. From an Easter themed drawing tutorial to showing you how to draw a sloth, Simon Jardine shows different ways to learn how to draw using different animals. What better way to keep young ones occupied and who doesn’t love a sloth! Click here to view the videos.
Thinking of sloths, we have missed opening our doors open for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. Visit The Natural History Museum website and you’ll find some lovely nature themed ideas to keep the family busy! From the comfort of your own sofa there are many ways you can virtually enjoy the museum. Click here to explore nine different ways you can explore the museum, including having a look through the fantastic images from Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
It’s also fun for children to get involved and to document nature on their own doorstep by making their own Nature Journal. Click here to watch the video and follow the simple instructions on how to make and use your journal. Even if you don’t have a garden, there is plenty to document around the home if you look closely, from a spider in your living room to any plant life you may have.
Creative activity to try at home
While we are all confined to our homes why not let your imagination take you to another place and create a scene with paper craft. Collaging is a great and accessible way to get crafty for children and grown-ups alike. Your collage can be about anything you want and paper gives you no shortage of different options, so it’s about whatever sparks your creativity.
Why not let your creativity recreate somewhere you have visited before, or create an imaginary place. It might be a beach scene, your own garden, or simply a collage of family and friends. You can use newspapers, photographs, any coloured or patterned paper or tissue paper. You can even use other materials like shells, string or anything you have at home.
What you need:
PVA glue or Pritt stick
Strong paper/card for your base
Scissors
Any kind of papers – tissue paper, coloured or patterned papers newspaper, photos or even old magazines
Other materials work well too (string, shells, sand, anything you have to hand)
Time to cut, tear and get sticking!
Once you have come up with a central design or theme for the collage, choose a sturdy base, either good quality paper or card. Now it’s time to pick your coloured papers and start creating your picture. You may like to roughly draw an outline of your scene or you can simply get sticking. You can layer all kinds of papers to create shapes and give different colour tones and you can use other materials too, to give your collage an almost 3D effect. There is no shortage of ways you can collage, and at the end you’ll have a picture that will brighten any day!
You could also create a rainbow collage to put up at your window to support all our amazing NHS health workers!
Remember, we want to see your creativity! To share your creations with us simply tag us on social media @thebasegreenham or @cornexchange. Alternatively you can email us getinvolved@cornexchangenew.co.uk
Stay safe and stay creative
