The vibrance and versatility of oil pastel and its artwork!

The versatility of oil pastels | Junior Pencil and Chai The vibrance and versatility of oil pastels are amazing and mesmerising! Readout more about oil pastels and various techniques!

 

The versatility of oil pastels | Junior Pencil and Chai The vibrance and versatility of oil pastels are amazing and mesmerising! Readout more about oil pastels and various techniques!

 

The vibrance and versatility of oil pastel artwork are just so amazing that you get mesmerized by the look of it! And even small kids could use them with much ease and be a master in it!

The versatility of oil pastels is being discussed here so you get more knowledge about it! And use it more often with more enthusiasm.

The versatility of oil pastels:

The consistency of oil pastels is buttery soft with vibrant colours, the component of which is made of pigment and oil-based binder, beeswax or other chemicals.

The advantage of oil pastels over soft pastels is that won’t crumble, smudge or create dust, it is much similar to crayons. Their colour is intense, much more stable and it does not require a fixative.

The versatility of oil pastels is amazing when creating various artworks as an artist use them in different ways, as it creates distinct types of textures like impasto.

For creating glazed or washed effects, oil pastels can be used in combination with turpentine and even some artists use heating techniques to create more vibrance of oil pastels.

But for blending, oil pastels are very different from dry pastels and hence, cannot be used in combination with other pastel mediums.

But when it is used with water-based painting mediums like watercolours, oil pastels work miraculously because of their water-resistant property. Oil pastels are much suitable for large artworks.

The benefits of using oil pastels are cheap, easy to transport, easy to clean, easy to control and for artists of all ages and skill levels it is perfect.

And because of its particular composition of the versatility of oil pastels, shows amazing effects, subtle gradients, gorgeous texture and luminous saturated colours.

There is an array of surfaces that you can work with when it comes to oil pastels and they pair with them well, because of the versatility of oil pastels.

Oil pastels are easy to work with on paper, canvas and board oil pastels can also be applied to wood and glass if they are primed well and properly.

Now, various techniques are used in oil pastels artworks, let’s learn about a few of them! Interesting, right? Go ahead then!

Techniques used in oil pastel artworks:

Various techniques can be used with oil pastels and make your picture more amazing with vibrant and striking effects because of the versatility of oil pastels.

Feathering, it’s a kind of a technique that would more focus on your tones and make them more evolved which is light to dark or even dark to light.

And because of this technique, your artwork would blend well and make the edges more smooth, so that it appears more beautiful and right.

Linear fashion is how the pastels are applied. The layer of lines can be short or as per your convenience and because of the layer a solid effect is created which make your art-pop.

Stippling is a kind of technology that uses adding small dots which are used to make up an object or to create shading effects. And as the versatility of oil pastels is amazing, stippling is a great technique to master.

Scumbling is a technique that is adored by various artists, it’s a long-standing method. With the help of stumbling a layer of colour could be anything, that is, either speckled, broken, scratchy and it’s added over another colour.

And because of this technique, a striking effect is created where the layer of colour which is underneath peeking through. And because of this, a stunning appearance of deep colour is produced.

The versatility of oil pastels is amazing and the benefit of it should be taken from a very young age being kids. Junior Pencil and Chai are coming up with various new ideas for the kids and bringing new programs!

Kids of Junior Pencil and Chai are going to use the versatility of oil pastels amazingly by making their artwork using oil pastels on an A3 size paper and learn various new things!

 

Artwork Credit: Artist Kavitha Jetti 

Why children should have hands on experience in craft?

Children must have a hands on experience in craft. As it helps them to nourish and furnish their skills. Find out more about its benefits.

Children must have a hands on experience in craft. As it helps them to nourish and furnish their skills. Find out more about its benefits.

 

 

Children must have hands on experience in craft but in most of the schools art and craft is taken for granted.

When you will let children get involved in arts and would let them have hands on experience in craft then you would be investing in building the child’s cognitive, physical and social development.

When a child performs craft activities, it helps them instil a sense of achievement, their self-confidence is boosted and even instil pride in children.

And when a child faces and solves artistic challenges, then it would help them make correct and effective decisions.

And it would also help them explore and express their emotions when they would get a hands on experience in craft. Healthy self-esteem and courage is also developed within the child.

Craft also helps in developing visual aesthetics appreciation and it also acts as building blocks for various development of the children. An all-round development is also facilitated when children have hands on experience in craft.

And craft also provides the opportunity of language development as a child has to pick up new words and their vocabulary is expanded.

Benefits of hands on experience in craft:

Physical benefits:

  • Development of fine motor skills: Fine motor skills are developed in arts and crafts activities as it majorly consists of the movement of fingers and hands.

Muscles are strengthened and its control is improved by just a few simple actions like colouring with pencils and holding a paintbrush.

  • Enhances dexterity: Children’s dexterity and agility is improved and enhanced by arts and crafts activities.

And when fine motor skills are enhanced and practice is done correctly on a regular basis then a child’s manual dexterity, artistic skills and speed will also get increased.

  • Improvement of hand-eye coordination: There is a tremendous improvement in the hand-eye coordination when you have hands on experience in craft from a very young age. And it would be a great help to the children when they would enter into the primary school.

 

Social Benefits:

  • Learn to appreciate art and culture: Various artefact’s and images of across cultures and times, children learn to value and appreciate them through arts and crafts.

And when a children would have hands on experience in craft, arts and design, then they would enable them to reflect critically others as well as their own work.

And children would be able to learn it intelligently and creatively. And preservation of heritage through arts and crafts would also be learned by them.

The people who lived millions of years ago and their information is still known to us because of art.

  • Enhances self-expression: Through music, arts and crafts, opportunity is gained by the children to express themselves in a meaningful, tangible and positive way, when they get involved in creative pursuits.
  • Helps in socializing: When children have hands on experience in craft, then craft class can become an interactive class for the students as they would interact with each other as they would be sharing a common interest. Parent-child bonding is also strengthen by the process of arts and crafts.
  • Boosts confidence: Arts and craft activities boosts the confidence of children, as they help them instil a sense of pride and achievement within themselves.

 

Cognitive benefits:

  • Enhances creativity: When a child is given an opportunity to create whatever is their desire then it helps them to foster creativity.
  • Sharpens skills of decision making: When a child faces various artistic challenges, then the child learns to make correct and effective decisions. And this problem solving attitude will help them in future in various aspects.
  • Enhances memory and visual learning: A child gains familiarity with various figures and patterns and learns about new colours and shapes through arts and crafts.

 

Art and craft would not only help children in improving above traits but would also help them in improve their academic performances.

When they would have hands on experience in craft, they would be able to enhance their learning and their skills. And these craft activities are filled with lots of joy for the children.

Junior Pencil and Chai offers your child to develop all the skills which are intact within them and furnish them well as their talent should shine bright! Various craft courses are offered so children get hands on experience in craft. Enrol your kid now!

The power of “I don’t know”

The power of "I don't know"

The power of "I don't know"

 

We all want to be an all-we-know person, and whenever someone asks us a question and we reply with a phrase that is, “ I Don’t Know”, then sometimes it feels like we are shallow or less knowledgeable but that’s not the case, you don’t know the power of I don’t know! To most people I don’t know feels more like a weakness than a strength.

But the thing is nowadays most of us don’t want to be endearing but a know-it-all person. We want that solemn respect that comes from thinking of knowing it all. We want that crown of what people call ‘smart’ and want to become an encyclopedia of our small circle.

And as we don’t know the power of I don’t know, the problem that occurs is when there is a need to ask the question, we don’t do it just because of the fear of ruining our “know-it-all” image. And because of this, we are the ones who keep ourselves less informed and less competent.

When you want to start something new or are lacking something then you should admit that you don’t know. And because of this, you’ll fulfil the gaps in your knowledge and would constantly ask for others help, which would benefit you in increasing your knowledge!

What is the power of I don’t know?

The power of I don’t know us immense, it has a spillover effect, as it helps in sending messages to people, that being confident is good but don’t mistake being competent and it’s completely fine if you don’t know everything.

And because of this, you would create a psychological safety zone around you and people would not feel uncomfortable in expressing their doubts in front of you.

The power l don’t know is such that you would value the right answers more than getting used to or telling what you assume. So, that is why “I don’t know” plays a major role in creating a culture of actual competence and not creating a culture of confident ignorance.

And the major thing is when you overestimate the potential of knowing all the answers can even suppress your curiosity as a student you should always keep a fresh and learning-focused mindset!

Because the power of I don’t know would lead you to achieve your goals and improve your learning and fill in all the gaps of knowledge!

What are you putting at risk by pretending that “you-know-it-all”?

There is a famous saying of Shakespeare, “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool”. As a beginner when you don’t know the answer, try asking doubts as otherwise, you won’t be able to get deep into the topics and there might be many subtleties to discover.

And when you assume that your answer is correct then you would miss a lot of nuances as your knowledge bank is not enough to contain everything.

And many times we create an illusion in front of ourselves that we know it but in reality, we are just afraid of admitting that we don’t know!

The power of I don’t know would lead you to become a knowledgeable person. There is nothing to be ashamed of saying “I don’t know” it would help you engage your mind in different directions.

It will increase your curiosity about knowing things and would lead you to have a better decision making power and build trust within your group and also trust in yourself.

Benefits of the power of I don’t know:

  • It’s liberating: When you admit that you don’t know something, it relieves your stress of carrying the pressure of another task which you don’t know.

And when you are admitting your uncertainties it shows that you know your limitations and gaps and you are comfortable with them, as people who are hiding their uncertainties are the ones that are uncomfortable or insecure about them.

  • It provides a chance to learn: As when you show that or admit something you don’t know then it provides others with a chance to share their views, thoughts and ideas. As your doubt can have multiple answers and It would enrich your knowledge.
  • People will respect you: When someone behaves like a know-all then it becomes annoying at times and when you admit something you don’t know your teacher or guide would be more clear about the gaps in your knowledge.

This would help correctly guide you! That would help you to gain respect from batch mates. This is the power of I don’t know!

 

There is no harm in admitting that you don’t know something, you would just learn a lot many new things as learning is a process and it would increase when you admit your limitations and gaps.

The power of I don’t know is huge, you just have to explore more and accept your insecurities!

Junior Pencil and Chai offer various programs for the kids and you should enrol yourself sooner! Teachers guide the students and keep their doubts cleared. Get set go and dive into this colourful world of art!

 

Photo Credit: Joshua Sortino

 

Learning Fine Arts and It’s Engagement!

Learning Fine Arts and It's Engagement | Junior Pencil And Chai

Art is a way of expressing ourselves in a creative manner, and there are various benefits of learning fine arts! Fine arts has the power to change our lives immensely. Art is a way one can handle a lot many issues of their lives, especially mental health issues.

Even though, arts and fine arts have so many benefits, there are still a lot many people who can’t engage with arts. And there is a gap left in the society.

Thus engagement is needed to save many different young people from missing out on enjoying and learning art, improving their education and empower people to tell their stories through art.

Let’s first understand about fine arts and why is it important since ancient times!

 

Learning Fine Arts and It's Engagement | Junior Pencil And Chai

 

 

What is Fine Arts?

Fine arts was primarily developed for all the aesthetic and beauty works, and historically, five main types of fine arts that can be classified into categories were poetry, painting, architecture, music and sculpture.

Fine arts is a type of visual art. It is mainly judged for the meaningfulness it displays through its art. Fine arts denote more of the purity of the discipline. And hence, fine arts is being practiced since ancient times and learning fine arts would help you in many different aspects of life.

So, you would be thinking now, what are the benefits of learning fine arts? How fine arts would help you in life? Let’s have a look at it!

What are the benefits of learning fine arts?

When a child is in elementary school, that is the time when a child form most of their social abilities. And in the preschool they develop their motor skills. And fine arts plays a major role in development of all these skills in a child from a early childhood.

When a child learns fine arts, there is an improvement in most of the aspects like motivation, concentration, confidence and teamwork. And because of fine arts all these qualities started to build in them.

And when a person is learning fine arts, the ability of social bonds and sense of community also become easier. Learning fine arts have proven to be affective in many fields too.

It increases the academic achievement and progress, development, civic engagement and many different opportunities for people.

What kind of engagement is there for learning fine arts?

‘Engagement‘ includes a broad spectrum of aspects in which young people usually encounter and experience in art and culture. Engagement in fine arts would include getting exposed to fine arts, attending something or creating something related to fine arts and of course pursuing a career in fine arts and culture.

And now you would be wondering, does engagement plays a role in students life? Yes! Engaging students and their families play a major role in their academic success. Students engagement would definitely lead to higher gradation rates, better attendance, fewer disciplinary problems, etcetera.

Fine arts helps and support students to develop their engagement, attention, motivation and many different necessities that would help a student succeed in life.

What all are the benefits of engagement in learning fine arts for future success?

Learning fine arts would not just be another engagement program, it would be having tremendous amount of benefits of student engagement after learning fine arts. Here are a few of them:

  • Improves academic achievement: Students who get to involved in arts have much more benefits than the students who don’t get the exposure. Learning fine arts would help the students excel in different aspects. It would increase academic achievement, motivation and improves attitude.
  • Improve memory: After learning Fine arts, the skills of the person gets developed and motor skills would be developed at a faster rate in children. And this would help in improving memory.
  • Enhances creativity: Enhanced creativity would increase and opportunities and extends to many aspects for a child’s life. This would increase innovation skills in children.
  • Improve social skills: Learning fine arts would improve and develop life skills in children such as leadership qualities, discipline, teamwork, etcetera.
  • Enhances critical thinking: The creativity involved in fine arts would strengthen critical thinking skills for kids. As when a child learns drawing, sculpting, painting it would lead to visual-spatial skill development.
  • Creates cultural and personal connections: Students usually interpret the visual imagery from artist and through that they could also learn about art history, which lead to understanding the concept of cultural diversity. And as when culture is explored through a visual medium such as sculptures or paintings help young minds to process information differently and at a much faster rate.

 

And if you want to nurture your young mind,  then Junior Pencil and Chai, is the best place to learn fine arts as they provide art classes in realistic environment with professionals who nurture and guide young passionate aspirants learning fine arts.

4 better ways to understand how competition in art can negatively affect your child !

Completion in Art, Do you think it's right to strangle yours kids with the concept of competition? For sure the answer is a NO!

Completion in Art, Do you think it's right to strangle yours kids with the concept of competition? For sure the answer is a NO!

Competition in art can negatively affect your child !

A flower does not think of competition with the flower next to it, it just blossoms. Children are definitely like those flowers which require continuous nurturing, care and love. Every child is a beautiful creation of creator waiting to shine with his or her unique abilities. Do you think it’s right to strangle yours kids with the concept of competition? For sure the answer is a NO!

Art is such a domain in which competition can kill your child’s creativity. As a subject art does not resemble other conventional subjects like math or science which are highly based on logic. Creativity is the foundation on which arts blooms.

It is extremely important than you as parents do not cage your kids’ creativity by pushing them into the race to become the best as this will only hamper their mental and emotional wellbeing. In the following blog I will be emphasising on 4 ways which will aid parents to appreciate the uniqueness of their children without comparing them with others.

1) We are programmed to believe in competition!

From early years itself kids’ mind are shaped in such a manner that they start believing that competition is a non-escapable and important part for their lives. This premature thought later gets solidified in their minds. Parents must understand that we as humans are obsessed with being the best and we tend to pass the same desire to our kids. But parents are not aware that this extreme competition is harmful for their children and not beneficial.

The high expectation may make the kid feel suffocated. This disturbs the fragile mental balance of your kids which can have several psychological effects in long run. He or she can start feeling worthless which will be showcased in their behavioural patterns such as

  • changed apatite – eating too much or too less
  • insomnia
  • aggressive and impulsive behaviour,
  • isolation
  • Decreased level of concentration

When you notice these signs, please have an open-heart talk with your child while giving him or her the space to vent out.

Art is one such field where contest will fetch your child nothing other than stress and panic. Let your child drive into the oceans of colours without being restricted. A child’s creativity can awe you beyond words but only if they are set free. You as a parent can’t dictate each stroke, pattern, figure and shade they put on paper so it is better to let them enjoy their own creations.

 

2) Each child is unique

Have you ever compared your kid to the topper of the class or a relative’s kids? If yes, then you are like most of the parents. In the race to make your kids successful elders forget that not all things that bring you success should also bring you happiness. Each child throughout his or her lifespan develops certain specific interests and talents which rare.

For example, Walt Disney the creator world’s 1st animated film was called as person who lacked creativity and imagination. But he never gave up hope even at the hardest times of his journey. Todays is has left his mark on the world as the epitome of imagination. It took Walt Disney several years to achieve his goals but if he ever thought of his contemporaries as competition and hurried then his story could have a different end.

Certain processes take time and you as parent must embrace the time your child is investing in the activities that please their hearts. Art also is not a skill that can be mastered overnight but it is about patience and perseverance and of course creativity. Your child may take more time than other kids to complete an artwork or they can like sketching more than acrylic painting and that’s completely acceptable. You cannot channelize their interest but only support them to make sure their dreams come true.

 

3) Art should be bliss and not Burden

Have you parents looked at the calm and delightful eyes of your kids when they draw or paint? The site is surreal to the soul. Unlike the rigid school curriculum, art provides the kids extreme flexibility to follow their hearts. They can use any shades any stationary and  any object to paint, it’s their will and wish .

Such a fluid activity as no place for competition as art recognises the importance of joy and ignores the concept of being  better than the rest. Every time a kid decides to sketch then he or she must feel blissful and not burden to be perfect to impress their parents. Elders on the other hand must encourage their kids to do want pleases them and not what amuses the elders.

Parents should understand that once art or any other subject becomes a burden to you kid then it will choke the child’s performance in other areas as well. It will cause a fall in your child’s self-esteem, and it may instigate hostile behaviour in them. These signs are of causation. 

4) Why at Junior Pencil And Chai we do not encourage competition in art-

We at junior Pencil and Chai totally believe in working as a team to excel. We believe that embracing and appreciating each student’s work for its own unique traits. We help kids build trust and communication among team members which will aid them to look at others as friends and not enemies. Establishing an amicable relationship with kids to understand their interest is what we encourage as this assists us to provide specific child-oriented guidance to each one of them.

I would like to conclude this blog by saying that each parent is gifted with the world’s most precious child , it just takes a little effort from your side to identify and nurture your child’s talents. Parents must whole heartedly believe in their children and try to infuse humanity in them and not fierce contest . The world is a beautiful place which is made more beautiful by the presence of compassionate humans, so parents learn to teach your child to appreciate each individual with love and not push them away as foes.

To kick start your child’s creative art journey these courses may help you .