Posts in the art materials category

There is something special about prising treasures from the earth. Miners, of course, know it, and so do archaeologists and palaeontologists. The earth continues to yield treasures from the past, whether they be early settlers' pitchforks or ancient fossils from the bottom of the sea. And without archaeologists and palaeontologists we would be limited to knowing about only the cultures that had a written language or were written about. There would be a body of oral history, but no way to check its validity. We would be limited to around the last 3000 years of the human past. Many of the...

The Irish, of course, are no strangers to storytelling. Their leprechaun stories often involve mischievous little people not leading the human protagonist to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In one story, a leprechaun grants a wish to a poor couple, who demand riches. The leprechaun is angered that they are so greedy, and tells them he has put their riches in a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Central Australian Aboriginal culture, of course, offers countless stories about the Rainbow Snake or Serpent, the all-giving Creator of the world. Most of them...

In a wonderful traditional Chinese folktale, an old woman weaves the most exquisite tapestry, encompassing streams, fish, animals and flowers. It is a gorgeous piece of work, which takes her three years to complete. One day, as her three sons are arguing about who should inherit it, a gust of wind carries it out the window and off into the eastern sky. Creating something beautiful from balls of coloured wool is an almost magical experience for kids. I remember the first time I tried weaving - many years ago - and the experience has stayed with me ever since. While...

There's a wonderful story from Sydney about a man who has sunk into despair and alcoholism. He was wounded in the First World War, but his problems had begun in Balmain well before then, and by the Depression years his life was virtually over. But one day, after hearing a powerful sermon, he finds a piece of chalk in his pocket, bends down to the footpath and scribbles the word Eternity on the concrete. The odd thing was that the man was almost illiterate, but the word came out in a beautiful copperplate script. For the next 35-odd years Arthur...

Every child is born an artist. It is remaining an artist that is difficult. — Pablo Picasso. Every child seems to be born with a creative impulse. It's instinctive, as much a part of being human as is higher thought or longing to go home. Of course not all your little guys will turn out to be Picassos, but by nurturing and encouraging the art maker in your child, they will undoubtedly become more of a rounded human being. They will be better at seeing other points of view, be better at thinking for themselves and working out new ways...