LittleSketchers

Whenever I browse through my timeline on LS, it brings back beautiful memories…and smiles…that make me really really happy…nostalgic and kind of transports me to a different world…a world of imaginary critters, places and spaces.

A little background first! LS or littlesketchers.com is something that came about as a need. A need to save and cherish some of the beautiful childhood memories of my little son. He started drawing at an early age and so you can well imagine, I had a whole lot of stuff to stack around 🙂 Slowly, I ran out of space…well not slowly, but really quickly! LOL!! He has a knack for filling up sheets like crazy…sometimes there is just a tiny little dot in a whole lot of them. There was a time when he wanted everything to be framed. And then filling up sketchbooks after sketchbooks after sketchbooks! I had to take help of the digital arena. So there I was. And there I am. Nostalgic. Happy.

Wow!! just returned from one such beautiful memory mall!!

Look at this one, don’t you feel like swishing through those green vistas…what an escape from the daily drill…and the hot sun…and of course if it was one of your child’s creation, I am sure it will have a very different memory attached!

Create a few memories with us. Jump on to the train of imaginary world created by some lovely little sketchers. You might meet your kiddo self somewhere playing in the midst of all the colors too…

Wonder why they keep coloring sheets and stuff for the kids at most eating joints? It keeps them busy…distracted…a break for the parents…oh, what a relief!! Most kids seems to enjoy. All ages, all stages. You can often see them scribbling away!
Sometimes when Tejjas carries his sketchbook along, there is a different air around him! He feels happier, content and in command. Maybe it’s just a nice co-incidence. Maybe it’s the imaginary world in his head that keeps him occupied and he forgets to get ‘bored’.

Maybe it’s just the good old magic of art!! Do your let your kids carry their art around? Maybe try it this weekend!!

Guess what we did y’day…a lazy Sunday evening…didn’t feel like going to a busy mall…instead we gathered our ‘tools’ and off we went to a coffee shop! Sharpened some pencils and ruffled up some creative nerves…all set!

Yes! Very soon we were all doodling away. What fun! And yes, very uplifting too.
Will be doing it more often. A great way to bond!

Explore the various mediums. Go ahead. Don’t be afraid. Make some mess!

Focus on the process of learning. Of doing. The end-product is not the only thing you should aspire for. What you create is important, yes very important but how you create, how you ‘arrive’ at it is the key. The exploration, the process, the flow and the fun…

Enjoy every bit of it. Immerse in it. Get soaking wet in the process!

Do not mock. Do not make fun of what others create. Each one has a way of ‘arriving’ at it. Respect that. You will learn from that as well. Find your own expression.

Do not compare. It will only slow you down. Let your creativity grow. Draw whatever you feel like. Make notes. Jot your thoughts. Make them visual. Doodle and scribble. Apply the learning wherever and whenever you can. You will be surprised!!

He lifts his head up and looks at you. The blue and the yellow pencil strokes random and haphazard fill the paper in front of him. He is proud of his creation, you can see it in his tiny eyes.

The critic in you wants to say a lot. Lot more than the child wants to hear and even needs to hear at this stage. But of course you can’t be all happy and excited about it. Wow! What a lovely drawing…you are so good…all this meaningless talk will not help the little artist either.

The best bet is to start a conversation around it. Ask him to tell you more about it, but do not ask him what he has made…unless you want the story teller in him to run away and hide somewhere.

Would you like to tell me more about this tiny shape you have here? I think it looks like a tendril. Where did you see that? You know why plants need it? And so on and so forth…let him weave the story…let his imagination run ‘freely’ and yours too 🙂

Somewhere I read, that your imagination is the best gift you will ever receive. How true! Just imagine!!