Dedicated to our Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda

Dedicated to our Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda

Hari OM!

This blog is designed to serve as a library of art and craft ideas for our balavihar children. We hope that you will find this site useful. Please feel free to use any (or all) of the projects you see posted here. We ask, however, that you refrain from publishing (in any form) these templates, instructions, and photographs, unless you receive written permission. These projects are being provided for your own personal use or use in the Balavihar classroom.


All art projects are categorized by 1) material, 2) use, and 3) type. For example a Diya greeting card would be under the labels "Paper" and "Cards," while a Lord Hanumaan puppet would be found under "Paper," "Toys and Puppets" and "Gods and Goddesses." Most materials for these projects can easily be purchased from any local craft store — and some projects involve materials you already have laying around the house.


We would love to hear your suggestions and ideas about any of the information you find on this site. And, if you have any projects that you would like to share with other seviks/sevikas, please send a picture of the finished piece, as well as instructions on how to make the project – so we can post it.


Happy Creating!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Frog Sponge Art


© 2009 This project is dedicated to Gurudev.

For use in Balavihar classrooms (or personal use) only.
Summer Camp 2010
Click on image to view enlarged.


मण्डूकः
(maNDuukaH)

मण्डूकः उपविशन् अस्ति।
maNDuukaH upavishan asti.
The frog is sitting.

मण्डूकः मक्षिकां प्रतीक्षते।
maNDuukaH makShikaam pratiikShate
The frog waits for a fly.


This is page thirteen of a child's Sanskrit Animal picture book. Click here to see a sample of an assembled book.

Materials
• Sponge (cut into oval shape, any size will do)
• Paper, cardstock (Make sure that it is a size proportional to your sponge size. 4 x 4 inch squares work well.)
• Medium black marker or gel pen. (.o7 mm)
• Gray tempera paint (We like to mix white and black together, keeping some streaks of white and black in the mixture -- this gives the print more depth and makes the overall image seem more painterly.

Directions
1. Spread a very thin layer of tempera paint onto a paper plate and dip the sponge into it. (Don't worry if the entire sponge is not covered with paint -- the result looks lovely when there are shades of gray and unevenness in paint.)

2. Print your sponge onto the center of the paper.

3. Take your black pen and draw the lines to define your frog. (Coloring in the shapes can add yet another dimension to the image.) Feel free to copy the picture above or make up your own drawing!