Creativity Challenge - Week 21

Blog 21

Drawing in class

Finally, I was able to make more time for art. For my Cartooning and Comics classes, I drew the main characters of the movie “Captain Underpants” as well as Bendy from the video game “Bendy and the Ink Machine”, a survival horror video game as I discovered when I did some research. I often wonder how these young kids know about so many villains. Whether it is Darth Vader, Deadpool, the Joker, or Bendy, I am surprised when I read about the characters and the games and movies featuring them. They seem definitely more violent than what I read and watched as a kid.

Drawings as Preparation

Drawing in class

Or on second thought, perhaps they are not so different. When I think back to Grimm’s Fairy tales or Wilhelm Busch’s stories that my parents read to me even at a young age, they also contained a lot of violence, even though we did not realize it, because we concentrated on the “Happily ever after” ending of the heroine or hero. Without consciously noticing it, the tales taught us about dangers and morals, and how to behave to be safe and to be polite.

As video games and movies are much more available to children of all ages and let the story of books come to life on the screen, let’s hope that these fictional characters will also help kids to differentiate between good and bad. We, the parents, guardians and instructors play a big role to make sure that the children see the consequences of violent behaviour and the value of taking positive actions in real life.

I am not a big fan of violent movies and have never played a video game. I prefer to see movies or read books that are funny or romantic, or documentaries that show happy relationships between creatures and the beauty and fascination of nature.

On the weekend, during a bike ride with my son and a walk with our dog, the fields of blooming trilliums captured my eyes and inspired me to create a felted trillium flower on my table runner. I wish I could also create lilac blooms that I love so much, but they seem very difficult. Regardless, I will attempt to make one and tell you next week whether I was successful. In the worst case, I will just create another flower out of the beautiful lilac coloured wool.

If you like flowers and would like to learn how to felt them, I am happy to offer my next Flower Felting Workshop at the beautiful Da Artisti Studio & Gallery in Cumberland Village on June 3, from 10am to 12pm. In this 2 hour course, I will be showing you how to create your own flowers with wool by felting it on a 5" x 7" felt base. The final product can be framed and displayed anywhere in your home. No prior experience is necessary, and all materials are included! Registration is limited to 8 participants, and is priced at $50+tax.

To register please go to: https://daartisti.com/lessons/