CRAFT
Every time we put together an issue focussed on a particular country, we're always on the lookout for ways to expose grandkids to that country's cultural heritage, especially the amazing arts and crafts. From miniature paintings to marbled paper, hand-woven kilims, carpets, ceramics and mosaics, Turkish artists have a long tradition of creating stunning art. So here are a few ideas you might like to explore with your grandkids and get their creative juices going.
A TURKISH MOSAIC
What you'll need:
1. Tie a piece of string to the head of a push pin. Tie the other end of the string to a pencil or crayon. About 15cms (6 inches) is a nice length to work with.
2. Lay the foam or cardboard (or even an old colouring book) down on the work surface. Place one sheet of paper on top.
3. Insert the push pin into the paper. Make sure it goes all the way through into the cardboard.
4. Have your child pull the string taut and then draw a circle. Note: you may need to help hold the push pin in place and/or help your child keep the string taut.
5. Remove the push pin and the string.
What you'll need:
- A length of string
- A pin
- Some crayons or coloured pencils
- A piece of cardboard
- A sheet of paper for each child
1. Tie a piece of string to the head of a push pin. Tie the other end of the string to a pencil or crayon. About 15cms (6 inches) is a nice length to work with.
2. Lay the foam or cardboard (or even an old colouring book) down on the work surface. Place one sheet of paper on top.
3. Insert the push pin into the paper. Make sure it goes all the way through into the cardboard.
4. Have your child pull the string taut and then draw a circle. Note: you may need to help hold the push pin in place and/or help your child keep the string taut.
5. Remove the push pin and the string.
6. Help your child use a ruler to draw a straight line that divides the circle in half. This is a great time to sneak in some math-awareness questions like, “How can we find the middle of the circle?” or “How small of a slice can you make?” or “What does this shape remind you of? (i.e., a piece of pie, a pizza, a colour wheel).
7. Continue using the ruler to divide the circle into increasingly smaller sections. Note: Consider the size of your circle when figuring out how many slices. You want to leave enough room for your child to experiment layering in colours and details onto the mosaic template. I find that it works best to limit yourself to four lines (which creates eight sections).
8. Help your child inscribe a square onto the circle. To do this, use the ruler to connect the ends of the lines at the point where they touch the circle’s edge. Again, here’s another opportunity to help your child work on pattern recognition and basic geometry concepts. Ask questions like these, “What shape did we just draw? How many squares can you find in the drawing? Are there any triangles?”
9. Invite your child to colour in the different sections, using crayons, markers, chalk or coloured pencils. You may choose to have them just enjoy the process, colouring willy-nilly. But, if you want to create a recognizable pattern, then you’ll need to give them prompts like, “Let’s colour in all the triangles first. Which two colours do you want to use? Okay, let’s colour one triangle orange, and then the next triangle will be blue. And we’ll keep switching like that.”
Now you’ve got your own Turkish mosaic to hang at home! If you make a couple and laminate them, they could serve as cool, new place mats for your table.
7. Continue using the ruler to divide the circle into increasingly smaller sections. Note: Consider the size of your circle when figuring out how many slices. You want to leave enough room for your child to experiment layering in colours and details onto the mosaic template. I find that it works best to limit yourself to four lines (which creates eight sections).
8. Help your child inscribe a square onto the circle. To do this, use the ruler to connect the ends of the lines at the point where they touch the circle’s edge. Again, here’s another opportunity to help your child work on pattern recognition and basic geometry concepts. Ask questions like these, “What shape did we just draw? How many squares can you find in the drawing? Are there any triangles?”
9. Invite your child to colour in the different sections, using crayons, markers, chalk or coloured pencils. You may choose to have them just enjoy the process, colouring willy-nilly. But, if you want to create a recognizable pattern, then you’ll need to give them prompts like, “Let’s colour in all the triangles first. Which two colours do you want to use? Okay, let’s colour one triangle orange, and then the next triangle will be blue. And we’ll keep switching like that.”
Now you’ve got your own Turkish mosaic to hang at home! If you make a couple and laminate them, they could serve as cool, new place mats for your table.
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TURKISH MARBLING
Here's how you and your grandchild can create Erbu, the Turkish art of marbling. In traditional Ebru, paint is dripped onto the surface of water and a fine brush or metal comb is used to create marbled patterns. After a pattern is created, a piece of paper is gently laid on the surface of the water. The paint adheres to the paper, creating a marbled masterpiece. To make this project kid-friendly, use shaving cream and acrylic paint. It can be a bit messy, so roll up those sleeves before you start! What you’ll need
What to do
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The Fez
The Fez has an interesting history – it was originally adopted as the universal hat for males in the Ottoman Empire as part of modernizing reforms in 1826. Then it was itself banned in 1925 in reforms to modernize what had then become the Republic of Turkey. You can find out more about the history of the Fez here. With all that history behind the Fez, it makes a fun dress up for kids! What you’ll need
Step 1: On some card, draw 2 circles 5.5 inches in diameter. Then draw one arc shape as shown in red in the photo at right. To draw nice smooth arcs, use a pencil tied to some string like a large compass. Otherwise simply draw the arc shapes freehand. Step 2: Cut out the 3 shapes (2 circles and 1 arc) Step 3: Pin one of the circles and the arc shape on the back of the red fabric and trace around each with a marker or pen. Cut out the circle, leaving an extra half inch (1.5cm) of fabric around the edge. Cut out the arc leaving an extra half inch of fabric at the bottom and sides (but not the top) – as in the photo at right. Step 4: Then do the same as the step above with the black fabric lining. But this time, when cutting the fabric for the arc don’t leave any extra fabric at the bottom and sides. Step 5: Glue one of the cardboard circles in the centre of the back of the red circle of fabric. Snip around the edges of the fabric hanging over the card and then fold it over the edge and glue down. Do the same with the second circle of card and the black fabric. Step 6: Take the black embroidery thread and cut about 30 lengths each 9.5 inches (24cm) long. Gather them all together and tie a knot in the middle. Sew the knotted end to the middle of the red fabric covered circle. Step 7: Take the arc-shaped piece of card and draw a line about half an inch from the top, following the curve and use this as a guide to cut little teeth all the way along, as in the photo below. Fold over each little tooth. Step 8: Glue the arc black fabric to one side of the arc shaped card. Then glue the other side to the back of the red fabric arc shape. Fold the fabric hanging over the bottom and sides and glue down (you might need to snip little triangles out of the fabric here and there to get it to fold over and glue nicely). Cut the top of the fabric with little teeth as we did with the piece of card. Step 9: Bend the arc shape around and glue together at the join to form the side of the hat. To give it a little extra strength, sew along the join with a needle and thread. Put a generous amount of glue on the teeth around the top and put the red fabric covered circle on top. Turn the hat upside down and, using plenty of glue, stick the black covered circle inside to the top circle, sandwiching the little teeth in between. Leave to dry. If you find that the top comes loose at all during play, you can sew a few stitches with needle and thread to strengthen it. |
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