How to use Seychelles flowers & leaves as natural crayons |27 April 2021
• “Experiment with different varieties of flowers and leaves… and observe the magic of nature!”
It was while discussing how we can introduce our readers to a unique form of art with Pooja Gokul, that she mentioned wanting to introduce our local population to the concept of ‘Natural Crayons’ since flowers and leaves are easily available in Seychelles.
Pooja is a Fine Arts graduate, an Art Educator and founder of Amoha Prints – a Hand Block Printing company based in Bangalore. Pooja has a strong connection to Seychelles as she is married to Rishabh Jivan, a native Seychellois.
She tells us that it was while she was taking a walk in a park one Sunday morning and found lots of pretty flowers and leaves that had fallen around her, that the idea of natural crayons came to her.
“Being an artist and a nature lover, I immediately asked myself, can I make use of these fallen flora and give them a new life? This led me to try out creating colour from nature, which could be used in art,” she says.
“It was a fun and simple technique to create colour with nature. It made me feel how resourceful and creative one can be with materials available in one’s surroundings. It is indeed an amazing feeling to experiment with natural ingredients instead of buying more and more art supplies.”
She adds that parents and teachers can also try this with kids because the little ones are naturally sensitive to nature and the environment, and care about their actions.
“This activity arouses children’s curiosity, making them wonder which colour or shade each flower or leaf will produce. This also helps in the form of sensory play and in improving creativity among children. Whether you’re an adult or a child, the joy of making your own colours can be very satisfying.”
Below are a few examples from some experiments that Pooja has done with flowers and leaves.
This technique can be used in drawings and paintings, like the parrot, which Pooja says she sketched with pencil and then coloured in with the very colours that she created using only flowers and leaves.
Below, Pooja explains how to use flowers and leaves found in Seychelles to create colour:
- Select your flowers and leaves
I would recommend selecting flowers and leaves in Seychelles that look bright and colourful; for example, Hibiscus, Frangipani, Bougainvillea, Flamboyant, Yellow Allamanda and Madagascar Periwinkle flowers. They should be fresh and not dried up; dried leaves will not have enough moisture and colour.
Hibiscus & Frangipani
Photo sources: Pinterest
Bougainvillea & Flamboyant
Photo sources: ontheluce.com (L) & Global-Geography (R)
Yellow Allamanda & Madagascar Periwinkle
Photo sources: Veronika’s Blog (L) &Pinterest (R)
- Rub in the flowers and leaves
Create colour by rubbing the flowers and leaves freely on paper or inside a particular shape or drawing.
The colours do tend to get lighter over time which should be fine as long as you have had fun doing this activity. After all, there are many more flowers and leaves available in nature to recreate this art again.
- Use different varieties
Feel free to experiment with different varieties of flowers and leaves available around you, and observe the magic of nature!
For more information, email: pooja@amohaprints.com; visit: www.amohaprints.com
F.P.
