Wonders In Craft

Handicraft is the technology of the hand. A craft at its best represents man's need to create all together with mind and hand. A fine object is planned not only to be aesthetically pleasing; it is basically a skilled explanation as well to a specific need. Tamil Nadu's handicrafts are more or less unlimited, in variety they are infinite. In Tamil Nadu, numerous local village and country traditions have survived through the course of altering history, giving and taking among them.

Handicrafts in Tamil Nadu were, in a way, cherished as an important part of our rich cultural heritage. Now though this sentiment continues to be rekindled, there is a pronounced change in the general attitude towards crafts, which is completely upsetting our basic sense of human values. For, though handicrafts helped to fulfill a positive physical need in the daily lives of the people, they also served to satisfy the aesthetic hunger in man and provided a vehicle for his urge for self-expression, which revealed itself in a conscious aesthetic approach. The inspiration has come from the tender core of the substance of everyday life and nature's own rich store-house. These significant and meaningful facts are being rapidly forgotten. To-day handicrafts are becoming just commodities for sale, not the essentials of elegant living. Handicrafts of Tamil Nadu are available it several materials and forms.

In Karigiri a small village near Chennai, a dozen potter families are occupied in producing glazed artistic pottery, with conventional Persian designs. The major raw material used is a type of clay known as namakatti. Chemically, this is a kind of low-fusing China clay; the material is so soft and elastic that highly complex designs in various shapes can be easily thrown on the potter' wheel, with beautiful cut-out or incised designs. Low-fired glazes in emerald green, deep blue and gold are commonly used. Apart from decorative vases, a variety of attractive utilitarian objects like water jugs, ink-stands and ash trays in traditional and modern forms are also made.

Source : crafting.squidoo.com/tamil_nadu_handicrafts

Easy Paper Folding

The art of paper folding is what most kids are introduced to early in their life. These origami folding techniques should enable them to create such interesting patterns and shapes.

Techniques Used in Paper Folding

Learning the basic origami techniques should help in preparing them for the advanced levels. Steps for these easy-to-make folds including the valley fold, mountain fold, rabbit ear fold, etc,

To make a valley fold, the paper should be folded along the vertical, horizontal or diagonal axis. The V-shape attained by the paper is referred to as valley fold.

The mountain fold is very much similar to the valley fold. The only difference between them is that the former is made in a upside-down manner. A dashed line should be created in order to ease the process of making the fold. A reference crease can be made vertically, horizontally or diagonally along the center of the paper. One of the edges of the paper is folded and aligned with the center.

It is one of the simplest folds to make. Here are the instructions for making a kite base. Make a valley fold along the diagonal axis of the paper and unfold it. Now make two more valley folds as depicted in the image.Make the valley fold in a manner that the paper aligns with the vertical diagonal axis.
Fold the other side (right) of the paper in the same way. Your kite fold is ready.

Making a cushion fold are Fold the paper along its vertical axis and then unfold it. Now, fold the paper along the horizontal axis and unfold it. You'll see valley folds along the horizontal and vertical axes. Fold the paper in a manner that the corner is aligned with the center.Now, fold the paper in a manner that all the four corners meet at the center. This completes the cushion fold.

Source : www.buzzle.com/articles/paper-folding-techniques.html