We made it this time...

...to Nalandaway's Art Arattai Aarpattam. Pattu along with her friend A explored all the art and craft activities by Let's do Something - pot painting, pop up cards, finger painting, jewelry making - they made their own bracelet and earrings.

We went back for the Sing along with Jeeva and Krishna Iyer. Awesome! Pattu and A had V as well for company and the three of them were super excited singing and jumping along! LB was just two rows away from us ... I can't tell whether the kids or the parents enjoyed it more.

And this Aarpattam continued all the way back home as well!

Highlight of the evening was V telling the girls, 'ayyo CD odanju pochu' (The CD got stuck) when the girls were stuck on a song trying to recall the next line. LOL! 

Picture this

My first 3 glass paintings.... 

Pottery Workshop

...at Lets Do Something was even better than what they had organised last time. Last time, the entire workshop was spent on the wheel while this time we had a mix of the wheel and some clay molding. I looked at what the 8 yr olds had done in the morning session and got cold feet but it was too late to back out. I had paid up by then. The teacher must have sensed my apprehension, she was quick to dismiss my fears and I turned out alright.

So, what did we make? Roses, Calla Lily and other assorted flowers, candle holder, a face mask, few pots, an incense holder and couple of murals with all the flowers and leaves that we had made. They are drying now and am waiting to paint it next weekend.

I don't have the other pictures handy with me...but will surely update....

We had a very good teacher and she apparently runs a center dedicated to clay art, besides having a full time job!! Some people have all the energy (and talent too) *SIGH*. I'm also signing up for terracotta jewelry making workshop next month - there were some on display - Awesome is the word!

Theater Workshop by Evam

... is starting this weekend at Let's Do Something. It is for older teens and adults - 16 yrs and above. I'm going to miss this since I am off to Trivandrum tonight :(

Those who've been waiting for something like this and do manage to catch up, please tell me what I missed...

Ban the Paparazzi

What do you do when strangers click snaps of your kids in public places? I've faced this quite a few times at shopping malls, beach, temples etc. Luckily Pattu is shy and refuses to pose. The other day, some college guys at the beach were trying to get Pattu to pose and I had to politely tell them that she is shy and they should leave her alone. No matter how decent looking they are, I feel very uneasy about it. Similar incident at the shopping mall - this time I realised only after the picture was clicked. They were a sweet looking young couple and I felt very awkward to say anything so just smiled and moved away.
I am also quite uneasy with the too friendly Annas at the department stores ... I've just started telling Pattu to be careful with strangers.

Btw, if you still haven't made your weekend plans, check out Lets Do Something.

They have some workshops planned for the moms and the kids have some incentive to be there as well. They are having a digital photography workshop, embroidery sessions and robotics workshops for older children coming up soon. Salsa will also be added soon along with the western dance that they already have.
Forum Art Gallery also has workshops for kids. They also have some Christmas fun coming up.

Meet Ms Potter

Ah, I'd been getting my hands dirty at the potter's wheel for a good 2 hours (or probably more...time just flew..)today. What fun mucking around...I don't quite blame Pattu for her indulgence.


Lets do Something is a new place that has opened just a week back at Velachery. Its a hobby center and an activity center for both children and adults. Apart from the regular dance, music, yoga, painting routine, this place also offers slightly niche and interesting things like workshops in Pottery, Photography and the likes (they are adding to the list and some ideas and insights would be welcome). The best thing from my point of view is - this place lets you try out things if you don't want to commit yourself and invest for an entire course. So, you can pay per session, try it out and enroll once you are sure you are hooked to it.

I tried the pottery workshop and made quite a few pots - maybe around 10 of them...and nearly 4 - 5 with my own dirty hands(OK, the potter set up the wheel and the base clay and I took over from there). They all are drying now - will post pics of my creation in a couple of days. I tried out some fancy things like making dents to the pots I made (trying to make it look arty) and it broke my teacher's heart - he was training me to get the symmetry right and I insisted on asymmetrical patterns (a bit too early I guess).

Pattu found it funny that amma was playing with clay and water and creating a lot of mess. She had her share of fun on the other side of the wall with games, books, play doh, paint etc. In fact, she got a chance to do a hand imprint on their wall - the first happy customer :) - a tiny green hand... she was all smiles...
So, for Rs.300, I got to muck around for more than 2 hrs, I got 10 pots that I'm sure to flaunt(5 good ones and 5 teda hai but mera hai samples), I figured out that I have a freak chance at the potter's wheel if I worked hard... and we had two beaming kids at the end of it all (the Amma became a kid for a while) - totally worth it!

There's also a 3 weeks' free trial for Western Dance for children in the age group of 4 yrs to 9 yrs. Anyone?

Incidentally, my friends have started this place and they are still evolving the concept - people in Chennai, please do visit and give your feedback. The Phone No: 044-45014350