Wan Chai art studio offers eco-friendly handicraft classes
Art classes using recycled materials teach children about the environment as well as nurturing creativity, writes Nora Tong
Eight-year-old Dicky Wu Cheuk-hin likes to create artworks out of waste material.
"I felt bored at home one day and felt like eating. I saw a few pieces of newspaper [lying around] and thought I could make an egg using a balloon and the newspaper," says the young boy. Gathering the bits and pieces he needed, he blew up a purple balloon, cut the newspaper into squares, coloured the pieces and then glued them onto the ball.
Dicky has been attending an arts and crafts class at Draw 2 - Art and Language Studio in Wan Chai where, among other things, he has learned how to turn seemingly useless objects such as bottle caps, used straws and toilet paper rolls into fun art pieces. The centre offers painting and arts and crafts lessons, as well as courses in English, Putonghua and Japanese to children and adults.
Agnes Pang Shuk-yee, founder of Draw 2, says children should learn how they can play a part in protecting the environment. "I dislike wasting things. The materials we use in our work aren't rubbish. They have value," she says.
By cultivating an interest in creating art pieces from everyday items at home, Pang also hopes to tap into the students' creativity. Many children are overwhelmed by hectic schedules packed with formal classes, tutoring and extracurricular activities, and are deprived of the time and space to "create and think", she says.
