Diwali

Diwali is the Hindu festival of light. Diwali will fall between November 11th and 15th in 2015. Here are some art ideas for this festival.

Rangoli Patterns

These are colourful patterns that a hung near a door to welcome the goddess Lashimi to the home. The children drew their own patterns and we hung them outside our classroom door.

Powder Paint

The Rangoli patterns (above) are traditionally created on the floor using powder paints. The children love the feel of this- it's so finely milled. 

They could also create Rangoli patterns from traditional powder paint. 

I found some on sale here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pack-Assorted-Colours-Rangoli-Powder/dp/B00NXVUJAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439643485&sr=8-1&keywords=rangoli+powder

Lights

Special lamps are lit in homes for these festivals. It is a wick in an oil. They do not blow out the lights, but let them extinguish themselves.

Chalk pastels on black sugar paper is a great way to show light. By smudging the 'light' with their fingers, the children can create the hue from a light. 

A light spray of hairspray will seal the chalk and stop it from coming off the paper. It is advisable to do this outside or near a window. The page will look wet and the colours will darken. This will be fine when it dries.