K was super excited to attend Artify’s June Holiday Class entitled “Whimsical Island“, after we had such a fun time there at the Father’s Day special class (more on that later). We had received an invitation to review their holiday camp in March but had to miss it since we were travelling, so K was so pleased to be able to finally attend the full day camp (from 10am to 4pm)!
K loves writing long and fanciful stories, so I thought this theme would be perfect for her. Instead of words, she’ll be able to translate them into images this time. Artify described the class as one that would bring a child’s imagination to life through the creative expression of visual art in various forms such as acrylic canvas painting and watercolour art.
One session was entitled Crazy Creatures Watercolour Art. Kids could draw monsters or unicorns, and experiment with really cool state-of-the-art ‘self-watering’ watercolour brushes. K and I dabbled in watercolour painting, but we had only used normal fine-tipped brushes, so she was very impressed with the watercolour brushes they got to use.
They were supplied with easy-to-follow reference books, and K had a field day learning to draw all the creatures she had always wanted to draw. A day later at home, she was still drawing these creatures, this time as part of a zoo.
The children then got to cut out the watercolour creatures, and stuck them on thin sticks, to use as props or actors in stories, with their canvas painting as the back-drop.
Here are K’s creatures! Her favourite was the little deer, and I am probably very biased, but I think all the creatures she drew and coloured were really cute! It was her first time learning how to draw most of them too.
The children got together to plan out a combined story.
Look at the variety of creatures everyone made in the photo below (they are all laid out on the floor).
The session had actually begun with Odd Island Large Canvas Painting, where kids were inspired and then given the leeway to paint an entire island of creatures real or imaginary! As you can see from the array below, there was such a variety of interpretation, and everyone brought home something unique.
Look at how happy the kids are! (Special thanks to Team Artify for most of the photos above too.)
K had a totally fantastic time, and we would totally recommend it to all our friends.
The entire holiday camp costs $79 (inclusive of lunch and snacks), which is very reasonable, given that it’s a full day class, and the kids get to go home with a large canvas acrylic painting, learn watercolour techniques, and experience hours of fun in the process.
The kids had lunch at a halal-cafe on the ground floor of Textile Centre, together with their art teachers. Artify Studio has a great partnership going with the cafe, for K said that by the time they arrived, all the food was served. No time wasted ordering and waiting, which means more time for painting, whoohoo!
Overall, I thought it was good that Artify Studio is self-contained in the sense that there are two restrooms in the studio itself. This means that kids need not venture out of the space to go to the restroom. Extra points for convenience and safety.
Father’s Day Terrarium and Stamp-making class
Separately, the girls and I had earlier signed up for Artify’s Father’s Day Special. It was so awesome that I felt I had to blog about it.
It was under the “Stop Bugging Me” format, which is simply ingenious. Artify should copyright it, really. Being a once-avid scrapbooker, I love going for craft classes. However, I tend to feel guilty going of them while the kids are being cared for by others, so a class like this is simply perfect, because the kids can come along, and create art of their own!
It’s wonderful that parents and kids can be in the same space, so parents can keep an eye on the younger kids, who might be reluctant to be dropped off. Of course, that means that you are not totally insulated from being bugged, but it’s a small price to pay, since most of the time, they would be totally absorbed in their own craft!
The girls and I simply had such a great time.
First up, the kids got to sketch their terrarium plan, on a piece of paper behind a canvas frame. Then they had fun painting that.
Soon, it was time to set up their own terrarium.
Layers of rocks, moss, soil and more rocks, then two lovely little plants and some dino decor… Here’s Jae and her little charges in action. The best part is that the mess is swiftly cleared up with some nifty brooms, and the space looks good as new by the end of the class. Jae also did an admirable job of keeping the kids engaged and in order. She definitely has a gift for relating to children!
It was great that the kids got to learn about how a terrarium is a little eco-system in itself. A terrarium is the perfect Father’s Day gift, cos the daddies won’t have to water the plants!
Stamp-making with ParadeMade
I also signed up for this class because I really wanted to learn how to carve a rubber stamp. I had never been to a stamp-making class before, and thought it would be really hard. But under the patient guidance of the tutors from ParadeMade, I got the knack of it soon enough! They also demonstrated carving an entire stamp, so it was easy to follow.
The two classes tied in nicely together, as we were given little tags to stamp on. That was so thoughtful.
K wrote a little note to her daddy, and we attached the tag to the terrarium – voila! Happy Father’s Day to a truly great hands-on daddy. You’re the best and we couldn’t have asked for more.
The icing on the cake was that I got to support Special Seeds through the Pay-As-You-Wish concept.
Special Seeds is an initiative of the Rare Disorders Society of Singapore (RDSS), a local registered charity which “engages individuals and organizations to raise awareness on rare disorders, and to enable successful parenting of persons with special needs and disability in Singapore so that they can reach their fullest potential”. I think it’s wonderful that there is this platform to demystify issues, and connect parents in Singapore, so that we build a truly more inclusive society in time to come.
Kudos to Artify for supporting Special Seeds! You are an outfit with so much heart, and I must say I am very inspired.
Address: 200 Jalan Sultan, #09-03,
Textile Centre, S(199018)
*only lifts 7 & 8 lead to their secret studio, press lift button ‘8/9’
[I walked there and back with K & B from Lavender MRT Station, and it wasn’t difficult to find Textile Centre. 5 year old K managed the distance with no complaints too, possibly also because we are used to walking.]
(Call / Whatsapp): +65 9011 1431
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