Crochet
A soothing hobby, crocheting is a process of creating textiles by using a simple crochet hook, your favourite yarn, thread, or strands of different materials and colours. With social media influence, crocheting has gone from just sweaters and socks to making home décor, stuffed animals and festive decorations. For Guirdolim-based Avril Antao, it was a skill, first introduced in school, lay dormant for decades until she picked up a crochet needle again during the pandemic. “I was hooked, ordering yarn online and experimenting with different needles. I crafted baby items, beanies, doilies, and eventually, crochet flowers – sunflowers, roses, daisies – all without any referencing patterns. For my wedding, I created over 100 lavender crochet flowers and pots, along with family flowers. This art form, inherited from my maternal grandmother Morena Viegas, continues to evolve and manifest in new ways,” says Avril.
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Painting
Painting has many benefits to creatively grow, improve your concentration and enhance your fine motor skills. Painting, sketching, and collaging are all artistic skills that are easy to learn. Acrylic paint is one of the most popular paint mediums, particularly with beginners, as it’s easy to use and can be quite affordable. Eldora Fernandes from Saligao found stainless steel as a unique material to explore the wonders of acrylic paints. She uses her talent to paint bottles, agarbatti stands, coffee mugs and pet bowls into works of art. She explains her state of mind while painting, “I started painting around four years back and I find it very relaxing. I sometimes have to finish orders of 50-60 bottles and yet is not stressful.”
Pokemon cards collection
Card collecting is a timeless hobby that offers kids and eventually grown-ups, a world of imagination. Pokemon has recently got an augmented reality (AR) mobile game. However, the charm of Pokemon is in the collection of precious Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) cards. Interestingly, the ‘Pikachu Illustrator’ is the rarest and most expensive Pokémon card ever sold in history, and was acquired by the celebrity and collector Logan Paul for $5,275,000 in July 2021.
Keegan Furtado from Panjim has a collection of over 500 Pokémon TCG cards that he has been collecting as a kid. Besides India, he has collected cards from countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Australia. “I pick only genuine cards when I travel abroad. My cousin, Samuel Furtado also helps me find the best cards when he travels,”
says Keegan.
Origami
Origami requires concentration and focus and has the ability to reduce stress and promote relaxation. The repetitive folding of paper can also be meditative. To create an origami piece, one must pay close attention to the folds, angles, and symmetry of the paper. This level of concentration and attention to detail makes origami an ideal mindful hobby. More recently, a Christmas crib created by homeopathy doctor, Dr Mohammed Memon at Don Bosco Animation Center, Benaulim gained popularity with the various designs used to recreate the traditional crib. Interestingly, this is the third consecutive crib in three years that he has created in different places. “I am a practicing doctor but in my free time, I love working on different designs with paper. I started watching tutorials on YouTube and was also following Pinterest for ideas in 2019-2020,” says Dr Mohammed.
Quilling
With modern tools, techniques, and materials, paper quilling is now embraced by individuals seeking unique decorative pieces or simply enjoying it as a soothing hobby. While it teaches to repeat an action and to connect a result to it, it also aids in the development of fine motor skills, through hand to eye coordination. Shreya Pai Angle from Margao has been quilling since 2018 and has been creating different figures according to the festive themes from Lord Ganesha for Ganesh Chaturthi to Santa Claus for Christmas. “I bought a quilling kit and started watching tutorials online. While in the lockdown, most young girls got into baking and chocolate making, I thought of exploring quilling. I will be making gifts from Haldi Kumkum this month,” says Shreya.
