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Learn how to create Warli Art - A Quick and Easy Tutorial

Recently I got a chance to teach Warli Art to a class of 8-9 year olds. I was quite reluctant to take up the assignment as I always thought that primary school teachers had the toughest job in the world.

Contrary to my expectations, the entire experience was very enjoyable despite the fact that my voice reached decibel levels I never knew existed. The kids totally captivated me with their imagination and expressions - creativity at its best! When I asked them to draw a warli scene, they were highly enthusiastic and could easily think out of the box.


One kid drew a detailed picture of a laboratory complete with lots of test tubes connected to each other by a complicated network of tubes which were bent at all angles and one tiny lone warli figure in one corner holding a pipe - when I asked him to explain how this was a warli scene, he said he wanted to become a scientist and this is how his lab would look! He had drawn a warli figure didn't he?! We somehow manage to lose so much creativity in the process of growing up!

Warli Art belongs to Maharashtra and is the simplest form of folk art that kids can draw. It is visually very effective, so anyone drawing a warli scene will be pleased with the results! With just a few simple lines we can bend a figure, draw an animal, make a figure dance and so on...

Compositions usually depict village scenes, but I think any scene can be composed with this technique. Usually, the background is made of a bright color and the figures are white or black.

Hope you enjoy creating an art piece with Warli!

About the Author:  Parvathy is a long time Mother, Homemaker, Teacher, Artist, Student at Kalakshetra and blogs rarely at http://fromourpalette.blogspot.in/

Featured Image: https://flic.kr/p/7Tt7Ev