Speaking Part 2 (Cue Card)
Question :
Describe an art or craft activity you had at school.
You should say:
What you made?
How had you made it?
What it looks like?
explain how you felt about it.
A Modal answer with band 7+
Ahhh, Yeah, during my school days, we used to have plenty of art activities such as painting, drawing, handicraft, stone painting, you name it. And today I would like to talk about my desired activity which was stone painting. It is basically colouring on rocks or stones. I had made a tortoise on the small stone which was around 9-10 centimetres in diameter.
To start off with the activity, the teacher gave smooth stone and I had my own watercolour box. There was no specific topic was given to draw on it but to draw anything that we can think of. I had many things in my mind; however, I choose to draw the tortoise, mainly because the shape of my stone resembled the tortoise. So started colouring on the stone and made it so quickly thanks to the stone shape that I got.
You won't believe, that I got the award for my stone painting. The final outcome of that stone panting was almost looking like a real tortoise, but smaller in size. That tortoise I brought at home and my parents put that in the showcase. The fun fact of that tortoise is my little brother had tried to make that painting to walk, he was thinking that it is an alive tortoise.
To be honest, I felt proud of myself, because everyone loved my art. I would say, the credit goes to the shape of a stone. I used to show every guest who comes into our home. I wish I could still have that masterpiece, unfortunately, it is lost when we moved to another house. For this reason, sometimes I feel disappointed.
Speaking Part 3 Discussion
What traditional handicrafts are popular in your country?
In my country, New Zealand, traditional crafts include weaving, carving, and tattooing. In New Zealand, you can watch highly skilled Maori wood carvers and flax weavers at work, and there are many quality galleries where you can purchase your own precious treasure to take home.
What do young people think of traditional handicrafts?
Well, this is a more abstract question, and difficult to say what young people think about traditional handicrafts these days. What I can guess, youngsters are keen on modern handicrafts and they are capable of making their own masterpiece art. Also, they find different ways of making art when it comes to the methodology for any art. For example, they make use of technology if they would like to do Illusion painting.
Do people in your country send handicrafts as gifts?
Certainly. The majority of people do send handicrafts as a gift, off-course of different shapes. The famous gift is the bouquet, I have seen many people giving this gift. Because the biggest reason we give flowers as gifts is to connect with emotion to other people. Flower communicates the deepest feelings in the most elegant manner. And it also expresses love, joy, affection, appreciation, and sympathy.
What are the benefits of making handicrafts?
Well! there are some benefits for someone who indulges in making handicrafts. First, reductions in stress and anxiety. When you become immersed in creating art, your mind is able to break away from pressing or distracting thoughts and really focus on the task at hand. Second, enhancement in brain productivity. By creating art, you strengthen the connectivity between the brain’s left and right hemispheres, in doing so boosting psychological resilience and productivity.
What changes you have seen in art in the last 10 years?
I have seen some changes in art activities when compared with the last 10 years. First, technology is redefining art in strange, new ways. Works are created by people moving through laser beams or from data gathered on air pollution. Whereas before decade artists were mostly reliable only on their hand. For example, earlier cake bakers used to design by themselves, but now it is done by machines.