Diamond Art

 

        When my parents moved into the senior apartment complex where they live, there were many activities that they could participate in. There were get togethers, Happy Hour once a week, religious type programs, a chorus and diamond art class. 

        For those of you who don't know, diamond art is like painting by numbers except you use small resin beads called drills. The canvas is preprinted with symbols or numbers and is sticky so the drills adhere to the canvas. It's a good way to relax and do something creative without having to actually be creative. The finished project turns out somewhat shimmery and depending on the design can also look dimensional.

        Mom was doing "bead class" as she called it, when I discovered that I had a diamond art kit given to me by a tech I used to work with. It was a large design maybe 24 by 18 inches. It was a picture of a grey cat with a blue butterfly perched on it's nose. I brought it when I came to visit to see if she wanted to work on it. She did. With me coaching her it took almost nine months of working on it once a week. Once we finished it, I found a frame for it and it now hangs in her room. I was so relived when it was done. The various shades of grey were so boring to work with and most of the time I couldn't see slight variations in shades of the drills. The drills were in labelled small plastic bags so we could put the right colour in the right place. 

        Standing a couple feet away the picture was beautiful. The slight variations in shades gave a look to it that was hard to see working close up. Mom enjoyed working on it so I bought a kit of five smaller flower pictures which we completed. One of them was a sunflower that I sent to a friend who loves that flower.

        I bought two more kits. One of them was a set of four coasters each with a different flower and the other a set of bookmarks. Unfortunately Mom's condition deteriorated and she was unable to do diamond art any more. We had finished one coaster. It was a purple pansy. Purple was her favourite colour. Obviously I wasn't going to be able to return the kit and I lost the receipt so I couldn't return the bookmarks. I realized that I really didn't want to. I enjoyed doing diamond art with Mom and I could enjoy doing it without her.

        There is something meditative in sticking the drills to the canvas. Deciding what colour to use next and watching the picture come to life. For someone who has trouble seeing close up there is an element of frustration. I remember why Mom and I had a special light that we used when we worked on projects. I have completed the sunflower and marveled at how beautiful it looks. 

        Once I finish the  the coasters, I will work on the bookmarks. Then I'll stop. I have so many other crafts that I want to try. When I see the coasters I'll always remember the times when  Mom carefully placed the drills with my help and making some beautiful things.