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Crafting, Colouring, Boardgames and Art…Survey Reveals Aussies Are Getting Creative in Lockdown

An online survey has revealed Australians in lockdown are getting creative with crafting, colouring, drawing and sketching as favourite indoor activities.

"We asked people what their favourite anti-boredom lockdown activity was and more than 61 per cent said they loved colouring, drawing and crafting. We were blown away with the range of creative pursuits and the level of imagination," said Mr John Johnston, marketing manager, Pilot Pen Australia.

Favourite activities included: colouring in; rock-art; making artwork from discarded items, drawing cats and learning calligraphy.  Other activities included crochet, knitting, cooking and baking.

Mr Johnston said that the increasing interest in art and craft is part of an overall trend witnessed since the start of the pandemic, with an increase of up to 85 per cent in sales of specialty, premium and fine-writing pens and an 11 per cent growth in specialty pens.

"People are spending more time at home and engaging in creative pursuits.  Hobbies such as calligraphy, bullet journaling and hand-drawn typography are fuelling the boom."

For anyone currently needing an anti-boredom lockdown activity, here are some of the innovative creative ideas that came out of the Pilot Pen survey:

1. Rock art – Collect a handful of rocks and paint them, or write inspirational sayings on them and then hide them when you are on your family walk to put a smile on the face of strangers in your community.
2. Scavenger Hunts – Gather 10 items from the back garden that are a part of nature and create a piece of art with them.
3. Recycled art – Gather 10 items from the recycling and build a model or create a piece of art with them.
4. Pets – Learn how to draw your pet or your favourite animal.
5. Transform your room – Bring your imagination to life through drawings e.g. draw and colour in wild animals then stick them to your bedroom wall and you are in the zoo.
6. Activity stations – For the little ones, make up different activity stations, e.g. colouring-in, modelling clay, cut and paste, cooking, puzzles, games – so they can move between different activities to keep them entertained.
7. Favourite Outings – Write down all your favourite outings on pieces of paper and pop them into a jar.  Take one out each day and adapt the activity for the lockdown rules, e.g. a day at the movies becomes Netflix and popcorn; camping becomes a tent in the back garden.
8. Letter-writing – Write 'old fashioned' letters (rather than emails and texts) to relatives interstate and overseas and decorate them with colours and pictures.
9. Line drawing game – Keep your pen on the paper (you're not allowed to lift it) and see what you can draw.
10. Doodle art – create a family doodle artwork where everyone gets to put their favourite doodles on the page.

For more creative ideas, downloadable templates, video 'how-to's and further ideas, visit www.pilotpen.com.au.