Sharjah24: The world of comics has an enduring charm for children and even adults, and the ongoing 15th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) has provided a Comics Station that is a huge draw among children. The “Comics Lanterns” workshop at the venue has been helping children of all ages unleash their creativity and master the art of construction, design and luminous expression through a painstaking effort that involves great patience and concentration.

Delving into the world of comics to draw inspiration for crafting unique lanterns was comic illustration artist Maha Al Mheiri, whose ingenious ideas have helped children craft and take home dazzling artworks.

For designing the fairy lantern, the children had to draw any picture they fancied – such as a butterfly, racing car, or a robot character from Transformers – behind a sticker paper, cut out the picture, peel it and then stick it on a 500 ml glass bottle. 

Then they painted the entire bottle using acrylic paint and thereafter slowly removed the sticker paper to reveal the outline of the picture they had pasted earlier. With a little assistance from the trainers to have the fairy lights attached to the cap and switching it on to reveal a magical lantern in the bottle, the unique lantern is ready.

The best part about the workshop was that it enlisted the active participation of a child with special needs assisted by her mother. Such is the inclusive nature of SCRF that it is popular with parents and children of all nationalities and needs.

The largest celebration of knowledge, creativity, art and innovation of its kind in the region, SCRF 2024 is taking place in Expo Centre Sharjah from May 1 to 12, and carries the slogan ‘Once Upon a Hero’.

More than 1,500 cultural, artistic, and edutainment activities by 190 guests from 25 countries has set the stage for boundless explorations and creative expression along with 470 publishers from 75 countries at SCRF 2024, which will come to a close on May 12.