Bewitched, Bedazzled, Bejewelled

Just what is Diamond Painting?

Mesmerizing, isn’t it? The shimmer, the colors, it’s somehow meditative. But what if I told you that each of those squares is a resin gem, or ‘drill’, precisely 2.8mm in width, placed by hand on a canvas? Or that such a canvas can stretch to 43cmx43cm (16.9″x16.9″) as seen in the example below, from one of the more well-known diamond art suppliers, Diamond Art Club?

Looks a little more intimidating now, doesn’t it? Every dot on the canvas is an individual drill’s placement, and though a lot of diamond artists may use multi-placers, which can be used to place anything from 3 to 9 drills (or even more, if you find the right stockist), many prefer to simply place each one at a time.

Whilst it may seem daunting, diamond art, also known as diamond painting, is surprisingly calming and therapeutic, and has come to be seen by many as a valid form of therapy for anything from anxiety to depression, perhaps because of the almost meditative methodicalness of the hobby. One can almost fall into a trance when working on a large space of one color, simply moving back and forth, placing drill after drill and… what was I saying?

Oh, right! Diamond art, though possibly one of the most terrifying (and potentially messy, if you happen to hit the holding trays, which I’ve absolutely never done) crafting hobbies you could look into, is actually one of the easiest to learn, and can be vastly rewarding both from the mental and emotional point of view and from the decorative one. Stick around and find out just what you can do with a bit of wax, some very odd-looking pens, some sticky fabric and a whoooole lot of teeny bits of plastic.