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A drop-in activity at our local museum reminded me this weekend of the art of rubbing. Not the kind they’re trying to ban on the Tokyo underground, but the sort of thing you used to do at playgroup and probably haven’t since.

They’d set out the museum room as a kind of arty kids’ paradise, with paint and rollers on one table, glue, paper and scissors on another, and a stack of pens and stencils on the third. At first sight, that third table looked like the least interesting to me, but in no time at all, it was surrounded by more children than could fit in.

I’m still not sure why the cleaner table got more attention than the proven kid-magnets of gloop and sharp blades. Be that as it may, we eventually elbowed our way in, and got to have a go with stamps, stencils, and something I’d never seen before - these large square pieces of plastic covered with a raised design, which you could place under the paper and run a wax crayon over to make a rubbing.

In *my* day, we didn’t have any such luxuries. We rubbed over a leaf, and we liked it. Later on, if our parents were especially square, we visited abbeys and made brass rubbings with special gold and bronze coloured crayons (that hobby’s kind of died out now, hasn’t it?).

But I’m being harsh. Rubbing is quick, effective, and easy enough for toddlers to do. And as it’s autumn time here in the northern hemisphere, there are plenty of beautiful big leaves just waiting to be taken home and subjected to the rubbing of their lives. All you need is a wax crayon or chalk, and paper thin enough to make an impression through. Once you’ve made a few rubbings, you could cut around them and make a garland or decorations for your child’s room.

So far, so obvious. I guess you don’t have to stop at leaves. All sorts of raised subjects lend themselves to rubbing, from manholes to the soles of your shoes.

I’m still trying to think of some adult uses, though. Perhaps a close-up, as above, could make a nice background for a sketch to go on top of - a differentiated background can look good, and often gives ideas for what you could draw. Or you could make rubbings in several different colours to create your own wrapping paper. Any better ideas, anyone?