Thursday, June 2, 2011

An Artist's Touch !


As I am blogging, it is easy to guess that I enjoy ‘writing’. My posts would suggest that I am spiritually inclined and I also take deep interest in human behaviour. Apart from these, there is another dimension of my personality. I am an artist. :) And this post is dedicated to the various forms of arts I have learnt!


Sketching- This is the most basic form of art that children learn and I was no exception. As a kid, I used to draw sceneries ~ mountains with a sun, some birds flying in the blue sky with white clouds here and there, a tree and a small hut with a pot of plant kept nearby. :) This was nothing original. But it was cute!  Next, I learnt to draw human figures (*which were barely human :P). Straight hands and legs (*drawn with a ruler), face which was a perfect circle (*drawn using a coin). And a triangular dress! I made bundles and bundles of this same sketch. Though what differed each time was the pattern of the dress. :)


I never really liked drawing still objects. I loved to draw life! Then as I grew older, I started drawing various parts of a ‘perfect’ house~ the bedroom, drawing room, veranda and my favourite, ‘the kitchen’! Then came another phase where I could draw anything that I was seeing. My imagination was lost. But, it was not long before I regained it (an artist’s brain :)). And now I can sketch what I think and imagine! Its blissful to sketch down your own piece of thought..sheer creativity!




Paper-Craft - This is also something that is taught in school but I never restricted myself! If I had a paper, a pencil, scissors and gum; I knew I could create a thing of beauty. From various kinds of greeting cards (*some simple sketched ones and some made out of patch-work), envelopes, book covers to wall hangings! I enjoyed this simple art form. Yes, the paper changed ~ from using chart paper, I gradually moved to using the lovely Hand-made papers. (*Infact this is another hobby, I love to collect various kinds of beautiful papers :))




Crochet – I have not learnt knitting but I learnt something more interesting~ Crochet! This was also from school. I remember, we were taught to make a Muffler with crochet. When I first saw it, I thought it would be extremely difficult but to my surprise, it was really very easy! I next plan to make myself a beautiful crochet jacket! 






Macramé – You see them very often. Macramé chords are used for making lovely wall hangings ~ Towel holder, Magazine holder, decorative items, handbags etc. I first made a pink towel holder which was in the shape of an owl. It surely was gorgeous! 






Artificial Flowers – We were given a choice, we could learn either to make lilies or tulips. Since, I have always liked big, bright flowers, I decided to pick up lilies (*besides tulips were easy so could be made later on!) Japanese ribbons are used for making these flowers. This one took a lot of patient handling and care. With a slightest bit of a jerk, they would we shattered! But trust me, they were worth all they patience! They looked amazing! :)


Cloth Painting – This is absolutely marvellous. I simply love it! I mean what better than to print your own designs! I printed lovely purple flowers on an entire bed-sheet set. It transformed the plain pink bed-sheet into an awesome piece of art. (*I still haven’t used it for the fear of ruining it :P). There are some other forms too like block-printing which are easier! :)






Papier Mache - This is an art of making beautiful objects using old, rough paper stacked and cemented together through a natural gum. We learnt it in our ‘Environment Class’ at school! One can create wonderful objects ranging from crockery, artificial fruits and decorative items to bangles, jewellery boxes, photo frames and what not! (*just like the cute birdies in the picture)






Kalawa Painting – This has become more of tradition at our place than just an art form. This is generally done at Rajasthan. During Diwali, I decorate the entrance of our house using this combination of wall painting and kalawa, intricately decorating it with small round mirrors. It takes loads of time to do it but it certainly gives a miraculous touch to the beauty of our house. :)






Rangoli – No rocket science, I know. But this is another Diwali tradition at our place. I make a life-size human figure in our veranda. :) You can see one in the picture!






Calligraphy - I was blessed with a beautiful hand-writing. The praises that I got, prompted me to learn various kinds of fonts. (*Yes, I am a proud owner of a collection of gorgeous fonts) And all this was incomplete without calligraphy. This is something; I often use to make my things look more impressive~ be it an informal letter or a college assignment! ;) 


Apart from all these, I have learnt glass painting, making aluminium wall hangings, tie and die, artificial jewelery and a lot more! These things not just supported my artistic bend of mind but also gave me wonderful creativity. I always used to tell another artist friend of mine, it is this creativity that gives us an extra spark which is visible in the way we add so much more to what may otherwise be a simple power-point presentation or any other thing for that matter!


Pretty much like ‘Marketing’! ;) 


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