Nature Journal 2020: Half Yearly Update

First, the good news - my Nature Journal for 2020 has finally started taking shape. Though this year the journal size is smaller but I'm glad I have lots of stuff to put in it, including specimens from my own garden.

Now, for the confession - I was so absorbed in enjoying my blossoming new garden at the beginning of the year, that I completely forgot to take samples or record observations for January and February. With over twenty varieties of flowers, those two months could have made for a separate flower journal. 

Meanwhile, this year's nature journal starts in March, alongside the Covid-induced lockdown. 

While the first 2 pages cover the months of March to May, there are month-wise individual pages from June onwards. Needless to say, many of this year's jottings include references to this unprecedented time in our lives, and to the impact of the pandemic.

Now hope to bring you a fresh post each month on the nature journal through the rest of the year.

#naturejournal2020

Macrame Plant Holders

Today I thought of sharing something crafty rather than arty, just to give my readers a DIY goal for the coming festive season. Decorating with houseplants is trending these days, and the macrame plant holders I'm showing are so easy to make, they can literally be made in a day.

As we had moved houses recently, we had a lot of used pieces of jute twine lying around from all the packing and unpacking. I decided to use the pieces creatively instead of letting them go waste. 

Since I had learnt macrame in school (and hated it back then), I used those knotty ideas to create these plant hangers. YouTube and Pinterest are full of instructional videos; go check out.

Once the first couple of trials turned out right, I even added beads to the later creations. Don't they look pretty?

I mostly use coconut shell planters for my jute hangers, primarily for three reasons. First, coconut shells are extremely light as compared to ceramic planters, and hence better suited for hanging in small spaces. Second, in case of an inadvertent slip-and-fall while inserting the planter into the hanger, one won't break an expensive ceramic planter. You can replace a coconut shell easily with another one. Thirdly, coconut shells are such an eco-friendly option!

So there you go..... hope that is enough inspiration to get started on some macrame hangers yourself, and bringing in some greens indoors to deck up your abode for the festive season ahead.

Vibrant Vines

I have said this before - inspiration can come from the most unexpected places. To reiterate that sentiment, the artwork I'm sharing here is inspired by bottle gourd vines in my garden! Imagine.... of all the things on the face of this Earth, how can a vegetable growth be an inspiration?!? :D But the vines look so lush, with their rounded leaves and delicate flowers, that I couldn't help capturing them in a sketch.

 

Line drawing on a collaged background, in the style of artist Robert Kushner, one of my favourites on Pinterest.

Remember the cut-up page I mentioned in my last post? This sketch was made on the reverse side of that cut-up page. The top picture shows how the sketch looks against a plain background while the bottom picture shows how the sketch actually looks as a page in my journal.

Feathered Friends

This post is totally dedicated to the feathered friends who have been visiting our garden, and keeping us engaged with their antics and birdsong.

Since the days are scorching, we put out a bird bath for our little visitors. That has only added to our joy, and theirs.... as they drink, take dips, and splash around. I can never tire of seeing them, hopping all over and chirping away melodiously, even on the hottest days.

And then they inspire such artwork. Line drawing on collaged background is how I started, but every creative piece takes on a life of its own, and before you know it, one lands up adding other elements. Really like the end result. Hope you do too, dear readers.

So how are you spending the summer? Do remember to put out some water bowls for our feathered friends.

Indian Summer Series

As the cuckoos return to herald summer, enchanting us with their dulcet calls, here is bringing you my second series of paintings.... inspired by and named after, the Indian Summer.

This series celebrates the associations I have made with the summer season over the years - a riot of red gulmohars, competing with the bright yellow of perfumed laburnums; a flurry of activity amongst all our avian friends as they woo their mates, build new nests, and raise a brood; occasional dark clouds overhead as sudden gusts of wind bring in some much needed rain to soak the parched earth. These are the images I have tried to capture in this series.

My daily walks in the park made me observe the little details - like the cuckoos and crows chasing each other all over during the nesting season, the sudden appearance of the grey hornbills as their shrill calls caught our attention. Since all these activities came alive right before my eyes, so naturally they flowed out on to my artwork.

The series is still a work-in-progress, as I add more pieces to the story. However, since my pace is slow, I thought of sharing the outcomes midway.

Right now I'm finishing up the cuckoos and gulmohars, and plan to move to the hornbills and laburnums. So do keep checking back for the updated artworks.

By God's grace, two of my pieces from the series are already adorning a dear client's walls.

In sharing this series with you, I am also celebrating another achievement - of marking 10 years of this blog - a huge personal milestone for me. When I tentatively started writing Creative Rumblings, it was only meant to be an online journal of the teeny-weeny arty efforts I made around the house. But it is with nothing less than amazement that I see how it has grown over all these years.... Not only has it turned me into an artist, but it has given me the wings and the confidence to display, showcase, and sell my artwork.

So a big Thank You to all my readers, followers, and well-wishers. Your encouragement has brought me this far, and I know your good wishes will take me further. If anything from the Indian Summer series interests you, or you would like to commission something special, write to me at  creativerumblings@gmail.com and we can work up some magic together!

Birds In The Bush

Remember the painting and printing experiments I was doing a couple of months back? You can read about them here. Well, today I'll share with you the best outcome of those experiments. Something that emerged out of my random printmaking attempts and came together so beautifully. Presenting the birds in the bush...

I love how various techniques of mark-making combined to create a story of their own — right from monoprinting to stamping and masking. Love the dappled look on the bird at the top. Remember that many a times the best art comes out of what initially starts off as a mistake, but with a dash of creativity one can turn it around to something pretty.

I am now tempted to do an entire print series based on this, and already have ideas floating in my head. My instinct says this would make a great series to work on. Watch this space for updates! And write to me at creativerumblings@gmail.com if you want to own this piece or book some upcoming ones.