The Collab Story

A couple of months back my cousin from Bangalore introduced me to a friend who had recently taken up woodworking. I contacted him and we decided to collaborate on a project. 

Last month I received two handmade boxes made by him using recycled pine wood. I sprinkled some of my creative splashes on them, and they transformed right before my eyes. From bland and boring beige, they turned into dazzling divas full of colours and whimsy, with a story hidden in the designs chosen for each box.

Here's taking you through the creative makeover of those two boxes. For more details on the makeover process, see my Instagram account @creativerumblings that carries more fun pictures and reels of the collaboration in my highlights.

For the first box that travelled back to Bangalore to its maker, I chose to paint pomegranates and lotus flowers as those motifs symbolize abundance and prosperity. 

This particular box had an unusual shape, and two small lids for its two compartments. So I chose to go with a quirky 'His and Her' depiction, painting faces on the lids.

The second box was mine to keep. Those of you who know me also know about how Nature inspires a lot of my work. So I wanted this box to be a tribute to trees, and to the ecosystem around them. After all, that is where the wood for the box came from in the first place! 

That is why all the side panels of the second box along with its hinged cover feature flora and fauna derived from my observation of trees, and the life around them.

All in all, the collab (short for 'collaboration' if you haven't figured out yet) was a fascinating experience that pushed me to try something beyond my regular painting practice. It also taught me to think of designs from a product perspective, basing my choices on the utility of the boxes. I loved how my colourful designs totally changed the look and feel of both the boxes. Looking forward to more such creative adventures!

The Lepidoptera Artist Book

 

This month I'd like to bring you my 'Moths and Butterflies' handmade journal, prepared from scratch by recycling common materials around the house. Click here to see a process video of how you can also make a junk journal or artist book of your own.

Pages from the Moths and Butterflies journal

In my artist book, I am trying to capture all the pretty Lepidoptera (species of insects) seen around the area I am located in. 

Close up of the hand-painted images

Being in the midst of green open spaces, we are lucky to have a wide variety of beautiful insects not commonly seen in urban settings. There is a wide range of butterflies, right from the tiny grass ones to large beautiful swallowtails and tigers. The moths here are also larger and include hawkmoths, strikingly colourful and positively exotic.

Given the way climate change is creeping upon us, I'd like to capture the beauty of these Lepidoptera for posterity so that future generations aren't deprived of the pleasure of knowing about them.

Nature Journal 2020: August-September

Since I was in mosaic heaven last month, the August page of the Nature Journal got delayed. Then I decided it would be better to present the two months together as the layout worked nicer that way. So here's bringing you the August-September pages of Nature Journal 2020. 

Hope you enjoy the double spread of natural snippets. As I lose myself in my green wonderland to converse with my many non-human friends. :) 

#naturejournal2020

May Lilies

The month of May is always marked by a bunch of these yellow lilies brightening up the garden. But the sweltering heat this year has ensured that there are still no signs of any blossoms. Though lilies do well in hot and dry conditions, but Delhi summers can get to be a bit too much even for these gorgeous blooms.... As the skies sport an occasional cloud cover, hope the May lilies oblige us this year as well in the coming weeks.

From an arty perspective, I am having great fun with my backgrounds these days, using a variety of media to create effects. What do you think of this new stylised background?
 

Handpainted Keds

Sonny has lately been on a growing spree, standing taller than his mommy already. So no wonder he outgrew his school keds (white canvas shoes) in a span of a few months. The shoes were in fairly decent shape despite his using and thankfully, at that point of time, our shoe sizes matched. So thrifty mommy carefully put away the keds, planning to refurbish them at a later date. And now the results are for all to see... TaDa!!!! (drumroll please)

Some freehand drawing with pens, some dabbing of acrylic paint, and some final outlining to highlight parts.... and we were done.

It is such a simple project that just about anyone can give it a try.

And keds are by far the most inexpensive variety of canvas shoes available in the market. So even if you goof up, you won't have much to lose.

I loved painting in the flowers and the birds, especially the cute lil' owl. Here are a few tips from my first-hand shoe painting experience:

• Use pens with permanent ink for the outlining. You don't want those lines getting all runny.
• Do not mix too much water with the acrylic paints else you'll land up with faint coloured water spill-over marks the way I did in places.
• Again, final highlights are done best with permanent markers or pens.

Hope these tips and pictures encourage you to try your hand at handpainting canvas shoes. I can't wait to wear mine!
 

The Making of a Flower Girl

As I shared in an earlier post, I have taken to working on mini paintings and my theme this year is 'Faces and Figures'. Despite having a busy month, I managed to make five of these 10 by 10 (cm) pieces. They are great fun to make - since the process involves multiple layers, and yet it takes me just a day or two from start to finish, as the size is small. So this post presents the story of how my current favourite piece emerged.

I started by pasting a random collage of papers on the base, as seen in picture 1. While pasting the collage pieces, the pink flowers caught my eye. Yes, you know what a sucker for flowers I am! So I decided to retain them in the final painting that emerged out of this chaos of colours. Working around the flowers, I spotted a face, slightly downturned. A hat seemed like the perfect accessory to put on that face.

Picture 2 captures the painting with its basic outlines in place, and the hat, face and hair painted in. I highlighted the pink flowers by adding the white marks and yellow pollen on top. By now I had also spotted the butterfly in the bottom right corner. But the painting wasn't coming together; there was no single train of thought that knit everything.

And then the word 'Freedom' flashed at me.... and it all fell in place (picture 3). I added the stamp mark on the top left, meant to denote the freedom of travel, both literal and metaphorical. The butterfly gained prominence, signifying the freedom from the cocoon phase. The flying birds on the top right completed the picture. Now you know why the girl with the blue hat has a smile on her face! Because she is a free bird....

So, dear readers, what do you think of this process? Creatively, I find it extremely satisfying. You start from zilch, and you end up with not only a mini painting but an interesting story to go with it. Wanna try some?

Nature Journal: September Serenades

The September page of my Nature Journal has been a pleasure to make. A surfeit of experiences ensured that the page got completed within the first 2 weeks of the month.



But what I love most is that the September page is a feast for the eyes.... full of visual experiences! Right from the bird hanging from a branch at the top down to the numerous ant hills at the bottom, it was fun sketching and colouring in the details.

 

Hope you enjoy taking a look as much as I enjoyed putting the page together.
 



Lantana Inspired

Sad how with time certain species seem to disappear from our environment. And I don't just mean birds, animals or insects but also floral species. Like the Lantana that was so much a part of my growing-up years but can hardly be seen in these parts now.

So how many of you remember the Lantana plant that was mostly used to build hedges - in parks, in the small gardens adjoining government quarters, and was a common sight. Its multi-coloured florets were a magnet for butterflies while the coarse, gravelly feel of the leaves would keep most animals away. Good for the plants as animals wouldn't care much about eating and ruining them. Wonder why there was this drive to uproot the lantana from our local ecology.

Anyhow, I digress.... the point of this post was to present to you my Lantana inspired bottle that I created in July. The yellow-green combo really stood out on the dark olive-green coloured bottle, and it got sold on the last day of the exhibition. No worries, if the design catches your fancy just drop me a mail at creativerumblings@gmail.com and I'll be happy to make one for you.

On hindsight though, those flowers should have been a combination of yellow, pink and orange; then they would truly mimic the real Lantana flowers. What say? Hmmmpphh! An artist is never satisfied. :)

Showcasing Bottle Art at 'Artivity'

How time changes perspectives!.... Read on to know why I write this. And yes, I'm sounding a long post alert too. So proceed at your own risk! :)


The Creative Rumblings stall at Artivity, Select Citywalk

To think that just a month back I was choosing to ignore the invitation mail from the Select Citywalk team for participating in the Artivity event. And here I am, giving you all a round-up of our experience. Yes, it all started on the wrong note.... by my not wanting to participate. But then, as they say, destiny had other plans!


View from the inside

A close-up of our name board

This was the first edition of Artivity at Select Citywalk, and it was aimed at promoting both traditional and modern art forms. There were 16 stalls in all, each giving a glimpse into a special form of art. Right from traditional crafts like wire craft, rice etching and calligraphy to modern ones like decoupage, dry flower crafts to bottle art.


At the risk of sounding clichéd, I have to say that our experience at Artivity was quite similar to our first exhibition at Gurgaon last Diwali. So many people showered love by visiting our stall, taking time to look at the pieces on display, clicking pictures (sometimes with and sometimes without our permission!), openly appreciating our work and saluting our creative thinking. Our penchant for upcycling and giving the discarded a new lease of life won us lots of accolades. 


The uniqueness of bottle art was very well received as countless people stopped by to appreciate, to ask us how we work, what materials we use, and most importantly, to show their children, family and friends this unusual form of art.

Interacting with our admirers and patrons

Many people who had seen our work on Friday came back with others in tow on the next two days, giving us knowing smiles! Sitting three whole days doing 12-hour shifts in a mall is not easy; we were dead tired by the end of it all. But such a heart-warming response made all our efforts worth it.

Loved the joy on the faces of the young and old alike

Our original concept of turning old CDs into rangoli diya trays was also a big hit, both with elders and the young crowd. Not only did the diya trays sell like hot cakes, many promised us to try out similar decorations this coming Diwali. These encouraging reactions to our endeavours always keeps us on our toes, motivating us to further innovate with recyclable materials. Must confess I felt elated being recognized for my small efforts in the overwhelming presence of the big brands surrounding us.

Discussing, explaining and conveying our thoughts

The artist as mommy on the final day :)

And of course, all this would never have been possible without the 24/7 support of my home team. The youngest ones who showed a little more independence so mom could work on creating enough inventory. The eldest one who kept his demands to the minimum so as not to burden the rest. The mother, who handled the home front single-handedly with a smile, and had encouraging words on her lips every time I had moments of self doubt. And the hubby, who stood (sometimes behind and sometimes beside) like a rock, steadying me each time I faltered. Last but not the least.... my buddies (you know who you are) who trooped in to motivate, encourage, support and lift us up. I feel blessed, truly!


Since we received a lot of enquiries, I plan to introduce workshops shortly. So keep an eye on this space and our Facebook page, and you'll see announcements soon. Till then, apart from resting my tired bones, let me bask in the glory of a job well done. Whoever heard of modesty?!?.... Modesty is out of fashion!! ;) Hope you enjoyed reading this long post.

Nature Journal: Inside Cover

Here is a quick peek into another page from my Nature Journal (read more about it in my last post).

The inside cover of my nature journal is made of slightly thicker, glossy paper. Since it could take more than the usual quantities of paint, so I chose to let myself loose and go wild with it.

First I filled up the sheet in random colour blocks. Then I drew on it with a white paint pen. I filled in the outlines with a black sketch pen, finally blocking out the background with black paint. The result is for all to see…

Going with the charms of spring, couldn't resist the flowers, birds, butterflies and bees! :) Hope you enjoyed these glimpses of the inside cover.

Cosmos Garden

In my student days, I used to visit the hills often. And just after the rains, the hillsides used to be covered in green, with flowers popping out of everywhere. My aunt's garden had a huge expanse of cosmos flowers, with their pretty pink flowers bobbing in the breeze.

It is the beauty of that memory from my youth that I have tried to capture in this bottle. Cosmos flowers crowd the base of this bottle, with overhanging berry-laden creepers filling up the top.

And that magical zone in between abuzz with the drone of the dragonflies!

Surely one of those amazing pieces that helps bring in the outdoors....

Morning Glory

When my client wanted me to dress up a fat, stout bottle with an interesting shape, I racked my brains for a new design. Flipping through my old pictures one day, I spotted the flower that seemed to be the perfect fit for the bottle.


Morning glory flowers with their deep purple-blue hues, so abundant once the rains arrive, peeping out of nooks and crannies... yes, that is what I covered the bottle with.


And to add to the drama and bring in visual relief, I added a butterfly, a dragonfly, and a ladybird for further effect.


What a colourful vista it turned into.... Just looking at this bottle, you can imagine the insects float and fly past, playing hide-n-seek with the morning glory flowers. And if you are lucky, you may even hear their distinct hum... Bbbbzzzzzzz!:)

The Owl And The Bees

Strange title for a bottle, isn't it? But there is a story behind it, so read on...

This bottle is inspired by a huge Peepul tree that stands right in front of our house. Throughout the year this Peepul tree is a hub of activity.

Come spring and the bees are busy building up their hive, stealing nectar from the flowers in our garden and other surrounding flowering trees. In fact, this year I got to taste some of that honey, and it was delicious.....Mmmmmm!!! So one half of the bottle depicts that experience.

When the tree sports dense foliage, and the weather gets cooler, the nocturnal visitors appear. Noisy bats hanging upside down I have seen many a time. But what I'd really love to see is a cute little owl, with its wise face and round eyes, just like the one on this bottle.

So, on the occasion of World Environment Day today, this bottle is my ode to the Peepul tree and the creatures it is home to. Unless we care for our flora and fauna on a daily basis, what is the point of marking such days! What do you feel, dear readers?