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!

Aceing the Distressed Look

 

This blog post is an attempt to take you through the process of giving wood the much-in-vogue distressed look. All it takes are a few coats of paint and some sanding, and voila!

So let us start at the very beginning.... I wanted to paint an old wooden display table with the distressed look. Painting this old table would extend its life as well as revamp its value as a decor piece. This is how the table looked before I started.

First, I lightly sanded the raw wooden surface and added a coat of primer to it. Giving a base coat of primer is always a good idea as it helps smoothen the painting surface, and fills in all the small gaps in the wood. Let the primer dry out well, preferably overnight.

Next I got out my acrylic paints and got to the interesting part. Achieving the distressed look basically involves removing parts of the top coat of paint to reveal the inner layer. So you should always choose contrasting colours to bring out the distressed effect. I chose white as the base coat and a dark pink as the top coat.

As you apply the different colours one over the other, make sure that each coat dries out completely before you paint over it.

Lastly, rub lightly over the dried top coat with a smooth-grain sandpaper to bring out the base coat colour. Remember that the distressed look is not meant to be uniform; at some places the effect will show up more than others. 

And TaDa! The distressed wooden table is ready for display.

If you would like to see a short video of the process described above, visit the Creative Rumblings YouTube channel. You can subscribe to my channel to view other process videos and take back loads of DIY ideas that are sustainable and environment-friendly.

The Tree Trunk Art Project

Another year, another public art project! So glad to be living in an area where we have some like-minded people who care to brighten up their immediate environs with street art. This time a dead tree trunk became our canvas. 

But let me share the back story first. So a couple of full-grown trees were transplanted a year back. While one survived the change, the other one could not make it. It withered and started shedding its bark. That is when this project was conceived by another resident artist. 

And voila! Over the Women's Day weekend in March, three of us got together to enliven the dead tree. With no plans in place, we started painting randomly. 

But as the colours took over the tree trunk, it acquired a colourful new identity.

From the greens of the grass and leaves to the red, pink, white, and blue flowers that blossomed on the trunk, each gave it a new dimension.

Then came the butterflies, ladybirds, and a variety of birds.

Finally came the unconventional elements - a dog, a mask, even a frothy beer mug hidden amidst the folds of the tree trunk!

It was a new, fun experience to give life to a dead object of this size. 

The best part was to be able to paint to our heart's content on such a large canvas. 

It was, no doubt, somewhat tiring, as you can see from our weary faces in our project wrap-up picture. But despite everything, it was an immensely satisfying experience! 😅

Orange On Brown

As the sun becomes stronger and the morning breeze turns cooler, you know autumn is right round the corner. Perhaps the reason why I have been steering towards a lot of orange on brown combos these days.

Yes, the subconscious effect can be seen across various media, as you can make out from the picture above.

Have also got an interesting project lined up for home; will share details with you when it is through. The exciting bit - if it works out right, it could mean a completely new medium to play around with! :)

Meanwhile, Blogger has gone and changed its entire look and feel, at least in the background bits. So don't be surprised if one fine day, you see some posts looking wonky.... Hate it when they do this, but can't say we weren't warned. Only too tied up to check out the new features. So now the new deal is upon us, and there is no running away. Phew, another peak to cross....