100 Happy Days: Day 32 Creative designs.

Happiness is learning a new technique.

Recently I went to Vikhroli Skin to attend this art and craft exhibition. Everything on display was handcrafted article. This is my main field of interest. I love watching people work on creative stuff. There were greeting card, origami, paper art and many more, but one particular art that caught my attention was about this man working on a glass surface.

I had learnt the technique of glass painting but this was altogether a different technique. This person was creating beautiful design by just sticking a colored adhesive paper on a glass.

From a distance you would feel this to be a glass painting but a closer look will reveal that this is a collage of colored paper. The artist made a drawing on a paper. The strips of colored adhesive paper were traced and cut out. They were then stuck on the glass, strip by strip, with great precision.

It is just a cut and paste method, but a time consuming activity that requires lot of concentration and patience and the results are amazing.

Happy to learn this new technique

So here I am, with the project of ‘100 Happy Days’I am posting pictures each day here on my blog then sharing the link on my page on FB too. You can enjoy my work either here or on my page at FB at Pushee’s World

Made Ganesha Idol This Year

I still like creating handicraft stuff, really I do. Well that’s what I would do all day if I am not occupied with listening to the music, or flipping through pages of a book or hang around social media or FB, twitter, blogging, movies, food, friends. Can’t help it.   Too many distractions or should I say ‘too many interest’?

Well, last week I was with some friends in Tenerife and my friend suggested I make an idol of Ganesha for her. In India, during Ganpati season, all the stores are full of idols but in places out of India, it is difficult to find unless you visit an art store.

I have silicon mold to begin with, all I needed was the rest of the art materials.

I have an artist friend who also owns a hobby store, so it was not difficult to find the materials required to make the idol. Many years ago I had learnt to make clay by binding fevicol glue with corn flour (which is more eco-friendly) but my friend suggested I use chalk powder.

First step was to mix chalk powder with water and pour it into the mold. Let it set for 30 minutes and then remove it.

The idol was ready and now it has to be kept for drying for at least a week.

The idol has to be scraped and polished using sand paper, to give it a smooth finish, a special attention to be given to the base so that it is able to stand. I stuck the base to a rectangular cardboard and stuck few beans to give it a rough look.

After one week, the idol is coated with base solution (kind of rubber solution) that will prevent it from absorbing too much paint.

I selected white paint for the idol because it gives an ivory look.

A final coat of gold paint to highlight the jewelry on the idol.

It was important to mount it on a stand. I bought empty boxes, stuffed them with newspaper and covered it with gold paper.

And finally a decorative lace on the border did the trick.

My Art World..part 2

It is unfortunate that I cannot do any fine work with my right hand for some time and all I can do all day I reading or writing or watching TV. Normally my days are occupied with various activities such as making dolls or stuff toys or any other handicraft stuff. I love to be surrounded by my own art work and keep adding them. I love to share my own artwork with my family too. My presence is visible through my art work and I feel good. Here in Spain, my brothers house is filled up with some of my works. Like this painting in oils This ship made from straws, cloth, twine and glass pieces and painted in bronze and red This collage of paper, cotton and wool and painted in acrylics This vase made in decoupage, This still life also in decoupage This portrait of my nieces and nephew in crayons and markers Birds in thread work A wall hanging in wool Guru Nanak in black and gold I hope to make more, there are still empty walls here waiting to be dressed up, if only my lazy right hand cooperates. ps: To view more of my art world visit http://chat-with-pushpee.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-art-world.html and http://chat-with-pushpee.blogspot.com/2008/03/woman-of-leisure.html from my archives