S(teal) the Show!

As the old year rolls its mat to make place for the new year I too needed to make place for my "new finds" from the recent trip. The store-room shelves had to be scanned for articles that could be discarded but believe me, for someone bitten by the "makeover bug" it is not an easy task! 

The first such finding was a remake of a B-Prabha painting, done in water colour by me, that I had actually seen on a greeting card from CRY. It was an exact replica of the original and hence I was kind of proud of it yet it was still to find a place on the walls already occupied by works of painters of repute.

Next was a terracotta jug that I had spotted in an handicraft exhibition by an NGO. Discarding it somehow felt like disrespecting the hard work and talent of the underprivileged but in its current form somehow it did not fit in anywhere.

The Kathakali wooden mask, picked up on my kerala trip, had memories wrapped around it and hence was still lying around but never put up anywhere, probably because it was too bland for the surroundings.

With just few hours to go to the "31st Party" I hardly had anytime so here is a quick-fix done. I gave the terracota jug a quick coat of a neither-bright-nor-dull shade of teal, primarily because it had to match the painting which used similar teal shade as backdrop. I can always work on it further but as of now I decided to keep it simple. 

The kathakali mask was given the same blue and green shade that was there in the painting so that together the three things formed a homogenous cluster.

The before and after of the makeover of the jug and the mask is for you to see. 

Its wonderful to see how a dash of colour can bring in so much life into lifeless things. I guess the "nasha" of makeover is primarily for this joy derived out of transforming non-descript things. So I had two perfect accompaniments for my painting. The only challenge now was to find a place for the three things.

Though I firmly believe that books need no adornment yet I somehow felt they could add a little charm to a small book-shelf lying against one of the columns in the lobby. Few orange flowers in the teal jug just completed the whole look. 

As the setting sun paints some orange hues on the column, I manage to capture it in my cell-phone camera for you to see. What do you think about it?

Here is a longer shot but few rows of the books could not be captured in the frame still!

As I complete this blog I can't help repeating to myself what Virginia Postrel said,

By reshaping or decorating our outer selves, we express our inner sense of self. "I like that" becomes "I'm like that"....!

Meanwhile don't you agree the Teal jug actually steals the show! :)

©Fursatnama 

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Bowl of Colours

"The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most."

~ John Ruskin

Today I noticed these clay pots in the Pooja room - the one I had used for growing Jau (जौ ) during Navraatra. But for the religious sentiments, they seemed to be of no use to me. They are not deep enough to grow plants. Also they seem to have a balancing issue hence they tend to topple to one side. Their lack of aesthetic value only reduced the possibility of recycling them, further!

An evening with no other engagements seemed perfect to indulge in colours. Here goes John Ruskin on the clay pots then!

Since the clay pots did not have much use I decided to paint them "bottoms up" which would even tackle the balancing issue. I cleaned the surface with a wet cloth and started off by making random geometric patterns on the back side. Next I picked up three bright shades of Blue, Yellow and Orange, and the result is there for you to see [Figure 1].

Figure 1

The second pot I kept the Orange (for the sake of continuity, in case I place them together) and added Pink and Green as the other two shades. [Figure 2].

Figure 2

I outlined each pattern as the final finishing touch and ended up with a vibrant piece of clay [Figure 3], supposedly a bowl, but painted on the back. I loved the final result but I was not very sure where was I going to use them. 

Figure 3

I had several options though. I could use both the pieces in my balcony garden, as wall pieces, amidst a dash of green. The pieces are such fiery bowl of colours that they would just brighten up any place they were put in! Aah that's interesting. Let me try doing just that!

I have this cream and gold wall - the painting from my "Benares" series. An off-white and gold Meera Bai placed amidst two antique boxes, again in cream, brown and gold, together make it all a li'l monotonous. So I decided to place one of the coloured bowls in this setting [Figure 4].

 Figure 4

The photographs do not do full justice but it really lifts up the mood in real! A zoomed in version [Figure 5] might give a better idea.

 Figure 5

A dash of my favourite spider plant in a pot of gold, completes the look!

 "When people show you their true colours don't get mad, paint a beautiful mural of life lessons and keep marching forward."

©Fursatnama 

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The Green Light Project

Today's blog is all about driving away the darkness.

May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.

~ J.R.R. Tolkien

The blog may appear philosophical to you (and probably it actually is) but it essentially is a decor blog, at the core of it for sure. A dash of DIY (Do It Yourself) to help decorate the dark rooms around us - aah did we turn philosophical again!

All I have used is a few empty mason jars (you can use any glass jar or wide-mouthed glass bottles for that matter). Thin metallic utility wire is used to make handles for the jars, so they can be hung up from a hook, or tied together in a cluster, Strings of rice-bulbs are put into them, and lit up. Within minutes you have an all-season, no-cost, zero-maintenance, outdoor-lighting, ready! I have these metallic cages hanging all around in the balconies. I have put potted plants, with the foliage hanging out of it, in some while the others are left bare. Stuffing a portion of the light strings, adds to the charm no end.

I use strings of fairy lights (or any string of light bulbs) as my magic wand to transform places into my personal heaven, literally. I have shared some pictures below to give you a glimpse of how it has been used outdoors, in different parts of our balconies, amidst the greens. The "Inside-story" shall be shared some other time.

Believe me, this place feels no less than heaven in the nights, when you are cushioned-up in your cozy chair, sipping your favourite adrak waali chai, as the gentle sea-breeze caresses you, while Kishore Kumar in his most sentimental mood, croons right in your ears, via the bluetooth speakers!

**The pictures are accompanied with some of my favourite light quotes on a (not so) lighter note! :)

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I'm a firm believer that lighting affects mood,

and twinkly lights on strings bring something magical to every ocassion,

though I'm fond of using them as year-round home decor.

~Erin Morgenstern

"To me, lighting really sets the mood for a room. 

A 40 watt bulb in a cheap lamp is the same as a 40 watt bulb in an expensive one."

~Edward Walker

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There's a reason why they're sometimes called fairy lights. 

When the night is right, there aren't any strings at all." 

~ Erin Morgenstern

In Light there is Dark, and in Dark there is Light.

~ Kami Garcia

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I played around with the flowers and the lighting, 

so that was a good way to educate myself. 

~ Robert Mapplethorpe

Give light and the darkness will disappear of itself.

~Desiderius Erasmus

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To shine your brightest light is to be who you really are.

~Roy T. Bennette

We are indeed the light of the world - but only if our switch is turned on.

~Anon

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We've all got both light and dark inside us. 

What matters is the part we choose to act on. 

That's who we reall are. 

~ J.K. Rowling

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.

 ~Francis Bacon

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There are darkness in life and there are lights, 

and you are one of the lights, 

the light of all lights. 

~ Bram Stoker

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. 

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

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Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it. ~ Terry Pratchett

It's hard to be a bright light in a dim world. 

~Gary Starta

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Don't wait for someone to Green-Light your project. Start now and spread the joy. Edith Wharton says, "There are two ways of spreading light - to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." So spread the light of this blog, eitherways! :) 

©Fursatnama 

Please don't forget to give your feedback through your comments below this blog. It will help me in many ways. If you like my posts do share and follow.

KindergarDen

I was home for few days and it being against my nature to just laze around, I decided to go back to indulging in what i find most exhilarating - revamping, an area, a corner of the house, a plant or just a pot!

Being an internet savvy person, it made sense to look for some ideas on the net. Predictably, i ended up on Pinterest, which has no dearth of inspiration. What caught my eye was this colourful picture [Figure 1] saved from boredart.com :

 Figure1

Being an avid fan of container gardening and a lover of terracotta, did not let me look any further. I knew what I had to do in my fursat ke do pal! So here is a detailed version of what followed next.

I had a stack of old, unused, terracotta pots lying in the store, collected on different pretexts - mostly religious ceremonies. I chose five of them, ensuring variation in shape and size. This is how they looked before I got on job. [Figure 2]

Figure 2

I decided to go for some bright colours- yellow and orange (aah you know how we Indians have this fondness for tadak-bhadak!) but purposely avoided green and red as it would then become very stereotypical! I chose the 2 shades of blue instead and stuck to brown for the fifth pot. I used fabric paint. Before painting, it helps to soak the pots in a water else it dries up the paint the moment it is applied upon. Once done, the pots had had a "makeover" in the truest sense! [Figure 3]

Figure 3

These pots were ready to enhance the beauty of any surrounding they were put in. They could be used on your study table to hold your pens and stationary items, on your dresser to stack your brushes and lotions or on the kitchen shelves as spoon n ladle holders! But my passion being making pots and growing plants in them, this is exactly what I did next. I planted them, ensuring different foliage and colour of plants for the five pots, and let them soak in a little sun till they found their roots in the new place. [Figure 4]

Figure 4

The plants were essentially low-maintenance ones which needed just a hint of sunlight to put their chlorophyll to use. So I could now move them to anywhere in the house and add some colour to the surroundings. I had this perfect place for them in my mind - a teakwood console table lying in the corner of a room, by the window! It being brownish red only made matters worse for me. Its solid presence always reminded me of that strict headmaster sitting in a corner of the hall, who had nothing interesting about him but his presence alone was enough to restrict others from smiling. So it was time to cheer "him" up! I tried putting just two of the "students" to this arduous task first. [Figure 5]

Figure 5

They did manage to bring some colour to "his" expressionless state but I realised it made them a little nervous. So to empower them enough I decided to let the whole "class" pounce upon "him" and the result is for you to see! [Figure 6].

Figure 6

Needless to say, it is one of the happiest corners of my home now. The mundane "school" is now a bubbly and cheerful kindergarten or rather I should say kindergarDen! :)

©Fursatnama 


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