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 

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.

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 

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.