10 posts tagged “art”
Goddess of food. My best yet. Took really long because, there are are complicated filigree on the "mandapam" and the crown. And I used the technique suggested by an expert and painted colours AROUND and not over the stone colours, which took a hell lot of time. However, it was worth it as the jewels have a nice shine now. Check out the shiny white border around the halo and the stones in the crown and jewels in the closeup. My camera gave me a lot of trouble clicking. The photos don't do justice to the painting. I must have inadvertently changed some setting, and I am not savvy enough to fix it.
Ahem. Here is how I do the glass painting. This is surely not the best and efficient way of doing it, but heck, it works for me..
1. Buy the pre-sketched glass from RS Supermarket, LB Road, Adyar.
2. Buy three stone colors: Red. blue. green. You would ideally use a few drops per painting, so these paints will last for many many paintings. Buy fabric colors. Buy gold paint (ideally, the gold powder mixed with thinner is used, but I find it too gaudy, the gold paint is a lot subtler. All of these paints would last for at least five paintings.
3. Warn everybody at home that you are not to be disturbed for the following may many hours, which will be ignored, especially by a four-and-half year old who would want to play frisbee or watch bugs life or bake a cake RIGHT NOW.
4. But the four-and-half year munchkin will also sit patiently beside you throughout the process, asking questions at the rate of 7/millisecond, which is fine with some moms, but drives some others up the wall while wanting to hug the kid at the same time.
5. After staring at the sketch trying to visualize the final product and finally giving up and deciding colors as you go on, you start with the stone colors. So, fill up the stones in the ornaments and filigree in the picture.
6. Then fill in the gold around the stones. Ideally you would need to paint AROUND the stones and not over them, but that requires skill, time and patience. I merely fill up all regions that are supposed to look gold, even if it means painting over the stones. If you painted around the stones, and you used silver foil when you framed the painting, the stones would glow, but I prefer the subdued look that comes out of covering the stones with gold paint. This is also, the excuse for my sad lack of skill, time and patience.
It does not matter if the stones are not visible, because this is "reverse" glass painting, and they would be seen in the front side:
7. Fill in the other regions with fabric paint of appropriate color. It helps to know a bit of mythology, for example, the Goddess of Learning wears white and sits on a white lotus.
AT this point, the rear of the painting would look grotesque.
But it is not the rear we would exhibit. The front would look like
8. Frame it
9. Gift it to your parents-in-law who will most probably hang it in their prayer cupboard.
If you are the type that does not quite relate to sending the children off to summer camp, and the blazing sun precludes outdoor activities, here are some activities that I found V to enjoy. These craft activities are suited better for 6-7 year olds, but with younger children, the parent needs to make them while the kids watch and help out.
1. Paper craft-
The book looks like this:
This is also pretty simple, you get the entire kit comprising the art paper, colored sand and the works. Just follow instructions. Needs a lot of patience and a strong back, I warn you.
Just sharing ideas with other moms who are being driven up the wall by bored children in vacation time..
Update: This is the latest...paper mache dolls made with Eer kuchi backbone and all purpose flour-paper mache goo. Painted with fabric paint.
My namesake...a gift to my folks (Pampra pampra pam..painted by yours truly).. Still looking for a decent Saraswathi to gift to husband's folks
If anyone comes across an ethnic sketch of Saraswathi on glass, please let me know.
My garden is finally looking up after all my pleads, begs, entreats and ultimatums to it. The insects who have my one whole month of TLC for breakfast are my current staunchest enemies.
The ugly green tube you see was bought for me by the fellow who cleaned up the yard when we had moved in. He had better have some potent defense strategy in place for the next time I see him, for off loading a watering tube that weighs as much as I do. I have built more upper arm muscles than Michael Jordan, just by watering my plants periodically.
This one is a bit gaudier than the last one, too much gold on the borders gives it a cheap look. But it is ok, I guess. It looks like what you'd get if you paid a fortune in a shop.
I intend to gift it to dude's cousin who is getting married next week. For the uninitiated, this is a picture of the divine lovers of Hindu mythology - Radha and Krishna.
You are most welcome to ooh and ahh about the following art work. But I should disclaim that it is the simplest type of painting to do. The figure is pre-drawn on glass and you merely have to paint it. Thanks to Gayathri for teaching me this new art form, which is, at the moment, an obsession with me. It will die out soon, I hope, else my poor back (and my family) would give up on me.
Attended the re-run of the inaugural show of "Chennai Sangamam" held at the open air theater at IIT yesterday. And just one word reigned supreme as we stepped out an hour later. NOISE. I am sure it is a great effort and all that, but why is it that anything even remotely exuberant should be in ear-reverberating, head-throbbing, mesmerizing decibels? The mElam show was simply breathtaking in rhythm, but having around 30 drummers beat into microphones that could pick up sighs of snails, connected to heavy-duty speakers, however rhythmic, DOES something inside your head. My favorite piece in the entire show was the "rap", an imported culture rapidly integrating with authentic folk art - the rap artist jumped out of a giant "Pongal Paanai", just how more integrated could you get? Why is it that MCs talk (into the microphone) like they were calling the cattle home across the sands of Dee? On second thoughts, the cattle would die of shock if that was how they were called. And why do pre-teen girls have to gyrate seductively to the ear-splitting music?
I AM getting old, ain't I?
Let the entire show load fully before you watch it. The beauty would be lost if viewed in parts and breaks.
