All Mixed Up

Okay. I played with my entire stash this time! and look what I found.

The Divine Touch

Because that's what it took to finally get these pictures up. After years of trying and months of complaining, i finally seemed to have got the hang of getting somewhat decent photos of my art work. To celebrate, i share some of my kerala style murals.

Mooshikavahana

VidyaGanapathi

Kanyakumari

Kalinganardhana

Standing Tall

The figurative cloth dolls we make come in all shapes and sizes. And they can be displayed in a billion different ways too. But, after having made dolls regularly for about four years now, I find that there are some dolls that do need a stand.

Not just the armatured ones either. Like my spool ladies - while they stand very well by themselves, i felt they needed to be placed on a special setting. With not much time and limited resources, I decided to try an idea I had read of a while back. The result is these stands.

The best thing about these stands is that they are not very expensive and easy to make as well.
And so I decided that they will be perfect for my first mini tutorial.

You will need a ceiling rose and acrylic paints.

I used a wooden rose which I found at the local hardware store. I guess you can use plaster ones too.

If you are going to insert armature into the stand, you would first have to drill holes at the appropriate spots before you start painting .

Sand the roses well with fine sandpaper.











Decide on an abstract design and the colors you would like to use for the stand. The more vibrant the colors the better. Paint on the base colors, starting with the lighter colors. Drag the darker colors a little over the lighter colors to blend.





Using thick black and a finer brush, paint a web or lattice over the rose. Vary thickness of the lines and let them form "windows" on interesting sections of your base coat.











Acrylic paints have a matte gloss finish when layered. You can seal the stands with a gloss as well. Cut a circle of black felt and stick on to the back of the rose to finish the stand.

Your stand is now ready for your doll!

Wearing your Heart on your Bag!

Some of the quilted totes and bags i have worked on lately...

Spool Dolls

Ever since I saw Chikki's stump doll made with a Sherry Goshon pattern, I have been wanting to try one myself. Unfortunately, Chikki could not find the pattern, so i was left to my own devices.

After months of rolling it around in my head, I had a moment of revelation when I saw the plastic spools of the silk crochet thread my aunt, cousin and I have been devouring of late. The body and hands fell into place, and the faces rolled off the block, but these dollies would have sat around waiting to be dressed and embellished, if it were not for my gallery contact from Delhi. Shalini hustled and rushed me to get these ladies in for Valentine's Day, and I am really glad she did!

So, I take delight and pride in presenting, Pinoli, Caruisse,Dazika, Meramyn, and Lucietta.

Lucietta

Meramyn

Dazika

Caruisse

Pinoli

Back again! Back again!

Here I am, after disappearing off the face of the earth for a while!

This year has been quite a revolutionary one for me. It has seen radical changes in my life, especially in my attitudes and working style.

Let me get back with some of the latest creations thrown up by the tides.